Bangkok, 8 October – The Department of Land Transport, in response to government policy, the Ministry of Transport has issued a department announcement requiring bus operators using CNG and LPG gas nationwide to bring their vehicles in for inspection at the Bangkok Transport Office, Areas 1-5, Provincial Transport Offices, or Provincial Transport Office Branches from today until 30 November 2024 to build confidence among people using public transport services.
The Department of Land Transport is pushing forward with the highest safety measures for buses equipped with CNG and LPG by issuing the Department of Land Transport’s announcement on the criteria and methods for inspecting vehicles according to the conditions in the transport operation license for vehicles used to transport passengers using compressed natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas as fuel, B.E. 2567, to require operators of CNG and LPG passenger vehicles nationwide to bring their vehicles for inspection at the Bangkok Transport Office, Areas
1-5, Provincial Transport Offices, or Provincial Transport Office branches. The vehicle inspection standards must pass the checklist, such as equipment and accessories must be strong and stable, not damaged, such as the gas tank must not be dented, swollen, or corroded. The steel tank clamps and screws holding the tank legs must be firmly and strongly fastened. The gas tank must not have expired by the date specified by the manufacturer. The gas tank number and number of gas tanks must match those listed in the department’s vehicle inspection system. Safety equipment must also be checked, including emergency doors, emergency exits, entry and exit doors, seat belts, glass hammers, and fire extinguishers, which must be of the correct size, number, and installation, and ready for use. If a passenger vehicle that comes in for inspection fails the inspection, such as the gas tanks being expired or the number of tanks not matching those listed in the department’s inspection system, If the equipment and accessories
are damaged, gas leaks are detected, and overweight is detected, the Department of Land Transport will spray a message prohibiting use until the vehicle is repaired and properly inspected again, then the vehicle can be put back into use.
The Department of Land Transport has urged operators to bring their passenger vehicles in for inspection from today until November 30, 2024, free of charge. Operators who are ready can make an appointment for an inspection in advance at the Bangkok Transport Office, Area 1-5, the Provincial Transport Office, or the Provincial Transport Office Branch to solve traffic congestion problems and for convenience and speed. In the case of making an appointment for a vehicle inspection at the Bangkok Transport Office, Area 5, the passenger vehicle can wait in line to be called for an inspection at Bang Sue Central Station, which has received cooperation from the State Railway of Thailand to facilitate the provision of such parking space.
For the inspection of passenger vehicles in t
he Bangkok area, due to the large number of vehicles, the Department of Land Transport has prepared a management plan for vehicles that come in for inspection to alleviate traffic congestion as follows:
1. Large non-regular passenger vehicles (CNG) + vans/minibuses, non-regular and regular (CNG) only in Bangkok, must complete the inspection by October 31, 2024.
Large public buses (CNG buses) must have their vehicle inspections completed by 30 November 2024.
Vehicles equipped with (LPG) must have their vehicle inspection completed by 30 November 2024.
In this regard, the Department of Land Transport has coordinated with the Ministry of Education in the case that schools will organize field trips and travel by bus, requesting cooperation to refrain from using buses in the said group for travel until this bus inspection measure is completed for safety, including integration with the Ministry of Education, educational institutions nationwide, in the case that it is necessary to use chartered vehicles or non-r
egular buses (30) to take students on field trips or travel outside the area, requesting that educational institutions and related agencies coordinate with the provincial transport office to inspect the readiness of the vehicles and rehearse safety measures before every trip. -513-Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency