The cabinet has approved a seven-year EV bus leasing scheme for Bangkok, with an estimated cost of 15.35 billion baht.
The plan was proposed by the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA). It originally proposed to purchase new natural gas-powered buses to replace 1,520 ageing diesel-engine buses.
Tuesday’s cabinet resolution reverses a decision passed in 2012, which approved a previous BMTA proposal to procure up to 3,183 NGV buses at a cost of 13.2 billion baht, said Anukool Pruksanusak, a deputy government spokesman.
Of the 15.35 billion baht now required for the new EV bus leasing project, 10.1 billion will be allocated for bus rental costs, 3.2 billion baht for maintenance and 967 million baht will be for charging stations, he said.
A total of 368.4 million baht has been earmarked for the programme in the current fiscal year ending on Sept 30, with the remainder to be drawn from tied-over budgets from fiscal years 2026 to 2031, he said.
the BMTA has projected that the leasing scheme will generate 52.65 billion baht in revenue over the seven-year period, with income expected to come mainly from bus fares and onboard advertising.
The projected profit over the same period is 19.85 billion baht.