BANGKOK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) will cut fares of its Purple Line railway by 30 percent on Sept. 1 to attract commuters as present passenger traffic reached only one-fifth of its target.
The minimum fare would remain at 14 baht, but additional fares charged at every station further on will be halved from two to one baht per station, said MRTA board chairman Yodyuth Boonyatikarn after a meeting with Purple line concessionaire on Wednesday, adding that the discounts would be available only for commuters using prepaid ticket cards.
A fare for the whole 16-station Purple Line from Nonthaburi province to Bangkok will thus fall by 31 percent from 42 to 29 baht.
The MRTA also decided to halve parking fees around Purple Line stations from 10 to 5 baht per two hours and from 1,000 to 500 baht a month.
Yodyuth said he hoped the discounts would raise the number of Purple Line passengers by 30 percent, adding that MRTA will also introduce free wi-fi, beverage shops to stations and arrange shuttle buses from stations to nearby communities.
Opened to pubic on Aug. 6, the 23-kilometre-long Purple Line welcomes only 20,000 passengers per day, which is only one-fifth of MRTA's target. To address the lack of passengers, MRTA had a meeting with Purple Line concessionaire Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM) on Wednesday.
Yodyuth attributed the lack of passengers to the one-kilometre "missing link" to the Blue Line, high fares, and some incomplete services.
According to him, the fare discount will continue until the southernmost Tao Poon station of suburban Purple Line is linked with the northern end of the Inner-Bangkok Blue Line at Bang Sue, which is set to be complete in 2017.
