Pichit Akrathit said the micro-buses were required to be large enough to accommodate 20 passengers. The passenger vans on Thailand’s roads current are only capable of carrying 10 passengers.
The State Transport Company says it will be launching 13 micro-bus routes in the near future and will be utilising 55 vehicles. The first two to launch will be from Bangkok to the central Thailand towns of Saraburi and Ayutthaya.
Mr Akrathit said passenger van operators had been given a 10-year deadline to phase out their current fleets. He carried on by saying all passenger vans will be required to undergo safety inspections and also had to have GPS systems installed by the 31 March 2017.
The new law is a governmental initiative to improve safety on public transport in the country. 12GO ASIA offers reservations services for passenger vans. When the new micro-bus routes come online we will add these to the portfolio.
Thailand public passenger vans to be scrapped
News in Asia
The Thai government has enacted legislation which will see the country’s public passenger vans consigned to history. The nation’s deputy-transport-minister told reporters yesterday that no new licences would be issued for vans currently on the road and they would be replaced with larger micro-buses.