The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) board Monday approved initial plans for a 10% discount for Easy Pass users at the Asok 4 Toll Plaza in Bang Kapi in a bid to decrease congestion in the capital's roads.
The tollbooth, which currently charges 50 baht for four-wheeled vehicles, will exercise a five-baht discount if the plans are instated by the authority. Vehicles with more than four wheels are not eligible to apply for Easy Passes, which automatically deduct tolls from top-up cards.
An Exat source said after Monday's meeting that the plan will be implemented "soon" and indefinitely. The source added it would take around two months after the discount is implemented for Exat to decide if a similar scheme should be implemented on other traffic-prone toll roads.
According to Exat reports, regular cash-based tollbooths can service up to 400 vehicles per hour, while Easy Pass booths can service up to 1,200 four-wheeled vehicles per hour.
Mass congestion has been reported on the capital's main roads during the construction of several new electric train lines, namely the Orange Line's first phase from Thailand Cultural Centre to Min Buri, which has caused severe backups on Ramkhamhaeng Road.
Road diversions for the Yellow Line monorail from Lat Phrao to Samrong in Samut Prakan have also caused hours' worth of congestion on Lat Phrao Road.
In a related development, Exat is set to open one reverse lane on a 6km stretch of the Ramindra-Outer Ring Road of the Chalong Rat expressway, starting tomorrow.
As part of the plan to ease traffic, the rightmost lane on the outward side of the route from the Yothin Pattana toll to the Ramintra control centre will be repurposed as an inward-bound lane during morning and evening rush hours. Exat authorities stated this will ease congestion for commutes heading towards Bangkok Port.