"It affects low-income earners," said commuter Preeyanuch Jenpitakchai.

She said the government should subsidise bus fares to help people cope with the rapidly rising cost of living.

Another passenger, Chayanich Sirinootboonchai, said raising fares in response to rising fuel prices was not the right solution.

"The government needs to help people on low incomes," she said.

Tanapat Kukutpat, a 26-year-old employee at CC Asia Company, said the new fares directly affected his life because he now had to take a detour that cost him more time but saved him some travelling expense.

"I have to do this because the bus fare keeps rising while my salary stays the same," he said.

The fare on non-air-conditioned Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) buses is now Bt7, while a ride on its air-conditioned buses costs between Bt11 and Bt19 depending on the distance travelled. Only the fares on the Euro-standard buses, fuelled by natural gas, remain unchanged at between Bt12 and Bt22, depending on the distance travelled.

The BMTA is a state agency that operates bus services in Bangkok and its adjacent pro-vinces, and also issues licences to bus operators.

The fares on concessionaires' bus fleets are different from BMTA.

Siriporn Mek-ngarmfa, 46, complained she already found it impossible to keep her travelling expenses below Bt50 a day as the bus fares were climbing so fast.

"If I have only Bt10 I can only take one bus ride," she said.

Onnida Apitapsatit

The Nation