Aside from allowing commuters to buy a single ticket covering various forms of public transport in Bangkok, the Common Ticketing System Management Bill should help to bring down the prices of these services in Bangkok, a public hearing was told.
Organised by the Thailand Consumers Council, the forum gathered opinions on the bill for the House special committee vetting the measure.
The main objectives are to reduce the overlapping work of agencies handling the ticketing systems of various public transport services, improve convenience and safety, and ensure fairness in service pricing, said Jiraroth Sukolrat, deputy director-general of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.
The opposition People's Party (PP) has submitted its own version of the common ticketing bill with the government's version, said Surachet Pravinvongvuth, a PP list-MP.
The PP's version, as opposed to Pheu Thai's bill, requires clarity on how much the ticket fares should be when all services are managed under the single ticketing system, he said.
The PP's version also requires the system apply to all types of public transport services including buses and boats, not only Bangkok's electric train services, said Mr Surachet. "Public transport means all types of public transport services, not only the electric rail services," he said.
Krichanont Iyapunya, an assistant to Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit who represented Pheu Thai at the forum, said the ruling party is determined to bring the cost of commuting on public transport down to 10% of the daily minimum wage.
By September the maximum cost of commuting on any electric rail system will be 20 baht per trip, he said. A study is underway into the possibility of dropping the ceiling on public bus fares to 10 baht per trip.
The government will not require extra money for the step because the State Railway of Thailand Fund has enough at its disposal, Mr Krichanont said.
The fund, collected from taxpayers in Bangkok, is adequate to support these low-cost public transit services for at least two years, he said.
Based on the pilot phase of the 20-baht electric train service, the government believes it will need to finance the project less as the number of passengers grows. Today's pilot phase on the Red and Purple Lines is projected to break even in two years, Mr Krichanont said.
