Tour bus operators are urging the government to clarify the long-term policy for diesel prices as most operators have to absorb higher costs during the Songkran holiday, as many cannot afford to replace their fleet with electric buses.
After the government allowed the price of diesel to exceed 30 baht a litre from April, following the expiry of a subsidy scheme using the Oil Fuel Fund, most tour operators did not immediately increase prices for consumers or partners as bus rental contracts were signed before this policy, said Wasuchet Sophonsathien, president of the Thai Transportation Operators Association.
He said some partner tour agents understood and agreed to pay an additional price to help bus operators absorb fuel costs during Songkran, but many of them could not help as they also made contracts with overseas agents and fixed all tour package prices.
"For tourism operators, we need a long-term plan as negotiation with overseas agents for a series of inbound packages must be finalised many months in advance. For instance, packages for the summer holiday in August should be concluded this month, but we still could not predict how the diesel price would be at that time," said Mr Wasuchet.
As the diesel price increased by 50 satang a litre in the first week of April, the fuel cost of bus operators has already increased by 2-3%. If the price surged by 1 baht or 2 baht, the cost would see at least 5% and 10% increases, respectively.
"If the government does not subsidise diesel prices, tour operators or even other businesses that have an impact from higher transport cost should be allowed to raise the prices of products and services. It's not fair and is unreasonable to keep asking us to maintain the price amid surging costs," Mr Wasuchet said.
Mr Wasuchet said 80% of bus operators still have debts from the pandemic period, with 40-50% at risk of becoming non-performing loans. He said only 30% could perform strongly as they have diversified their market to other segments apart from tourism, such as charter bus services for factory employees.
There are 18,000 tour buses across Thailand, which has fallen from 40,00 prior to the pandemic, he said.
Meanwhile, it is still difficult for bus operators to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) to save energy as the price of EV buses are relatively higher, while the quality of batteries is still not reliable for long-distance trips.
Mr Wasuchet said a new EV bus costs around 5 million baht for a battery giving up to 200 kilometres range per charge, which could serve only short-distance routes.
He said the ideal type of tour bus are those with a battery providing up to 400-500km per charge, which would cost around 7-8 million baht.
"We would like the government to consider a programme that encourages bus operators to switch to EV buses, such as allowing them to trade an old diesel bus as a down payment for a new EV bus. This would also help remove old substandard buses from the market," said Mr Wasuchet.
