BANGKOK — Blow through toll booths gratis for over a week during Songkran.
The transport ministry announced Monday that Motorway 7 (Bangkok-Pattaya,) Motorway 9 (Outer Ring Road) and the Burapha Withi Expressway will be free April 11 to April 18.
The Airport Rail Link, MRT Blue Line and MRT Purple Line as well as Bangkok Mass Transit Authority public buses will be free for people over 60 on April 13.
Road accidents during Songkran claim hundreds of lives every year as people travel home for the holidays. In 2017, 283 people died in Songkran accidents, mostly involving motorcycles and alcohol.
Sarawut Songwilai of the transport ministry said Monday that transport checkpoints would be stationed on roads across the country especially in accident-prone Ratchaburi, Chai Nat, Roi Et, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani provinces.
“This year, the Ministry of Transport aims to decrease the number of deaths by 7 percent from 2017, when there were 1,559 accidents and 238 deaths. We want there to be no deaths due to public transport, on the Don Muang Tollway, motorways and at railroad crossings,” Sarawut said.
Sarawut says the ministry expects more than 15 million people to take public transportation April 11 to April 18, a decrease of 5 percent from last year’s holiday season.
