Fuel support starts April 1

Subsidy aims to ease cost of logistics

- SUPOJ WANCHAROEN

The government will roll out targeted fuel subsidies for the transport sector from April 1, Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has confirmed, as operators grapple with mounting costs and looming freight rate increases.

Mr Phiphat, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said the Transport Ministry had finalised relief measures to mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices on vulnerable segments of the transport industry and on the travelling public.

The scheme will run from April 1 to 30 and will be based on actual usage, verified through GPS tracking and operational monitoring systems already maintained by the Department of Land Transport (DLT).

Assistance will be divided into two principal groups.

The first group covers nonscheduled freight trucks — commonly referred to as “yellow-plate” vehicles — totalling 287,175 units.

Data from the DLT indicates that these vehicles collectively travel approximately 31 million kilometres per day, with an average fuel efficiency of four kilometres per litre, consuming around 7.8 million litres of fuel daily.