Siriphong announced assistance measures for freight and passenger vehicles, with registration open from 16 to 19 April 2026. Payments will be made directly via PromptPay after fare prices were fixed during the Songkran homeward travel period.
At 12:40 pm on 11 April 2026 at the Government House, Siriphong Angkasakulkiat, Deputy Minister of Transport, stated after the Cabinet meeting that the Ministry of Transport, through the Department of Land Transport, proposed to the Cabinet a plan to assist passenger and freight transport operators to alleviate impacts from the conflict in the Middle East. Both sectors are important because freight trucks represent a key cost factor for product prices, production costs, and living expenses.
The Cabinet approved support for freight transport with a budget framework of 1.353 billion baht from the central budget. This fund will support freight transport operators, who are normally registered with the Department of Land Transport. Actual distances will be verified, and payments will be made based on the registered data of freight transport vehicles.
The Cabinet's resolution also expands the support group from about 100,000 operators approved in March to 287,000 now, aiming to reduce operators' burdens and indirectly ease costs for the public. This measure will last until 31 May 2026.
Siriphong said the Cabinet agreed in principle to allow the Ministry of Transport to use funds from the Road Safety Fund, also known as the “Beautiful Number Fund.” Part of this measure is already underway. At bus terminals such as Mo Chit and the new Southern Bus Terminal, passengers can still travel at the same fare prices because the Ministry has used this fund to fix prices, preventing additional burdens on passengers. This fixed fare applies for homebound travel both ways until 19 April before any price adjustments.
Additionally, there are further measures to assist groups including regular buses, vans and minibuses operating interprovincially, vans, minibuses, and songthaews operating within Bangkok, non-regular passenger vehicles, motorcycle taxis both organized stands and app-based, and taxis using fuel. Since fares for these groups are controlled, the government must provide support measures to prevent operators from raising fares on passengers.
These measures will support 287,175 trucks and cover all types of public hire vehicles totaling 183,302 units, assisting a total of 460,000 operators. Registration for these benefits will be open from 16 to 19 April 2026. All operators will receive direct financial support through PromptPay. Details on subsidy amounts by vehicle type will be presented later by the Ministry of Transport in an infographic.