Board gives green light to 20-seat microbus routes

Board gives green light to 20-seat microbus routes

Bangkok's 5,000 passenger vans are scheduled to disappear, to be replaced by 20-passenger microbuses. (Bangkok Post file photo)
Bangkok's 5,000 passenger vans are scheduled to disappear, to be replaced by 20-passenger microbuses. (Bangkok Post file photo)

The Central Land Transport Control Board (CLTB) has given the go ahead for new 20-seat microbus services to run on the two main routes between the city's landmarks and its outskirts.

Speaking after a CLTB meeting Wednesday, transport deputy permanent secretary Somsak Hommuang, who also serves as acting director of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), said the meeting had agreed on new microbus services for two routes under a pilot project aimed to improve road safety.

The committee members comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Transport and the Department of Land Transport (DLT).

The first route will run between Ramathibodi Hospital's Chakri Naruebodindra Medical Institute to Bang Phli in Samut Prakan, while the second route will run between Mahidol University, Salaya campus in Nakhon Pathom to Chatuchak district.

Mr Somsak cited a study that showed these routes had high potential with a large number of passengers expected to use the services.

Around 4,800 passengers, mostly students and university officials, are expected to use the bus service each day on the first route alone, according to the study.

Private companies have shown interest in operating the service for the first route, he added.

The BMTA has revamped its public transport services, replacing about 5,000 vans with microbuses in a bid to improve road safety.

The replacement drive is expected to be completed by 2022, when 70% of the permits granted to passenger van operators will expire.

Operators who wish to continue running services will be required by the BMTA, which grants the concessions, to replace their passenger vans with 20-seater microbuses.

Mr Somsak urged private companies and van operators to give their input on service management to the committee by June to find the best way forward. He said the DLT would issue a licence for operating 20-seat microbuses to an operator, but he did not elaborate on the methods to select the operator.

He said the scheme aims to encourage potential passengers to use microbus services to improve road safety.

If the two routes gain a positive response from the public, the government would urge potential operators to run additional services, he said.

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