Transport company to spend 2 billion baht on about 400 new buses

BANGKOK, Feb 16 (TNA) -- The transport minister urges Transport Co to connect its terminals to railways while the state enterprise plans to spend 2 billion baht on about 400 new buses. Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith visited state-run Transport Co and learned that the state enterprise posted a profit of 16 million baht last fiscal year compared with its loss-ridden operation in fiscal 2016. Transport Co expects a profit of 120 million baht in this fiscal year as it already showed a 35-million-baht profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 thanks to the improvement of its existing inter-provincial buses. The minister said he urged Transport Co to modernise its ticketing system and improve its bus terminals that, for example, should be connected to railways. Jirasak Yaowatsakul, President of Transport Co, said the 2017 profit resulted from considerable cost reduction and rising income from parcel deliveries and bus maintenance and test services. He also said that Transport Co planned to spend 2.17 billion baht to acquire 378 new buses and most of them would be rented. The delivery of new buses would start late next year. Mr Jirasak added that Transport Co would ask the Comptroller-General’s Department to install more welfare card readers at its bus terminals to serve card holders. There are welfare card readers at 129 locations in its bus terminals and Transport Co sought the equipment at 20 more locations, he said. (TNA)