Time to change the way we pay to drive

Commentary: Nalin Viboonchart

Time to change the way we pay to drive

Published: 28 Jan 2013 at 10.18
Newspaper section: Asia focus

The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) is preparing to raise tolls in September on its first- and second-stage expressways in Bangkok by at least five baht, to a range of 50 to 115 baht depending on vehicle size. The increases are in line with the concession that the state agency has with the system’s operator, SET-listed Bangkok Expressway Plc (BECL).

My first reaction on hearing the news was, “What, again? Prices of everything are going up.”

However, it has been a while since expressway tolls rose. The contract between the EXAT and BECL says rates can be adjusted every five years, based on changes in the Consumer Price Index. The increase amounts to 11.1% from five years ago, compared with compounded inflation over the same period of closer to 16%.

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jwatch
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Discussion 2 : 28 Jan 2013 at 11.232
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Clearly, it’s the government’s duty to prepare for the coming traffic problem

Nope. Their duty is to line their pockets ASAP
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donduck
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Discussion 1 : 28 Jan 2013 at 10.271
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Finally, a solution to the problem of not having long lines at both ends of an expressway trip. This excellent suggestion would allow us to line up to pay to get on the expressway, and line up again as we get off, to show we really paid the right amount for the trip we just made. As a bonus, we could wait in that line while the person ahead argues over the time of day with the ticket checker. I for one think us drivers have it far too easy to only line up once and this is a simple solution.
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Time to change the way we pay to drive | Bangkok Post: business