The boat fare for the 113-kilometre ferry service between Pattaya and Hua Hin which is currently set at 1,250 baht single trip for normal class is reasonable, said Mr Sornsak Saensombat, director-general of Marine Department, on Thursday.
He maintained that the fare rate is suitable with the cost and the operator of the ferry service which will begin on January 1 will make a profit of between 20-30 percent “which is not much”.
However, he said that, after six months of operations, the Marine Department would hold a meeting to assess the performance of the ferry service, its popularity among travelers vis-เ-vis the fare rate.
If the occupancy seating rate for each trip averages 80-90 percent, Mr Sornsak said that the department would order the operator to reduce the fare rate.
The current fare rate of 1,250 baht per one single trip for a distance of 113 kilometre across the Gulf of Thailand is based on the assumption that each trip is about 50 percent full.
