Bangkok Mass Transit Authority

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Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA)
Overview
Native name	องค์การขนส่งมวลชนกรุงเทพ
Owner	Ministry of Transport
Area served	Bangkok Metropolitan Region
Locale	Bangkok Nakhon Pathom Nonthaburi Pathum Thani Samut Prakan Samut Sakhon
Transit type	Public transit buses within the Greater Bangkok area
Number of lines	118 Routes
Daily ridership	3 million people per day
Key people	Kittikan Chomdoung Charuworapolkul (Director & CEO) Yuthana Yupparit (Chairman & President)
Headquarters	Huai Khwang, Bangkok, Thailand
Operation
Began operation	1 October 1976
Number of vehicles	3,005 buses

Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (Thai: องค์การขนส่งมวลชนกรุงเทพ pronounced [ʔoŋ kaːn kʰǒn sòŋ muːan tɕʰon kruŋ tʰêːp]), also known as BMTA (ขสมก. pronounced [kʰɔ̌ː sɔ̌ː mɔː kɔː]), is the main operator of public transit buses within the Greater Bangkok area. It is the largest city bus system in Thailand. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority offers bus and van routes throughout the city and its suburban provinces.

The BMTA is a state enterprise under Ministry of Transport that started operations on 1 October 1976 upon the purchase and combination of the transportation assets of private bus companies, most of which had faced crises due to sharply rising oil prices since 1973. The government, in 1975, addressed the crisis by setting up a public-private joint venture called the Metropolitan Transit Company, Limited (Thai: บริษัทมหานครขนส่ง จำกัด), but the effort failed to materialize. It tried again in 1976 by setting up BMTA as a fully state-owned enterprise under the control of the transport ministry.

Since then, the organization has been the main operator of city buses. However, some private bus companies opted to continue their service on certain routes under joint service contracts with BMTA instead of selling their assets to the state. Despite government subsidies, BMTA has posted losses from day one, resulting in deteriorating quality of service.