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Siripong proposes EV conversion for 600,000 public vehicles

Siripong proposes EV conversion for 600,000 public vehicles

Thansettakij•Economy•27m ago

Reader Briefing

Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat presented a plan to the House of Representatives to use loan budgets to transition seven groups of public vehicles to electric power.

  • •Siripong Angkasakulkiat proposed converting approximately 600,000 public vehicles into EVs to reduce oil price volatility and carbon emissions.
  • •The plan targets seven specific vehicle groups that directly impact citizens, excluding BMTA buses which have a separate budget.
  • •The Ministry of Transport estimates that 100% project participation would be equivalent to planting 19 million trees per year.

Overview

  • •Siripong Angkasakulkiat stated the project is necessary because fuel prices are a major cost affecting transportation and goods prices for citizens.
  • •The Ministry of Transport targets seven vehicle groups for EV conversion: taxis, RY.18 registered vehicles, public motorcycles, tuk-tuks, regular buses, non-regular buses, and student transport/trucks.
  • •The plan includes 29,000 taxis expiring between 2026-2029 and 68,000 public motorcycles over 10 years old.
  • •Siripong Angkasakulkiat clarified that BMTA buses are not included in the urgent loan request because they have a separate budget for 1,520 vehicles starting March 2027.
  • •Full implementation of the plan is estimated to reduce overall oil consumption by 212 million liters per year.
  • •Siripong Angkasakulkiat asserted that the project aims to increase safety for passengers by replacing old, sub-standard vehicles.
  • •The proposal was brought to the House of Representatives for consideration following a legal review process by the court.

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Source: Thansettakij (Original)

Key Quotes

Siripong Angkasakulkiat
"does not have urgent necessity"
ไม่ได้มีความจำเป็นเร่งด่วน
Siripong Angkasakulkiat
"increase safety and welfare"
เพิ่มสวัสดิภาพความปลอดภัย

Key Entities

Person

Siripong Angkasakulkiat(สิริพงศ์ อังคสกุลเกียรติ)
Deputy Minister of Transport who presented the EV vehicle transition plan to the House of Representatives.
Anutin Charnvirakul(อนุทิน ชาญวีรกูล)ℹ️
The Prime Minister who established guidelines for the Ministry of Transport to freeze passenger and transport service fares.

Organization

Ministry of Transport(กระทรวงคมนาคม)ℹ️
The government ministry proposing the EV conversion project and managing the transition of public vehicles.
House of Representatives(สภาผู้แทนราษฎร)ℹ️
The legislative body where the EV conversion project and loan budget were discussed.
BMTA(ขสมก.)
The public bus operator whose vehicles are handled under a separate budget rather than the urgent loan project.

Law

Emergency Decree on Loan Budget(พ.ร.ก.กู้เงิน)
The legal instrument used to request budget for the urgent transition of public vehicles to EV.