Govt to curb fare hikes amid Middle East war

Thailand’s Ministry of Transport is set to announce a ministerial regulation on Thursday to prevent public transport providers, including taxis, motorcycle taxis and on-demand ride-hailing services, from arbitrarily increasing their fares, Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Wednesday.

The freezing of public transport charges was part of a package of measures discussed at a special meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, which was held to assess the impacts of the ongoing war in the Middle East on the Thai economy.

After the meeting, Ekniti told the media that there are sufficient oil reserves to meet domestic demand for up to 60 days, and talks are underway to secure oil supplies from sources other than the Middle East.

Ekniti said the government is concerned about the prospect of price increases in consumer products, and the meeting agreed that the Internal Trade Department would invoke the anti-profiteering law to deal with opportunistic traders or goods hoarders.

He also said that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has assigned the Foreign Ministry to coordinate with other ministries in coping with the situation in the Middle East and to update the public about new developments on a daily basis at 6pm until the situation returns to normal.