The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is preparing to roll out 1,520 electric buses under a seven-year, 14.9 billion baht lease agreement with Nakhonchai Air Co, Ltd, with the first deliveries expected by the end of March 2027.
BMTA Director Kittikan Chomdoung Charuworapolkul visited the production line of Absolute Assembly Company Limited (AAB) in Chachoengsao province yesterday, September 2, to inspect progress on the buses, which are being manufactured and assembled by NEX Point Public Company Limited on Nakhonchai Air’s behalf.
Kittikan said the transition would raise standards of passenger convenience, safety and environmental performance, while helping resolve the BMTA’s long-standing debt problems. He said the organisation expects to cut its operating costs by around 4.1 billion baht a year once the new fleet and supporting systems are fully in place.
Core components for the first 40 buses have already reached the assembly plant, which has a maximum production capacity of 15 buses a day, although the BMTA has set a minimum target of 12 a day.
Two demonstration buses have been completed to test safety systems, road handling and driver training, with a third inspected prototype due to be put on public display and made available for staff to test-drive on September 24, marking the BMTA’s 50th anniversary.
The first batch of 500 buses is due by the end of March 2027, followed by a second batch of 500 by the end of April 2027, with the final 520 buses arriving by late May 2027. The buses will replace Bangkok’s non-air-conditioned “cream and red” buses on a one-for-one basis, forming part of the government’s policy to shift the fleet entirely to air-conditioned, clean-energy vehicles.
In the first phase, the new buses will be deployed across nearly 50 of the 107 routes currently under reform, with a focus on inner-city loop routes such as the 191 (Ratchadaphisek–Ramkhamhaeng) and central business districts including Silom, Bang Rak, Khlong Toei and Rama IV, as well as routes connecting to the suburbs.
These routes carry an average of 550,000 to 650,000 passengers a day on weekdays and 300,000 to 400,000 on holidays. Fares are expected to range from about 15 to 25 baht, in line with Department of Land Transport conditions for air-conditioned buses, while the government considers ways to ease costs for passengers through an integrated fare system and the state welfare card.
Kittikan said the BMTA has also prepared a second phase covering a further 800 buses, worth more than 8 billion baht, currently under consideration by the House of Representatives as part of a seven-year budget commitment running from 2027 to 2033.
He said the second phase should move more quickly, since it will use the same model and conditions as the first, with buses expected to enter service by 2028.
The BMTA has previously struggled with accumulated debt and losses, driven in part by maintenance contracts for its ageing fleet costing more than 2 billion baht a year and diesel fuel costs of around 1.8 billion baht a year.
Under the new leasing arrangement, using lightweight, durable monocoque-bodied buses suited to urban traffic conditions, maintenance responsibility shifts to the leasing company, while electricity costs are expected to run about 60% lower than diesel, cutting fuel-related costs to around 800 million baht a year.
Combined with new fleet management technology expected to cut personnel costs by a further 900 million baht, the BMTA forecasts total savings of up to 4.1 billion baht a year, which it said would help put its finances on a more sustainable footing. The buses will also come fitted with CCTV cameras and GPS tracking systems to improve safety monitoring.
Each bus is fitted with a rooftop battery, three emergency exits and universal-design features for accessibility, and takes around three hours to charge. The BMTA is developing 12 depots and charging stations to support the new fleet.
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