Authority to get tough on bus firms
Following Tuesday's bus crash in Saraburi, the state-owned Transport Co, which operates the inter-city bus service, will "get tougher" on all bus companies and will give Bt10,000 initial assistance money to each of the victims' families, a senior official said yesterday.
Following talks with executives of Sri Sa-nguan Yanyont Co, Wuttichat Kanlayanamit, the managing director of the Transport Co, said he had ordered Sri Sanguan Yanyont to halt its Bangkok-Ubon Ratchathani service for one week pending an investigation into the company's history and a check of its entire fleet of buses. Piyapan Jampasut, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, will chair a Transport Co board meeting to consider punishment for the company. It may revoke the company's licence if it is shown to have a record of careless accidents in the past. According to the initial investigation yesterday, the accident was caused by human error, as the driver reportedly knew the brakes failed to work properly but didn't ask the company to find a another bus to transport passengers. Wuttichart said the Transport Co will initially pay Bt10,000 to each victim or their family. The victims will eventually receive compensation from the operator's insurance and the government amounting to Bt400,000 for each dead victim and Bt250,000 for each of the injured.
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