pokerspiv

LPG is only 15 baht a litre, even on Samui. Taxis in Bangkok run on CNG which is even cheaper, so I would expect the prices here to remain higher than Bangkok. But not 5-6 times the price of Bangkok, which is about what it is now.

Aye, the 1 litre to 5 litre was for illustrative purposes really, there will obviously be an increase but the actual value would not be great.

Do all metered taxis use the same price structure or are some areas higher/ lower?

I'm just not convinced in the slightest that the increase in revenue generated by going to meters would be anywhere near enough to support the existing number of taxis.

Well, I just quoted a study that shows exactly that. There's nothing more I can do to convince you at this point. You have your own opinion based on nothing but a guess. I have posted figures from actual real-world examples that shows that increasing prices leads to a drop in total revenue. If you aren't at all swayed by that then there's no point continuing the discussion.

Elastic but not finite. In order to maintain the same number of taxis, the number of trips would have to go up by around 200% and that is not taking into consideration fuel costs. 1x500 Baht trim from Lamai to Chaweng uses 1 litre of fuel (a guess). 5x100 Baht trips would require 5 litres of fuel.

LPG is only 15 baht a litre, even on Samui. Taxis in Bangkok run on CNG which is even cheaper, so I would expect the prices here to remain higher than Bangkok. But not 5-6 times the price of Bangkok, which is about what it is now.

Luckily nobody needs to make that decision. People thinking they can make such a decision is what creates these problems in the first place.

I am sure someone somewhere has studied the price elasticity of taxi rides, but whether that data applies to all markets is unknown. The people who probably have the best idea are Uber. But you don't need to know - just get rid of the criminal element and let the invisible hand do it's job. The number of taxis will reach an equilibrium point where most people are still making money, just like any other business in the world.

But just for argument's sake, here's a study undertaken in China.

The net result of a 12.5% price increase (from 1.6RMB/km to 2.0RMB/km) was a net drop in total earning of about RMB500, i.e. 25%.

Which suggests that the elasticity of demand for taxi rides is quite elastic. i.e. by reducing prices, they would actually make more money because of increased business, even though they were charging less per trip.

Letting taxi drivers set their own fares is the best way to work out what the ideal price of a taxi is. However, it doesn't work very well if the cartel takes a machete to anyone who experiments with lower pricing.

criminals? .... what a load of rubbish.... it's people trying to make a better living for them selves

Trying to make a better living for themselves by involving themselves in criminal behaviour and violence.

I am leaving this one it's just silly!

You have a funny way of "leaving it".

Even tourist guidebooks and trip reports on the internet etc advise against using taxis in Samui and Phuket because of the outrageous prices. In Bangkok they are recommended to tourists as a cheap and safe way to travel the city. There is no doubt at all that reducing prices would lead to increased business. Tourists actively avoid taxi touts now. As in, they briskly walk away from them in fear when approached. There's a very good reason for that. They are criminals.

The 180 baht figure was posted by me, as an approximation of what a limousine hired by Uber would charge (which is more expensive than the rate charged by Bangkok taxis). The metred rate in a Bangkok taxi between Chaweng and Lamai would be around 100 baht, about 1/5th what they charge now. And that's enough for taxi drivers to make a living on in Bangkok. Remember the average wage in Thailand is 400 baht per day.

Nobody should be expecting to make 400 baht profit on a single fare. Furthermore, as I have said many times, there are millions of Thais who would happily work as taxi drivers with fairer rates if they could. But if they tried to do that here, the taxi mafia would kill them. How you can not see that as a serious problem is beyond me.

I suppose that depends what you mean by a "decent living". The average wage in Thailand is 400 baht per day. I think they could make that, even at Bangkok meter rates, yes.

A huge proportion of Samui residents completely avoid taxis because of the cost. If they charged more reasonable fares they would have a lot more business, even if they were making less per trip.

FWIW at current rates, Samui taxi drivers charge more than Samui dentists per hour. There are millions of Thais who would happily do the same job for less. But they don't want to get hacked to bits with a machete for undercutting the cartel.

The sooner the army gets here the better.

I don't think there is an overabundance of taxis. People are just loathe to use them because they are so expensive.

Given your username 'pokerspiv', I reckon you are bluffing on that statement.

I've spent the best part of my adult life traveling the world and after a while I grew up an learned things from all sorts of people. One of the most basic things I learned is to always have a skill to sell if push comes to shove.

I'm not really sure what this means. And I'm not sure you know what the word "bluffing" means.

500 baht is not a fair price.

