Bangkok City Council has approved a draft city code seeking to replace all fossil fuel-powered public buses with electric vehicles within seven years to better protect the environment and people’s health.
The draft regulation, sponsored by city councillors from the Move Forward Party and approved at its first reading in April, was approved in the second and third readings on Wednesday by a vote of 30 in favour with no objections.
Pattaraporn Kengrungruanchai, the Move Forward councillor for Bang Sue district, urged members to pass the regulation, which would effectively tackle fine-dust pollution in the capital and promote clean air for more than 10 million city residents.
She said Bangkok must not miss the opportunity to lead the change and shift public transport buses from their dependence on fossil fuels to cleaner energy.
However, Bangkok governor Chadchat Sittipunt said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) would ask the Council of State to review the code.
He said the BMA’s legal affairs office was not sure if City Hall was authorised to enforce the code and it was best to seek advice from the government’s legal adviser.
Deputy Bangkok governor Jakkapan Phiewngam said City Hall is ready to replace its own buses, but there are legal issues to be straightened out. The buses fall under the supervision of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), which is under the Transport Ministry.
The BMTA last year proposed a plan to procure 3,200 electric buses to phase out fossil-fuel buses from its fleet over three years.
The capital’s first 40 electric public buses began service in August 2022 today, operated by the Thai Smile Bus (TSB) company on the new line 2-38 which replaced bus route 8.