The so-called group of 40 senators has urged the government to review its plan to purchase 3,183 new public buses fuelled by natural gas for vehicles (NGV), saying it was too expensive and put a burden on the government and the people.
Senator Paibul Nititawan, leader of the 40 Senators group, said on Monday in a senate meeting that the government will not only have to pay for the cost of the buses, estimated to be more than 13 billion baht, but it will also be subjected to almost 14 billion baht in maintenance costs. As a result, public bus services will become more expensive, rising from 10 baht to 13 baht.
Mr Paibul suggested the use of public buses powered by batteries as an alternative because these buses cost less to purchase and fix and also are more environment-friendly.
Instead of opting to buy battery-powered buses, the Transport Ministry again proposed NGV-fuelled buses because a deal may have been made between a group of businessmen and politicians since the last controversial procurement of 4,000 NGV buses, said Mr Paibul.
Hesaid if the prime minister does not want to be accused of corruption and force the public to pay higher bus fees then she should immediately order the government to review the bus purchase plan.
The Transport Ministry will seek cabinet approval for the purchase of the 3,183 buses on Tuesday. The ministry claims the deal will enable the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), which ran an accumulated loss of 70 billion baht last year, to turn a profit of 260 million baht for the first time in 2014.