COMMENTARY
A busload of questions on rental scheme
- Published: 2/06/2009 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Let's face it. Bangkok's public buses have never been a preferred mode of transportation for the city's dwellers. Some are crowded. Others run at unpredictable intervals - two of them may arrive at the same time at the same stop, or you wait an hour and none show up. Some offer a scary ride that can turn your trip into a suicide mission. Others make you feel like being part of a gangster movie - you don't know when the driver or fare collector would take out some hidden weapon (usually it's the long removable gear stick) and storm out of the vehicle to fight some roadside enemy.
The main reason why city buses continue to exist is that they are cheap. The fare ranges from 6 baht for a hot bus to about 24 baht for an air-con one. There is no other reason why Bangkok people tolerate it (except for some few routes where an availability of bus lanes makes it faster to travel by bus than private car). No score on service. No impression on safety. No compliment on being convenient. And it is definitely not a fast way to move compared to the Skytrain or the Metro.
As we are on a blunt note, let me say it is not surprising the Transport Ministry's plan to lease 4,000 buses to add to the city's fleet is not popular with anyone. In fact, it seems to have just one single lonely and die-hard supporter: Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum.
The project's critics have pointed out the outrageous price tag (67.9 billion baht) for a proposal that seems to hinge on an unrealistic projection of future income - 10,000 baht per bus per day when the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) which will be the project operator earns an average of 6,000 to 7,000 baht per bus per day at present.
Don't forget that within the 10-year timeframe of the lease, there may be at least one or two more mass transit train lines in operation (maybe an example of too rosy a projection of the future on my part). They will eat into the scheme's projected number of customers. In short, the projected commuters to use the public bus and, thus, income should be lower, not higher.
They also questioned the leasing and maintenance fees - set at 2,082 and 2,250 baht per bus per day respectively - as too high. A private operator said the maintenance fees should be about half the quoted price at 600 to 1,300 baht only. Some critics said that at this price, the BMTA might as well buy the buses and own them.
Unlike these critics, I do not oppose the ministry's option to lease instead of buying these buses. I agree that outsourcing these operations could save the BMTA a lot of headaches regarding repairing and replacing broken buses, not to say plugging some holes that allow corruption to take place.
However, I am with the critics when it comes to the romantic projections. Most of all, I disagree with the size of the project. Minister Sohpon suggested that the bus-leasing investment is part of the plan to restructure the debt-ridden BMTA and turn it into a profitable organisation. No question there, but one must ask if the huge investment is the only way to revive the agency.
Has the minister checked whether the BMTA operates at maximum efficiency and that it can handle the additional budget and workload without undue losses? Above all, how profitable should an organisation apparently set up as a semi-welfare service for the urban poor be? It is, after all, a public organisation.
Minister Sohpon has not discussed any alternative for the BMTA's profitability except to push for the massive addition to the fleet, without even considering future changes in the commuter landscape and culture.
Little surprise, then, that his bus scheme is finding it hard to reach the feasibility highway.
Which brings us to another basic contention in the scheme. Why would the proposed public buses need a GPS navigational system?
Those who have been on a public bus would know that it runs on a fixed route. If you have a smart enough driver, you don't need an electronic device to guide him or her. It would be redundant. The minister might argue that the GPS would allow the control base to manipulate the fleet better. Those who know Bangkok traffic, however, would realise instantly that this is daydreaming.
Another frill that should be trimmed from this overly ambitious project is the e-ticketing system to be installed in every bus. Who needs such an expensive complicated device on board a bus when a simple fare box should be enough?
Let's cut through the glut and frills and be honest. This project features a busload of questions. It should not be endorsed in the current shape.
- Atiya Achakulwisut is Editorial Pages Editor, Bangkok Post.
About the author
- Writer: Atiya Achakulwisut
