Public transport services nationwide will be ramped up during the late King’s royal cremation ceremonies from Oct 25-29 to better serve the public and help them pay their respects, according to Transport Ministry inspector-general Chirut Wisanchit.
Buses operating under Transport Co International will increase the frequency of their services from the provinces to Bangkok by 35%, providing 9,233 trips per day, Mr Chirut said. During this period they will be able to handle up to 186,788 passengers a day, he added.
Nattaporn Jatusripitak, an adviser to the Office of the Prime Minister, said free rides on public buses and third-class trains will continue until the end of October. They were scheduled to end on Oct 1.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) will run 244 trips per day between the provinces and the capital for the five-day period, making it able to handle 90,638 passengers a day on average, authorities said.
According to Mr Chirut, the SRT will also provide 18 trains that will depart from surrounding metropolitan stations, aiming to service a further 9,000 passengers daily.
Another 8,000 passengers will be serviced each day by eight additional provincial trains, he said.
More third-class services are expected to cater for another 10,000 people, he added.
Thai Airways will add 20 flights to its daily roster to service 69,468 passengers a day while Thai Smile Air is set to operate an additional 42 flights a day to accommodate 72,384 passengers on a daily basis, Mr Chirut said.
The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) said it will also operate more public buses during the royal cremation ceremony.
Mr Chirut said all buses without air conditioning that lead to Wat Phra Kaeo, Sanam Luang and nearby areas will be offered free of charge but passengers will have to pay regular fees for air-conditioned buses.
The BMTA will also offer shuttle buses on 32 routes to Sanam Luang, he said.
Mr Chirut said the department has asked Chao Phraya Express Boat Co, which operates boats along the Chao Phraya River, provide several free boat services a day from Sathon pier to Phran Nok pier, and from Phran Nok pier to Nonthaburi pier.
The company will use 55 boats during the period with boats departing every 10 minutes until 9pm, he said.
Ferries running from Phran Nok pier to Tha Chang pier will be free of charge from 10am with extra staff employed for the safety of the public, Mr Chirut said.
Electric trains in Bangkok and nearby metropolitan areas will offer mostly free services from Oct 25-27, the ministry said. Participating lines include the Airport Rail Link, the MRT Purple Line and BTS Skytrain extensions from On Nut to Samrong and Wong Wian Yai to Bang Wa.
The MRT Blue Line will provide free services on Oct 26 only, Mr Chirut said. It will otherwise observe regular prices but operate after 2am for the five-day period. Service hours for the Airport Link will also be extended until 2am, he said.
The cabinet on Tuesday gave the green light to an extension of the free rides scheme in a decision revealed by Mr Nattaporn after a cabinet meeting at Government House.
He explained that the government had to extend the offer as the production of special tickets for low-income earners, or "Mangmoom" (Spider) cards, has not been completed yet.
The cards were first expected to be distributed to passengers on Oct 1. However, distribution has now been rescheduled for Oct 17 instead.
Besides, a large number of passengers will travel by public transport to pay their respects to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his royal funeral ceremony on Oct 26, he said.
"Initially, we expected the cards to replace the free rides for both modes of transportation. However, it appears that it will take a longer time to produce the cards for low-income people. Therefore, the cards will be distributed on Oct 17 instead,"
"Also, the royal funeral rites for the late King will be held next month and many people are expected to flock there by buses and trains. So, the free rides period will be extended for another month," Mr Nattaporn said.
According to Mr Nattaporn, approximately 409 million baht has been allocated to the extension of the free rides period.
Of the budget, around 322 million baht will be given to 800 public bus routes and the rest to 160 third-class train services.