The Transport Ministry plans to develop a website that provides road accident records for public buses and vans to help improve safety for passengers.
Deputy Transport Minister Omsin Cheevapruek said the ministry was concerned over the safety of passengers who use public transport, particularly public buses and van services.
Various measures have been taken over the years to make public transport safer, he added.
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This time, the ministry has come up with the website plan, Mr Omsin said. The move was in response to a request by a consumer watchdog which was worried about passenger safety and driver discipline.
Mr Omsin said a meeting between the Ministry of Transport and various agencies was held recently to discuss how to make public transport safer.
It was attended by authorities from the ministry, representatives from the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), from Thai Health Promotion Foundation and a company that provides programme focused on improving essential safe driving skills.
The meeting had agreed that the quality of public transport services needs to improve, Mr Omsin said, citing the number road accidents in which public buses and vans were involved last year, as provided by the TDRI.
The meeting had also agreed to create the website, he added.
Information to be put on the website included facts on public transport operators, their policies on passenger safety, their fleets of vehicles, their accident records and the driver disciplinary programmes.
Passengers can take advantage of the information on the website and compare it from operator to operator before making a decision on whether a service is safe for them, Mr Omsin said.
According to a 2015 assessment report for public transport safety provided by the TDRI, public buses weere involved in a total of 104 accidents, killing 82 people and injuring 1,528 others. Public vans were involved in a total of 98 accidents, killing 104 people and injuring 847 others.