The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) has collaborated with the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and Krung Thai Bank to introduce a monthly pass that offers unlimited rides on the city’s public bus network and 50 trips on Bangkok’s Red Line electric commuter rail services.
The “Transit Pass Red Line BKK x BMTA” aims to reduce commuters’ travel expenses while encouraging more people to use the Red Line and the city’s public buses.
According to Suthep Punthupeng, the CEO of SRT Electrified Train Company Limited, the Red Line, which spans 41.3 kilometers and connects Taling Chan in Bangkok to Rangsit in Pathum Thani province, is used by about 25,000 people daily. However, only 5,000 of them use multi-trip cards. Most commuters purchase a single-trip token for their journey.
Commuters must first purchase a fare card for 100 baht from SRT and BMTA ticket booths. After registering the card, they can then purchase the monthly transit pass for 2,000 baht, which is valid for 30 days from activation. Once the 50 rail trips are used up, commuters have to wait for the subscription period to end before purchasing a new Transit Pass.
Commuters using the Transit Pass will pay an average of about 22 baht per journey, which is lower than the average price per journey for a single-trip token, which is about 25 baht.
BMTA Deputy Director Phimphaw Wongsuthirat said that the monthly pass is expected to increase the number of electronic pass holders to 60,000, which is equivalent to about 8.5% of the 700,000 passengers served by the BMTA daily. (NNT)
