‘Suriya’ ordered the Department of Land Transport to call for 13,426 public buses, both regular and non-regular, that are equipped with gas to be inspected within 60 days, along with overhauling the taxi system, training drivers and employees, and amending the Sangha Council law. It is expected that next week, money will be transferred to the families of the deceased and injured.
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said he has ordered the Department of Land Transport to set measures, namely for the Department of Land Transport to call all 13,426 public buses, both regular and non-regular, that use CNG fuel for inspection within 60 days.
And to raise the standards of public bus transportation operations to inspect the condition and look at the service, have the Department of Land Transport integrate with the Ministry of Education and educational institutions nationwide. In the case of renting or chartering a bus to use the service, coordinate with the provincial transport
office to inspect safety before every trip.
Drivers and passengers must be trained and tested in passenger assistance incident response courses. Laws and regulations will be issued for operators to use emergency response information when using the service, similar to airlines. Before departure, the staff on the bus must provide instructions, operating procedures, and emergency points on the bus so that passengers can be prepared. In the event of an accident, the situation can be resolved. Importantly, the design of the bus will need to be reviewed to see if there are appropriate numbers of seats or exits. Even long-distance drivers should be added to ensure that there are two drivers at the same time. This is an opportunity to revise the system because in the past, when it was necessary to issue mandatory measures, operators would beg, refuse, or protest. If this opportunity is used to raise
the level,
As for whether or not it would be a concern if operators reasoned that if they were to cancel the use of
CNG vehicles, it was because of the expensive fuel problem, which caused public transport operators to switch to installing gas systems, Mr. Suriya said that it would not be canceled, but rather the vehicles would be inspected for safety issues, such as weak points that could cause explosions, such as joints that connect to gas tanks. After this, the Department of Land Transport will look at the buses that had accidents with the other two vehicles, and will use measures to design and enforce various measures to ensure safety in the future.
As for the compensation approved by the government for the bus fire incident, Mr. Suriya said that the insurance company that the Ministry of Transport is now requiring to insure the deceased will receive 1,000,000 baht. As for the additional money today, after he had a meeting with the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister, the Disaster Relief Fund will give an additional 1,000,000 baht per person, and there will be money from the Ministry of Justice. In
total, compensation will be 2,400,000 baht. Those who were seriously injured will receive 700,000 baht and those who were slightly injured 200,000 baht. At present, the Ministry of Education has been contacted to investigate which students have been affected and will transfer the money next week to both those who died and were seriously injured.
Source: Thai News Agency