Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), the operator of the Purple Line elevated train system, may consider slashing service fares after it was discovered that the actual number of people using the new service is far below the projection.
Since the launch of the Purple Line between Taopoon and Bang Yai on August 6, MRTA governor Peerayuth Singpattanakul disclosed on Friday that the average number of passengers for each day were about 20,000 against the projection of between 60,000-70,000.
The main problem that has resulted in low number of passengers using the service is that the connection between the Purple Line and the Blue Line is not yet completed, making it inconvenient for passengers who want to connect from one line to another.
A shuttle bus service to connect the two lines from Bangsue station to Taopoon station has been provided free of charge for passengers by MRTA. But it is still regarded by many passengers as being not convenient enough to encourage them to use the Purple Line service.
Mr Peerayuth said he would urge the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) to speed up fixing the connection glitch in two months.
MRTA will next month call a meeting of the operators of the Blue, Purple and Green Lines and Airport Link for discussions on how to improve their services and to integrate the ticketing system so that one ticket can be used for all the four rail lines.
