City bus agency to test new buses on March 14

BANGKOK, March 2 (TNA) -- The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) begins the process of accepting new natural gas-fueled buses this month and will start to test them on streets on March 14. Prayoon Chuaikaeo, acting BMTA director, said BMTA officials were inspecting 36 new buses supplied by Cho Thavee Plc. One hundred new buses will have been imported next week. The imports consist of bus bodies, engines, air-conditioners, transmission gears and gas cylinders. Then 25 Chinese and 66 Thai engineers will assemble the buses and test them. BMTA finds nothing wrong from its initial bus inspection. Of the new 100 buses, two would be tested on Bangkok streets under real service conditions between 5am and 10pm. The test is scheduled on March 14-16. New buses will be gradually deployed for public service on 25 routes from March 22 onwards. The BMTA expects to accept all 489 gas-fueled buses within June. Regarding the earlier reports that eight buses were damaged after they arrived at the Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri province, Mr Prayoon said there was not a problem because the supplier promised to repair them within two days. (TNA)