'Waste of money': Bangkok free public transport plan under fire
published : 27 Jan 2025 at 09:24
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Post Reporters

Critics have slammed the government's budget allocation of 140 million baht to provide free public transport as part of measures to fight the worsening haze pollution in Bangkok.
On Friday, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra ordered free public transport in Bangkok for one week, starting the following day, as dust levels have surged across all districts of the capital.
From Jan 25 to 31, people will be given free services on buses and electric trains.
The move is intended to encourage people to switch to public transport to curb vehicle emissions, one of the sources of PM2.5, according to the government.
The transport minister said a fund of about 140 million baht from the central budget will be allocated to compensate the operators providing free transport during the period.
However, critics spoke out against the move, saying it is a waste of taxpayers' money as it does not address the root cause of the PM2.5 problem.
On Facebook, a Bhumjaithai MP for Ang Thong criticised the move to offer free public transport, saying it will not help ease the PM2.5 problem.
"This policy will be a success if car owners agree to leave their vehicles at home and use public transport. But will this actually happen? It's not easy [to convert long-time car owners into public transport riders]," he wrote.
An environmental expert at Chulalongkorn University said on Facebook yesterday that the 140-million-baht budget allocation is a waste of money.
He suggested that the money would be better spent to buy air purifiers for affected schools.
The Department of Rail Transport said yesterday that a total of 1,634,446 people used free electric train services on Saturday, a 45.29% increase compared to the average numbers recorded on the previous three Saturdays of this month.
For example, 451,251 passengers used the Blue electric rail line per trip (a 38% increase) while the Airport Rail Link saw 68,903 passengers using its free service per trip (a 25.61% increase). A total of 857,878 passengers also used the BTS Green Line per trip, or a 46.07% increase, the department said.
Vocabulary
- compensate: to pay money to someone because something bad has happened to them - ชดเชย
- criticised: receiving words of disapproval over something that you have supposedly done wrong - ถูกวิจารณ์, โดนว่า
- curb: to control or limit something - จำกัดขอบเขต, ควบคุม
- dust: very small pieces of dirt that cover surfaces inside buildings like a powder - ฝุ่น
- emissions: gases going into the air - การปล่อยก๊าซเสียสู่ท้องฟ้า
- haze: water, smoke or dust in the air that makes it difficult to see clearly - หมอกควัน
- purifier: something that cleans , that makes pure - สิ่งที่ใช้ชำระล้าง
- root: a basic cause or idea - รากฐาน, แก่นแท้, ต้นตอ
- slam: to strongly criticise someone or something - วิพากษ์วิจารณ์อย่างรุนแรง
- surge: to increase very quickly - เพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็ว
- under fire: being criticised strongly - ถูกวิจารณ์, โดนว่า
- waste (verb): to use more of something than is necessary or useful - ไม่ได้ใช้ประโยชน์, สิ้นเปลือง, เสียเปล่า