The Ministry of Transport is set to propose to the Cabinet on 26 Oct 2023 the implementation of a metro fare of 17 to 45 baht, along with a 5.8 billion baht central budget to compensate the fare difference. Eligibility requires people to register EMV cards through the "Pao Tang" app only. After discussions with Krungthai Bank, it was confirmed that the system cannot support Rabbit cards.
Mr. Siripong Angkasunkulkiat, Deputy Minister of Transport, revealed after the 2/2569 meeting of the Steering Committee on Metro Fare Policy to reduce citizens' living costs today (21 Oct) that the meeting concluded on pushing this policy following the Cabinet report on 20 Oct. He acknowledged that the Single Ticket Act and Single Ownership principle to transfer all metro projects under the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) management cannot yet proceed as planned.
The Ministry of Transport has summarized three key issues to propose to the Cabinet on 26 October as follows.
1. Reporting on signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for transferring metro management, with the draft MOU currently submitted to the Office of the Attorney General for review.
2. Request to extend the 40 baht flat fare measure. For the Red and Purple metro lines. The extension will be for 1 year and 1 month, ending on 31 Dec 2027.
3. Request for a central budget ceiling not exceeding 5.8 billion baht to support the metro fare measure of 17–45 baht across all lines. This measure will be implemented for 1 year from 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2027. Afterwards, it is expected that the unified ticket and Single Ownership policies will be completed, allowing continuous implementation of the 17–45 baht fare across all routes.
Mr. Siripong added that the proposed central budget ceiling of no more than 5.8 billion baht to the Cabinet is a request for approval to use the budget as a framework for compensating the fare difference under the 17–45 baht measure. Currently, MRTA's budget is allocated to the Orange Line project and is not yet due for subsidy reimbursement. Therefore, this is a ceiling request with actual disbursements based on real usage, not a lump-sum payment.
Furthermore, once the 17–45 baht measure starts, the ministry is confident that passenger volume will exceed private operators' forecasts. The increased passenger volume's fare difference will require operators to pay returns to the government. Thus, it is likely the full 5.8 billion baht will not be used. The criteria for operators' returns to the government will be evaluated about three months after implementation, comparing passenger numbers with the previous year's data.
Regarding eligibility for the 17–45 baht metro fare, the Ministry of Transport confirms it is reserved exclusively for Thai nationals, with these steps and conditions:
Registration. Passengers must register by linking an EMV card (credit or debit Visa or Mastercard) through the "Pao Tang" application.
Payment and refund. Passengers tap their EMV card to enter and exit the metro system, paying the actual fare. The government system will process and transfer the fare difference refund directly to the Pao Tang account within 3 days (T+3).
The system currently does not support Rabbit cards. Initially, because discussions with Krungthai Bank revealed that Rabbit card transactions do not meet Visa's certified data standards. If in the future Rabbit cards meet international standards, they will be allowed to join the system.
Children aged 7 to 15. Since this group can hold the Mangmoom (MRT) card but cannot open their own Pao Tang account, the Ministry of Transport has coordinated with Krungthai Bank to allow guardians to verify identity and link the child's Mangmoom card to the guardian's Pao Tang account to receive refund benefits.
Mr. Siripong also stated that due to the lack of Rabbit card support—commonly used by most Green Line passengers—the ministry has discussed with Krungthai Bank to prepare special payment channels for passengers tapping EMV cards on the Green Line. Additionally, 5 to 6 EMV card readers will be installed per station to ease congestion.
Read more news " Government policy " additional