BMTA issued a statement explaining the case of the Prime Minister to delay the project to hire 224 EV buses worth 953 million baht, reiterating the need for new cars increase the efficiency of public service as well as accelerating the progress to solve the loss from the cost of services that do not correspond to the revenue
June 1, 2022 – News report from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) clarified the case that the news was presented in the case of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, has asked to postpone the project to hire 224 electric buses (EVs) for pilots worth 953 million baht, which may bypass the Board (Boards) of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDB) to inspect It said that at present, BMTA has 2,885 buses and has 107 routes in service, and is in the process of preparing a plan to rehabilitate the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority because in the past, BMTA experienced a loss from service costs. inconsistent with the income received There are continual liabilities of approximately 124,000 million baht and the existing buses of the BMTA have deteriorated conditions. This causes a lot of maintenance and maintenance costs, about 1.6 billion baht per year.
In addition, in accordance with the rules for packing buses to apply for a license to be an operator from the Department of Land Transport requires that a new vehicle or a vehicle that has been registered for no more than 2 years be included in the license within 1 year counting. From the date of obtaining the operating permit, BMTA has an urgent need to procure buses. because there is no new car packed according to such conditions In addition, if the vehicle cannot be packed in time within the specified period, it may result in the BMTA losing its right to be a bus operator, which is the main mission of the organization. including not being able to provide equal services to all citizens especially those with low to middle income Which is the majority of people who use the bus service of the BMTA.
For the matter of procuring buses in a chartered service method instead of buying or renting a bus, BMTA would like to clarify on this issue that outsourcing (private providing buses and drivers) is the use of operating budget from fares. Fuel cost difference (From diesel fuel to electric system), the difference in repair costs is reduced. including the cost of hiring personnel to operate the vehicle without using additional investment budget for the operation no need to borrow more money and is not a long-term obligation because it is an urgent work plan
This is to solve the critical problem of BMTA by means of a short-term contract. while waiting for the rehabilitation plan to be approved to proceed In terms of procurement of buses by means of subcontracting services, BMTA is based on the principle of classification of budget expenditures according to budgets in the category of expenses. That means the expenditure for obtaining services. (Wages for service for the contractor to do any one of the things that are in the responsibility of the contractor But it is not an assembly, modification, addition or improvement. land and construction equipment) according to the letter of the Bureau of Budget No. NorNor 0704/Wor 33 dated January 18, 2010. However, under the scope of operations in this project Its main objectives are to increase the efficiency of bus management and to reduce pollution in the urban area, as well as to solve the problems of the BMTA, as mentioned above. which needs about 200 buses without investment budget because it is not an expense for the creation of fixed assets Therefore, it does not fall under the rules and procedures relating to the investment budget of state enterprises B.E. 2563 and Section 7 (5) of the National Economic and Social Development Council Act B.E. 2561
However, from the meeting of the State Enterprise Policy Committee (Public Organization) on 22 last june Mr. Saksiam Chidchob, Minister of Transport Has instructed the BMTA to expedite the implementation of the meeting resolutions and all the observations made at the meeting. to be completed as quickly as possible in order to support the service to the people with efficiency and to give the people the highest satisfaction both on the issue of improving the rehabilitation plan of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority to be in line with the current situation and consulting with the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDB) to ensure transparency, clarity, and verifiability in order to strictly adhere to good governance.
