public Bus fares likely to come down soon

Public bus operators are ready to cut fares as the price of diesel has fallen sharply from its July peak of Bt44 per litre.

Suchinda Cherdchai, president of the association of inter-provincial bus operators, yesterday said inter-provincial fares could be cut by three satang per kilometre, if diesel stayed at Bt28 a litre. The price of diesel seems likely to be stable for some time.

She said she would seek a meeting with Transport Minister Santi Prompat to propose the establishment of a working committee to formulate a standard fare structure. As the structure should take into account changing oil prices, this would be fairer to bus operators, which have found it difficult in the past to raise fares to match increases in fuel prices.

Land Transport Department director-general Chairat Sanguansue yesterday said the agency would closely monitor diesel oil prices over the next two weeks before deciding whether bus fares should be cut.

He said that when diesel exceeded Bt29 a litre, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) and Transport Co were both allowed to raise fares. If their fuel costs remained below Bt29 a litre in the next two weeks, there would be a meeting to discuss a fare cut.  

Oil prices have been declining amid an expected fall in demand for fuel following the global economic slowdown.

Retailers have today cut the prices of all petrol products except E85 by 40 satang per litre, and diesel by 60 satang a litre. 95-octane petrol is now Bt36.39, gasohol 95 Bt26.49, 91-octane petrol Bt33.39, gasohol 91 Bt25.69, B2 diesel Bt27.54 and B5 diesel Bt26.84.

Over the past three months, retail petrol prices have dropped by Bt12.70 per litre and diesel by Bt16.70.

Yesterday, oil prices plummeted to a one-year low of below US$83 (Bt2,857) a barrel in European trading as investor fears of a severe global economic downturn caused by the crisis in credit markets sparked a panic sell-off of both crude oil and equities.

Pichet Jiamburaset, president of the Thai Bus Business Association, said private bus operators in Bangkok were also willing to cut fares if diesel declined to Bt27.15 per litre and looked to be staying at that level for a while.

He said the association would submit a fare-cut proposal to the Land Transport Department when diesel hit Bt27.15. Operators would then slash fares immediately.

He added that it would help bus operators if the BMTA were to reduce the monthly fees levied on private buses, which are Bt15,000 to Bt40,000 per vehicle. The fees are too high, he said.