The Energy Ministry is mulling subsidising fuel prices for 100,000 motorcycle taxi drivers who are recipients of the government's welfare and subsidy scheme to shield them from the impact of rising oil prices.
The Energy Ministry is exploring methods to help motorcycle taxi drivers who are welfare smartcard holders, said an unnamed source at the Finance Ministry. They could receive a subsidy or the right to buy cheaper fuel, the source said.
The ministry is checking data on motorcycle taxi drivers from the Land Transport Department, but it could take time to determine assistance measures, the source said.
In related news, Yanee Sangsrichun, a spokeswoman for the Comptroller-General's Department, said a facial recognition app has been adopted for welfare recipients this month to widen options for them in using the monthly living allowance allotted to smartcards for goods and service payments.
Smartcard holders spent 42.4 billion baht of the allowance from Oct 1, 2017 to Sept 27, 2018. Of the total, 41.3 billion was spent to purchase goods at Thong Fah Pracha Rat shops, 59.5 million went to cooking gas, and 724 million was extra allowance paid to those who signed up for job training. The rest was for public transport fares.
The government offers a monthly living allowance of 200-300 baht to 11.4 million people earning less than 100,000 baht a year to buy goods at low-cost shops.
Some 5.3 million of the recipients live below the national poverty line of 30,000 baht a year.