Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai government has revealed a plan to expand Bangkok’s public transportation routes and set up a single ticket system to simplify transit.
Under the proposed system, riders could use elevated trains, subways, buses, and boats with a single ticket, similar to the ways things work in Hong Kong and London.
The original plan calls for the construction of 10 mass-transit rail lines in Bangkok and surrounding provinces with a distance of 410km will start within four years and work will be completed between 2015 and 2019, the Bangkok Post reported.
The rail lines will cost a total of THB397 million.
Currently only the Airport Rail Link is completed and running, while the Light Red Line extension from Bang Sue to Taling Chan is 85 percent complete.
The other eight are in the planning stage.
Transport Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat said that the ministry had worked out a flat-rate ticket price of THB20 for all public transportation, but refused to elaborate further.
Sukumpol brushed off concerns that the BTS Skytrain may be difficult to integrate into the system as it is controlled by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority which is run by rival Democrats.
Before the lines are built traffic is set to worsen in Bangkok with more cars on the road, and the construction will only create more jams.
Meanwhile, land prices in the areas around the BTS Skytrain’s eastern extensions have jumper nearly 40 percent in the last four years.
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