Govt to pilot 20 baht flat-rate city train fare over New Year

Govt to pilot 20 baht flat-rate city train fare over New Year
Riders are riding a train on the Purple Line. ( Bangkok Post image )

Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit announced on Tuesday that a 20-baht flat fare will be piloted on the MRT Purple Line and the State Railway of Thailand( SRT ) Red Line within the upcoming three months as” New Year’s present” to the public.

After being asked to explain whether a 20-baht flat rate may be useful, Mr. Suriya made the announcement in congress.

Surachate Praweenwongwut, an opposition MP from the Move Forward Party, brought up the flat-fare topic on the next day of the government’s plan resolve.

Mr. Suriya insisted on maintaining the flat-rate plan because it was a chance to treat everyone fairly, particularly those trying to make ends meet on lower wages.

The minister warned that passing the flat-rate policy may take six months because the government would need to assemble all train line concessionaires and form a dialogue committee to discuss it with them.

In the upcoming three times, which will fall around the New Year, he announced that the 20 baht flat level would be piloted on the MRT Purple Line and the SRT Red Line.

People will pay 20 ringgit for all coach lines within two years because we need time for conversations, he said.

Despite the fact that the Transport Ministry has three deputy officials and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is the Finance Minister, who has full authority to approve people money, Mr. Surachate claimed that Pheu Thai’s premier campaign promise, the flat charge, was not one of its guidelines presented to parliament.

Every electric educate collection, including when passengers transfer to another lines, may be subject to the smooth rate, according to him.

Nonetheless, the opposition MP said it was unclear how broad the flat-rate plan may be because no clear path on transport system investment had emerged.

To make matters worse, he claimed that because the policy may be impacted by the coach lines'” private companies ,” it might not be implemented within the first three weeks of the new state taking office as promised during the election campaign.