Clearing house planned for mass-transit ticket
The Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning Office will propose that the government set up a clearing house to support the Common Ticket Project, which will allow commuters to carry one ticket for access to transport across the board.
According to deputy director-general Pranote Suriya, both mass transit operators - Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) for the Skytrain and BMCL for the underground train - have agreed to use a common ticket. Both companies will set up their software systems to support the one ticket. But they proposed that the government set up a clearing house that would allocate benefits to both firms. Pranote said the Bank of Thailand was also interested in supporting the technology to set up a clearing house. "If the clearing house is complete, that will be a convenience for passengers who use both systems, allowing them a lower price when the common ticket comes into use," he said. Currently, BTS records 400,000 trips a day and BMCL 200,000. If the common ticket comes into use and the five new railway routes start to operate, this will boost travel up to 2.5 million trips a day, Pranote said.
Watcharapong Thongrung
The Nation
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