‘Surapong’ ordered the Department of Land Transport to inspect all 13,426 public buses, both regular and non-regular, that use CNG fuel (data as of 30 September 2024) to have their vehicles inspected within 60 days or by November. All vehicles must be inspected.
Mr. Surapong Piyachote, Deputy Minister of Transport, discussed the case of a school bus fire near the Anusawari Interchange on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, with Mr. Chirut Wisanjit, Director-General of the Department of Land Transport, and executives of the Department of Land Transport.
Mr. Surapong revealed that on October 1, 2024 at approximately 12.08 p.m., an accident occurred involving a non-regular passenger bus with registration number 30-0423 Singburi (a single-decker bus with air conditioning) carrying 45 students and teachers traveling from Uthai Thani Province. When it reached the scene on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in front of Zeer Rangsit, the vehicle lost control and hit a sedan and skidded against the barrier in the middle of Vibhavadi Road.
Then, a severe fire broke out, damaging the entire vehicle, resulting in 23 deaths and 3 injuries. The passenger vehicle involved in the accident was a single-decker bus, standard 1 (B), air conditioning. Most recently, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) has cancelled the operations of all operators of the vehicles involved in the accident. The Deputy Minister of Transport has issued the following orders:
Let the Transport Department call all 13,426 public buses, both regular and non-regular, that use CNG fuel (data as of 30 September 2024) to have their vehicles inspected within 60 days, and it must be completed by this November.
Raising the standards of bus transport operations (30) for the entire system (operation, inspection, service)
For the case of providing public bus services (30), the DLT must integrate with the Ministry of Education and educational institutions throughout the country in cases where chartered vehicles or non-regular buses are used for service by coordinating with the provincia
l transport office to inspect safety before every departure.
4. Enact a law to have personnel on board the vehicle just like for public buses, in which personnel and personnel must receive training and pass a test on incident handling and passenger assistance (Crisis Management).
Enact regulations requiring operators to provide emergency information and guidelines when using their services (similar to airlines).
As for the rumor that the car involved in the accident is 54 years old, is there a time limit for its use? Mr. Surapong stated that he would like to see the body of the car in detail first. Currently, the police and the Department of Land Transport are going down to inspect it to find a joint conclusion. However, in the past, there was no time limit for the car. However, in the past, the Department of Land Transport has inspected the condition of public and private buses twice a year. If the inspection passes, it can be used. At the same time, Mr. Surapong also said that there is a tendency for bus
and private bus operators to prohibit the use of CNG fuel entirely, but they have to look into the details first to see what will happen if they do not allow CNG fuel. As for the car involved in the accident, which was an Isuzu but used a Benz engine and was branded as a Benz, the Department of Land Transport does not have any regulations prohibiting this matter, but from now on, the measures will have to be changed strictly.
‘The Ministry of Transport would like to express our deepest condolences for this incident. Today, we must raise standards in every dimension to prevent such incidents from happening again. We would like to ask the operators to please inspect the vehicles, drivers and staff more strictly to prevent further losses,’ said Mr. Surapong.
Source: Thai News Agency
