The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) is preparing to submit a bill on a common ticketing system for public transport to the Transport Ministry for review in January, with the expectation the system will be put in place by 2027.
OTP director Karuna Niamiam said if the ministry gives it the green light, it will be submitted to the cabinet for further approval.
Afterwards, the OTP will create a joint-ticketing fund by gathering income from various sources including the government budget, revenue-sharing from new service operators under the concession agreement, and other donors.
Initially, the OTP will evaluate the amount of money required to support railway system operators, which are already facing falling revenues calculated at an average of 1.5 billion baht each last year.
The OTP asked the government to allocate a budget of around 40 million baht for fiscal 2023 to employ a consulting firm to analyse business negotiations and the merits and sums of a common fare for a joint-ticketing system, Mr Karuna said.
Afterwards, the OTP will request a budget of about 1.6 billion baht for fiscal 2024 to carry out a study on setting up a firm to manage the ticketing system, as well as developing a Central Clearing House (CCH), he added.
The OTP projects that people will be able to access the joint-ticketing system with a standard fare by 2027 to help ease their financial burden. The OTP will negotiate with those firms that currently own the train concession and ask them to join the CCH so the compensation can be distributed fairly.
Under the ministry's policy, firms will be encouraged to collect fares through the OTP's CCH system. An initial study suggested fares in Bangkok should start at 14 baht and be capped at 42 baht, while the maximum fare for cross-system travel should be 65 baht.
