Bangkok, Oct 22 – Most people do not agree with the idea of ??’collecting a traffic congestion fee’ of 50 baht per vehicle to fill the infrastructure fund so that everyone can use the ’20 baht electric train all the way’.
After the announcement of the serious move forward with the policy of “20 baht electric train all routes” by the Pheu Thai Party government under the leadership of Prime Minister Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, this policy was initiated since the government of former Prime Minister Mr. Settha Thavisin, which the clarity of this policy from Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, who announced that it will definitely move forward on all routes with a clear schedule within “September 2025”.
The Ministry of Finance has started studying the concept of collecting a ‘Congestion Charge’ in the areas of Bangkok, Sukhumvit, Ratchadaphisek and Silom, to solve traffic congestion problems and encourage people to use public services that are cheap and accessible as t
heir main route. These areas have a traffic volume of approximately 700,000 vehicles per day. This concept was inspired by countries that have implemented it and achieved success, such as the UK, Singapore, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Germany and the US. The revenue from this collection will be included in the infrastructure fund, and will be collected at an increasing rate, for example, in the first 5 years, it will collect 50 baht per vehicle. It is expected that this revenue will be approximately 10 billion baht per year, and all of the revenue will be used to buy back the electric train concession from the private sector so that the government can charge 20 baht per person for electric train fares along the entire line.
From the Thai News Agency team’s field visit to Ratchadaphisek Road, which is a road with heavy traffic and is one of the routes where traffic tolls will be collected, it was found that people who regularly use this road expressed their disagreement with the policy because it will cause people
who make a living on this road to suffer from the daily toll of 50 baht. If they have to sell things on this road every day, they will have to pay an additional 1,500 baht per month. Therefore, they do not agree with the government’s policy. The government should find money from other sources to replace the traffic tolls instead of collecting them from the people.
Mr. Samart Rachapolsit, former Deputy Governor of Bangkok for Civil Engineering and Traffic, was interviewed on Channel 9, press 30, saying that he agreed with reducing the electric train fare by 20 baht per person for the entire route, similar to what was done on the Red and Purple Lines. As for the Green Line, Blue Line, Pink Line, and Yellow Line, if the fare is to be 20 baht for the entire route, the MRTA will have to pay 8 billion baht in compensation to the private sector per year, of which the MRTA has approximately 24 billion baht from the revenue sharing from the concession, which will only be paid for 2-3 years. Therefore, it is necessary
to see whether to collect traffic fees or whether to buy back the electric train concession worth approximately 200 billion baht, because some electric train lines do not need to be bought back because their concessions are about to expire. This policy has been discussed for a long time, but no one dares to do it because it will affect the votes. In addition, if this policy is actually implemented, how will the traffic fee be collected? Because Bangkok has many alleys and small streets, people who know the routes will avoid paying the fees. As for people who have houses on the roads where the fees will be collected, what will they do? And when will the fees be collected? We will have to look at the details and conclusions again.
However, Mr. Laworn Sangsanit, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, previously reiterated that this is just an idea and is ready to discuss with the Ministry of Transport to find a source of funds to implement this policy, which will have many approaches to raising funds.
The proposal to collect a fee for driving into the city in the first 5 years of 40-50 baht per trip, “This is just one of the approaches that the Ministry of Transport has proposed. The current status has not been concluded. After this, there will have to be continuous discussions to find the most appropriate approach as soon as possible,” said the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. -513-Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agencyl