Commuters using the electric trains on the Blue, Yellow, and Pink lines in the Bangkok Metropolitan area will face a maximum fare of 20 baht by June 2025, as announced by the Transport Ministry last Thursday.
Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit reported on the progress of the government’s plan to enforce a 20-baht fare cap across all electric train routes in the capital by September 2025.
Since October of the previous year, a 20-baht fare cap has been in effect on the Purple Line and Red Line trains.
Suriya, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister, stated that the Blue Line, Pink Line (stretching from Khae Rai to Min Buri stations), and Yellow Line (from Lat Phrao to Samrong stations) will adopt the 20-baht fare cap by next June.
He assured that the fare cap would not disrupt existing concession agreements with private operators, as the government, through the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), is in talks with concessionaires to offset revenue losses.
According to Suriya, the expected compensation of about 8 billion baht annually will likely be sourced from a new fund supported by the government’s budget, the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund, and MRTA’s revenue.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the ministry is developing a joint-ticket bill to enable commuters to use a single ticket or card across the public transport network and at select shops and service providers.
“Currently, only the train lines under MRTA’s supervision can be capped at 20 baht,” Suriya explained. “As for train lines under other operators, such as the Green Line, they can join the policy after the joint-ticket bill takes effect, which should occur within 2025.”
The Green Line is managed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and operated by BTS Group Holdings.
Additionally, Suriya highlighted that since the introduction of the 20-baht fare cap seven months ago, the Red Line has attracted 6.21 million passengers, marking a 27.61% increase over the same period in 2023, while the Purple Line has seen 14.29 million passengers, an increase of 11.53% year-over-year.
The ministry projects an annual revenue loss of 300 million baht for the Red and Purple lines as a result of implementing the 20-baht fare cap policy.