A fair price is what would be charged in an open market free of extortion and death threats.

Ultimately, there is an overabundance of taxis on the island caused by the issuing of too many licenses. Using the meter (required by law) would not bring in enough revenue to support the enterprise given that many drivers only get one or two fares a day. If the market were regulated (meter usage only), half or likely more the taxis would be gone and what remains would make a profit.

Asleep in the boot/ trunk of your taxi waiting for a fare is not generating any income, it is laziness and nothing else.

I don't think there is an overabundance of taxis. People are just loathe to use them because they are so expensive. My friends who live in Bangkok take taxis everywhere. No permanent residents use them here. Only tourists with no other options.

It's going to be interesting to see if apps like Uber are going to be able to break the monopoly in places like Phuket or Samui. Not sure if it is available here yet.

Base fare is 45 Baht and then it is 2.5 Baht per minute and 9.2 Baht per kilometer.

Based on those rates a car hired through Uber would charge around 180 baht for a Chaweng-Lamai trip.

500 baht is not a fair price.

A fair price is what would be charged in an open market free of extortion and death threats.

Death threats??

I haven't had a death threat from a taxi

Have you tried to start your own, competing taxi service?

Because if you did, you would.

500 baht is not a fair price.

A fair price is what would be charged in an open market free of extortion and death threats.

BKA don't "run the island". They provide a service that people want to use. Previously they have been severely restricted from running this service because of government regulation. Now they will be less restricted. That is a good thing.

Considering how Chaweng beach has mutated into nowadays, more flight won't really make much difference to it's "enjoyment".

Besides, there's plenty of other beaches on this island, and if more flights means people will be staying on other beaches than Chaweng, this is one more reason to support this.

Thats your opinion.

My opinion is that the south end of Chaweng still has one of my favorite hotels and the beach itself is quite beautiful for early morning runs however the smell of jet fuel continues to worsen under the flight path around the Ark Bar and this news will make it worse.

If you think more tourism is what Samui needs then you and I probably won't agree on much else.

If you are opposed to tourism you aren't going to make many friends here. Virtually all long-term residents of Samui rely on tourism to some extent.

You can get a used Click for 15-20k baht.

5 months rental is more than the cost of buying a used bike.

There are plenty in Lamai. Not sure about other locations.

Young people discovered Samui. We have always been here. it's you old farts who are the newcomers.

Most of it is. These taxis run on LPG. Nathon to Chaweng uses about 25 baht worth of LPG.

Personally I would not expect it to change

If people with private taxis don't charge much cheaper

Remember on an island everything is more expensive

The cost of living is higher

The cost of gasoline is higher

Cost of eating is higher

Cost of rent is higher

Not 400% higher.

The price is high because the cartel threatens to kill anyone undercutting them.

The average wage in Thailand is 500 baht a day. Taxi drivers in Samui charge that for a 10 minute ride.

There are 2 kinds of songthaews. Ones that are stopped and ones that are moving. If you get the ones that are stopped, they are going to be priced similar to a taxi. If you get the ones that are moving, you do not negotiate the fare. You get on, and then you get off and hand them 60 baht. That's all there is to it. I have never been asked for more money in 9 years of living on Samui. If you waste the drivers time by asking where he's going and trying to carry on a conversation while stopping them, then yeah they will probably ask you for more.

Taking a Songthaew at night who is waiting outside a nightclub is different, but even then I've only paid 100-150 baht for Chaweng-Lamai.

"samui rules"

Really?
Go start your own taxi service then. See how you go.

So far in Samui, it's been same same.

Doubt it's gonna change much considering there's very well connected families on this island with good ties to the people who took over the reign of the country.

small island too many taxis. makes it not worth doing short runs for small money. Also they are not aloud to under charge if they want to stay in their group

There's nothing unique about Samui that can't be fixed by flagfalls. The price of taxis on this island is because the established cartel keep out competitors with threats of violence and death, same as Phuket.

Get the army in.

Wild dogs are such a big problem in parts of Australia that the government pays $500 for each one you kill.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/wild-dogs-leave-trail-of-despair-for-graziers/story-e6frg6nf-1226645629915

Some forum members need to be realistic and realise that if your dog is continually annoying or menacing people, it's going to be killed. Dogs are not people and do not have any rights. They are dangerous animals that can kill people. If you want to have a pet dog, it is your responsibility to make sure it doesn't roam around causing trouble. If your dog barks its head off all day and you ignore neighbours' request to deal with it, don't be surprised if it gets dealt with for you.