The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is preparing to thoroughly review the draft contract for the 7-year rental of clean energy (EV) air-conditioned public buses. It is expected that by the end of this month, the authority will invite Nakhon Chai Air Co., Ltd., the winning bidder at 14,905 million baht, to sign the contract.
After the Ministry of Transport presented the bidding results to the Prime Minister and sent the draft contract to the Office of the Attorney General for consideration, the signing of the contract will be completed. This project has been approved for the annual expenditure budget from 2025-2031 by the Cabinet and the Budget Expenditure Act has been promulgated.
Once the contract is signed, the BMTA will require the company to submit a detailed work plan within 30 days. The first batch of 500 buses is expected to be delivered within 300 days or approximately March 2027, which will require time for the delivery of the charging station installation sites and depots, as well as vehicle registration with the Department of Land Transport according to the law, with the full delivery within 360 days or around May 2027.
The BMTA’s clean energy policy and reform plan aim to transition to electric buses, reducing fuel costs and clearing the BMTA’s accumulated debt of over 200 billion baht. The new electric buses will replace the 1,520 decommissioned red-hot buses to provide service to the public.
Various political parties have proposed integrated ticketing system ideas between the electric train and buses with a combined fare collection, such as a 15-baht flat fare, an 8-45 baht combined fare, 20 baht for the electric train and 10 baht for air-conditioned buses, and 5-30 baht for the electric train and buses. The breakeven point for the air-conditioned bus fare is estimated to be around 15-20-25 baht, the same as the current air-conditioned buses. The BMTA can collect fares according to the policies of whichever party forms the government, but if the fares are set lower than the cost, the government should provide clear financial subsidies, or the project’s goals will not be achieved, and the BMTA will not be able to resolve its ongoing losses.
The Cabinet has approved a total investment budget of 15,355.60 million baht, divided into 10,134.70 million baht for vehicle rental, 3,240.03 million baht for maintenance, and 967.4 million baht for electric charging stations, with 368.4 million baht from the approved 2025 budget and the remaining 14,987.2 million baht to be committed in the 2026-2031 budgets. The estimated revenue (fares, advertising) is 52,654.19 million baht, and the estimated expenses (vehicle rental, electric charging station rental) are 32,798.54 million baht, with an expected net profit of 19,855.64 million baht.