AS more foreign vehicles enter Thailand through border checkpoints, the government plans to charge an entry fee beginning end of next year, according to the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning.

Its deputy chief, Wilairat Sirisophonsin, said toll fees were needed as more foreign vehicles entering Thailand since the establishment of the Asean Economic Community had led to an increased cost for road maintenance and road accidents.

“Every year, the government spends an average of 15 billion baht (RM1.9 billion) on repair and maintenance of roads. It also spends 2.4 billion baht a year as a result of road accidents,” she said today.

Last year, she said, 2.1 million foreign vehicles entered Thailand through 28 checkpoints, with most vehicles coming from Laos (755,000), followed by Malaysia (596,000), Myanmar (495,000) and Cambodia (322,000).    

Wilairat said a study on collecting toll from foreign vehicles would be completed next month, with efforts to gain state approval and amending current laws to allow for new charges (on foreign vehicles) expected to take less than a year.

In the study, foreign motorists entering Thailand would have to pay a 100 baht (RM12.65) for an electronic tag that would be valid for five years and a toll of 42 baht (RM5.30) per trip.

The toll collections would be introduced in three phases, with the charge only applied initially on foreign four-wheel-drive vehicles passing through 28 border checkpoints from Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. – Bernama, November 28, 2017.