Suchinda Cherdchai said the scheme will see no-frills bus services launched which will be air-conditioned, but passengers will not be provided with snacks or drinks for the journey. She continued by saying that this would enable bus companies to reduce fares.
The president added that the association’s members still had to agree on the proposals before they could be formally submitted to the Thai Transport Ministry. She finished off by saying that bus companies needed to be more competitive as they had lost up to 40 per cent of their passengers to low-cost-airlines in the past few years.
Passengers who book airline tickets well in advance do not pay much more than the price of a VIP fare for the same route. Air fares to domestic Thai locations such as Surathani or Chiang Mai start at about THB1,000 while a premium-class bus ticket is THB800. Passengers say the extra cost of flying is worth it for the one-hour travel time compared with more than eight hours by bus.
About 90 per cent of Thailand’s inter-city bus services are operated by private companies and the remainder by the state-run Transport Company. The boss of this company says budget airlines have not made inroads on passenger numbers as many of its routes serve destinations without airports.
Thai bus operators to battle budget airlines
News in Asia
A union of Thai bus operators has stated it will battle budget airlines to win back passengers. The Interprovincial Bus Operators Association’s president says that members have worked out a plan that will see buses work on the same model as their rivals.