Single tickets to be introduced for Bangkok mass transit systems

BANGKOK, May 15 (TNA) - The Office of the Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) says a single ticketing service should be launched for commuters in Greater Bangkok later this year. OTP Director-General Chaiwat Thongkamkoon told journalists on May 14 that he believed the single ticketing service could be introduced to commuters in Bangkok and peripheral provinces by October 1. Under the new service, Chaiwat noted, commuters in Greater Bangkok will be able to first use single tickets for passenger buses and electric train systems, run by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA), Bangkok Mass Transit System Public Company Limited (BTS) and the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). The OTP chief stressed that the new service should first serve the public in Bangkok and surrounding areas as of October 1, 2017, the beginning of the 2018 fiscal year, as targeted by the government. The OTP chief reasoned that the Thai government plans to revoke the existing all-out free services for both passenger buses and economy-class trains by the targeted date to provide the free bus and train rides to only registered low income earners who are screened and approved by the administration. According to the OTP chief, the single ticketing service will be expanded to train passengers in the future. (TNA)