The Comparison of Bus Fares against Incomes among Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore

บทคัดย่อ

This study aims to compare bus fares with monthly incomes in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. This qualitative study is based completely on secondary data. A systematic search, inclusion and synthesis process was used for all documents during review and analysis in order to compare bus fares with incomes across these countries. The findings show that Singapore has the highest bus fare among the three countries, between 20.58–73.82 baht, which is far higher than the bus fares in Thailand and Malaysia. In this study, GDPs per capita were used to calculate the monthly income per capita, and Singapore shows the highest monthly income per capita, followed by Malaysia and Thailand, respectively. The comparison of monthly cost of bus fares against monthly incomes shows that Singaporeans spend a lower proportion of their incomes on bus fares, while Thais and Malaysians have to spend a higher proportion of incomes on bus fares. In order to improve bus services, the paper recommends that there should be development in the physical appearance of buses, bus stops and bus stations; adjustment of bus fares; and improvement of the bus service system.