A 20-baht flat fare will be piloted on the MRT Purple Line and the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Red Line within the next three months as a "New Year's present" to the public, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said on Tuesday.
Mr Suriya announced the move in parliament after he was asked to clarify whether a 20-baht flat rate would be practical.
The flat-fare issue was brought up on the second day of the government's policy declaration by Surachate Praweenwongwut, an opposition MP from the Move Forward Party.
Mr Suriya insisted on keeping the flat-rate policy, as it was an opportunity to provide fairness for people, especially those trying to survive on lower incomes.
The minister said it might take six months for the flat-rate policy to be passed, as the government had to gather all train line concessionaires and set up a negotiation committee to discuss the policy with them.
He declared the 20 baht flat rate will be piloted on the MRT Purple Line and the SRT Red Line in the next three months, which will fall around the New Year period.
"Within two years, people will pay 20 baht for all train lines because we need time for negotiations," he said.
Mr Surachate said the flat rate, one of Pheu Thai's flagship campaign promises, was not included among its policies presented to parliament, even though the Transport Ministry has three deputy ministers and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is the Finance Minister, who has full authority to approve public funding.
He said the flat rate should be applied to every electric train line, including when passengers transfer to other lines.
However, as no clear direction on transport system investment has emerged, it was unclear how extensive the flat-rate policy will be, the opposition MP said.
To make matters worse, he said the policy might not succeed within the first three months of the new government being in power, as promised during the election campaign, as it might be affected by the train lines' private contractors.