Amounts MAHITTHIROOK
The Bangkok Transit Authority (BMTA)will launch stringent checks on private buses following a series of complaints about their service.
Staff will check the firms to examine the quality of the buses,and the staff that provide services to the public.
They will also make sure they are in line with regulations,said Pranee Sukrasorn, acting director of the BMTA.
The private bus operators also will be informed about the standards they have to meet to life their game,Ms Pranee said.
Numerous complaints had been made against private buses, including misconduct involving bus staff.
These include incidents in which bus staff chased away passengers during their journey and swore at commutes. Some were found to have user drugs at work, she added.
"The BMTA will not sit idle but will investigate the complaints which have come to us directly and have also reached us through social media, "said Ms Pranee.
She said the BMTA will work with the Department of Land Transport (DLT)to punish the wrongdoers, adding the maximum punishment would be dismissal and suspension of public driving licences.
Speaking about a driver of Bus No 75 ,arrested in Thon Buri district on Thursday for allegedly taking drugs before driving his bus, Ms Pranee said the operator was asked to immediately sack the man. The DLI will also be asked to revoke his public driving licence, she said.