After visiting the BMTA yesterday, Theera said the body's services would improve despite its debts of Bt11.4 billion, Bt10 billion of which was from fuel charges and Bt1.4 billion from maintenance expenditures.

"This means the BMTA is losing an average of Bt500 a month, or Bt6 billion a year, because it has no rehabilitation plan," said the former general.

He said the Transport Ministry would soon submit its financial plan for the BMTA to the Cabinet.

The authority's heavy losses have been incurred from its mounting debts.

Theera said the plan proposed the Cabinet scrap the purchase of 2,000 vehicles that run on natural gas for vehicles (NGV) under a deal concluded by the previous government.

To reduce costs, the Transport Ministry will change the diesel-fuelled engines of existing buses to NGV, he said.

Newly appointed BMTA managing director Pinetr Puapatanakul said the Transport Minister told him to draw up a rehabilitation plan to resolve the organisation's debts. Pinetr said, "The rehabilitation plan will have to be finalised before this year's fiscal budget ends."

He said the BMTA would focus on improving services in the short term and that once that was achieved, passengers would be willing to pay increased bus fares.

After all buses have been converted to run on NGV, the BMTA's expenses will be reduced Bt1.5 billion a year, Pinetre said.

Bidding to convert buses to NGV will be open to the private sector, the body's boss said.

"No monopolisation will be allowed in the process," Pinetre said.

The BMTA plans to bring in an electronic-ticket system for all bus routes. This will be linked to the electric-train network and should be more convenient for commuters.

Pinetre said the BMTA would increase the number of its bus routes, spreading into smaller streets to accommodate more commuters.

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation