More people turning to public transport and EVs: survey
High oil prices have prompted more people to turn to public transportation and electric vehicles, while the rising prices of goods have reduced use of luxury goods, a survey has found.
The survey was carried out by the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO) among 8,363 respondents from all districts around the country. The results were announced on Thursday by Ronnarong Phoolpipat, TPSO's director-general.
Ronnarong said the survey found that most people have responded to rising oil prices by using private cars less frequently, or by opting for cheaper petrol varieties.
With the prices of goods rising, most people have reduced their use of luxury goods while some have cut down on travel expenses and eating in restaurants, Ronnarong said.
He said the survey found that the people in the income group of 10,000 to 100,000 baht per month tended to use more public transportation or changed travel routes to avoid traffic congestion.
Ronnarong said the vulnerable groups, such as people with income lesser than 10,000 baht a month, students or people without permanent jobs, were the biggest users of public transportation.
Ronnarong said there is a clear case for the government to improve public transportation to minimise impact on the vulnerable groups.
Ronnarong said the top three changes in consumer behaviours were reduction in the use of luxury goods (29.87 per cent), reduction in travel (16.92 per cent), and less eating in restaurants (16.24 per cent).
The survey found that the people with income between 40,000 and 50,000 baht a month and state officials were the group that had not reduced their savings. Only 0.44 per cent of people with monthly income of 40,000 to 50,000 baht had reduced their savings and only 0.88 per cent of state officials had done so.
Ronnarong said the survey found that the people with income more than 100,000 baht a month was the biggest group to reduce the frequency of their travels.
When asked what they would do if the high oil prices persisted longer, 54.1 per cent said they would find extra jobs while 15.86 per cent said they would buy EVs and 11.76 per cent said they would move to live closer to their offices, Ronnarong added.
The TPSO suggested that the government build more EV-charging stations to encourage people to buy more EVs, which could help stimulate the economy.
The TPSO also suggested that the government launch measures to stimulate tourism so that people with high income would travel more frequently, Ronnarong added.
