The Transport Ministry will tighten regulations to ensure the safety of public service minivans which have been involved in a rising number of accidents in recent years.
Deputy Transport Minister Chadchart Sittiphan said he would talk with executives from the Land Transport Department, the Transport Co, and Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) to introduce measures to ensure passenger safety in public minivan transport.
From January last year until the end of January this year, 60 people were killed and 282 injured in public minivan accidents.
Most of the accidents were caused by the carelessness of their drivers, the minister said.
He said measures to improve public minivan safety would include clearly determining bus stops where public minivans are required to park. He said this would reduce traffic congestion.
The Land Transport Department's proposal to install radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in the minivans to track their location and speed will also be discussed.
Land Transport Department chief Somchai Siriwattanachoke said the RFID tracking project would start from this April in some areas, including the Don Muang tollway and eastern-bound motorway.
The RFID equipment would be installed on roads and in public minivans under a concession of the BMTA and the Transport Co.
Mr Somchai said the department would also multiply penalties by 10. For example, public transport drivers who break speed limits will face fines of up to 5,000 baht, up from 500 baht now.
If they persist in breaking the speed limits, their licences will be revoked.
He said the department would negotiate with traffic police an appropriate speed limit for public minivans.
Mr Chadchart, as overseer of the BMTA, said he will push the policy of former transport minister Sukumpol Suwanatat to procure 3,506 compressed natural gas buses.
He said the BMTA would procure 3,183 new gas-fuelled buses and modify 323 existing buses to use the gas.
The procurement process is now under the consideration of the National Economic and Social Development Board.
Once the NESDB gives the nod to the project, cabinet approval for it will be sought.
"Apart from new buses, the BMTA must improve its services and facilities, including bus stops, to attract passengers," he said.