More and more Bangkok commuters are turning to river and canal travel as petrol prices soar.

With the cost of petrol about to hit Bt40 a litre, the govt says it will produce new alcohol-based petrol in six months

Retail diesel prices will reach a record high again starting at 5am this morning, after PTT Plc decided to up the rates to match those imposed by private traders.

The per-litre diesel price is now Bt38.34, Bt0.70 lower than those sold by other companies, while gasohol 95 and 91 are Bt0.50 more expensive at Bt36.09 and Bt35.29 respectively. Benzene 95 price also reached a record high at Bt40.09 nation-wide.

Per-litre diesel price sold by other traders will reach Bt39.04 - a Bt0.70 increase that was already imposed on Monday morning by Shell and Esso.

Meanwhile, the Energy Ministry announced that a new alcohol-based petrol formula will be produced and will available at certain service stations nation-wide within six months.

PTT and Bangchak are ready to provide E-85, which comprises 85 per cent of alcohol at their 30-50 service stations within three to six months, minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop said yesterday.

Cars with E-85 coming

Poonpirom said makers of European-made cars had told her they could import vehicles running on E-85 within five months, and could manufacture them locally within another 18 months, while Japanese carmakers asked for a  few years to do the same.

She said the Finance Ministry had promised to reduce tariffs for those carmakers to encourage mass production as well as to reduce individual tax for users of E-85-enabled cars.

Don't go above 90

The ministry issued a series of energy austerity measures for government agencies and the public to follow, which include a speed limit of 90 km/h and higher temperature for air conditioners at government offices at 25C.

Cabinet members including Premier Samak Sundaravej left their jackets off during its meeting yesterday, with the air conditioners set at 25C.

Get set for car pools and more

In a bid to save energy by reducing personal car use, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will work with public transport van operators to arrange car pools for people in communities and have school buses operating in heavily congested areas.

BMA Governor Apirak Kosayodhin said yesterday that a city resident using a personal car had to shoulder monthly expen-ses of between Bt15,000 and Bt23,000, with Bt6,000-Bt10,000 for gasoline, Bt1,000-Bt2,000 for car maintenance, and Bt1,000-Bt1,500 for parking fees.

The BMA will get public transport van operators to arrange car pools for people in communities who go to work and return home at the same time and have school buses operating in heavily congested areas such as Sam Sen, Silom and Sukhumvit, Apirak said.

Cheaper food

The BMA will also launch a "Krungthep Green" brand to sell food products including two-kilogram rice packs, eggs, organic vegetables, fruits, and chilli paste from Bangkok communities at all BMA markets to assist city residents, he said.

The brand will be launched at Chatuchak Market and Pracha Niwet Market on June 1, before expanding to other areas, he said. The  BMA launched a project to sell food and goods at cheap prices in all districts on May 9.

The BMA food stalls had earned Bt2.6 million, while its goods-selling earned Bt18 million with popular items being student uniforms, fish source, rice grains, and eggs. Khlong San district sold the most at Bt142,955 followed by Bang Kapi with Bt141,700 and Bang Rak's with Bt138,000.

No bus fare hike - for now

The Central Administrative Court yesterday granted an injunction to a group of consumers filing a case against the government's decision to raise public-bus fares.

The injunction takes effect from today, resulting in an immediate halt of price hikes. Privately owned public buses have charged higher fares since last weekend while the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority has put off imposing a fare hike.