10 million low-income people to receive welfare cards

In Bangkok and nearby provinces, each card is worth about Bt1,700 to Bt1,800 per month, including a Bt500-allowance to use Bangkok-based buses as well as the MRT and BTS train networks. In other provinces, each card is valued at Bt1,200 to Bt1,300 per month to be exchanged for subsidised goods and other items.
Somchai Sujjapongse, permanent secretary for the Finance Ministry, said residents of Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Samut Prakarn, Nakorn Pathom and Samut Sakhorn would receive the chipped cards on October 17, while the rest of the welfare cards would be delivered starting today until September 30.
The cards are part of the government’s welfare programme aimed at low-income people who earn less than Bt100,000 per year. For Bangkok and nearby provincial residents, the cards are part of the joint mass transit ticketing system known as “Mangmoom”.