The Transport Ministry is planning to urgently renovate the run-down Bangkok Bus Terminal (Chatuchak), or Mo Chit 2, said Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit in response to a complaint by an opposition MP.
Mr Suriya said on Saturday that he had ordered Transport Company Ltd to fix broken facilities and address safety problems as outlined in a complaint aired by Suphanat Meenchainan, Move Forward Party MP for the Chatuchak, Bang Khen and Lak Si constituencies, on Wednesday.
The minister attributed the problems mentioned by Mr Suphanat to a lack of maintenance and care under the previous government.
The current administration has acknowledged the problems and is working to tackle them. he said.
Regarding New Year travel, Mr Suriya said he has ordered transport authorities to keep an eye on issues such as drunk driving and drug consumption.
Mr Suphanat had listed 14 problems at the Mo Chit 2 terminal. As a result, netizens began criticising the terminal's poor services, faulty facilities and lack of safety and convenience ahead of this year's holiday season, one of the busiest travel times of the year.
The problems range from broken equipment and restrooms, poorly-lit areas and security blind spots to inadequate transport connections.
The ministry said the Transport Company Ltd, which operates state-run interprovincial buses, published a clarification note, saying it could not find the right spare parts for some out-of-order facilities, such as the terminal's 26-year-old escalators.
It also responded to the concerns about vacant space at the terminal, saying it is now being renovated into a transport hub under the ministry's policy.
The abandoned area outside the terminal used to be a commercial zone but no one rented there during Covid-19. The Transport Company plans to renovate next year, the company said.
After the clarification was published, Mr Suphanat said the company's explanation was untenable.
He insisted the escalators have gone unrepaired despite the company having been granted the budget to fix them eight months ago. The MP added that homeless people had now moved into some of the vacant buildings.
He also said the dilapidated state of Mo Chit 2 does not bode well for tourism and it was bound to cause economic repercussions in cities connected to the terminal, which has grown to become a widely used transit point for interprovincial bus transport.