Koh Samui Authorities Tackle Illegal Taxi Rings

Takes a murder of a good Thai person to elicit a reaction from the police on these islands that are a law unto themselves... cowboy central, yeh-haw boys, saddle up and let's go.

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Going forward, authorities plan to maintain vigilant monitoring to prevent the resurgence of these illegal practices. Continued enforcement is expected to level the playing field for all legally registered public transport vehicles, ensuring equitable access and operation throughout Koh Samui.

I am completely and utterly convinced that they will, for many, many years to come.

Is that the only illegal scam in Koh Samui, it must be a very safe place to live.

Islands have old alliances and incestuous politics. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for change and definitely not for it to stick.

The other side of the equation is that taxi drivers don't want their quality of life to be destroyed in the race to the bottom that ride apps bring. Aside from the sickening overcharging in places like Phuket, an extra 100 or 200 baht isn't going to ruin a tourist's vacation but it does make a world of difference to a taxi driver when added up over a period of time. How would it feel to live like a beggar on the island that your family has inhabited for generations? To have wealthy foreigners come in and drive up the price of every damned thing, spending thousands of baht per day and wanting to take some of that out of the taxi driver's rice bowl?

Sadly nothing will come of it : (

Nothing changed at all, just a news crackdown for the peasants and you forum boys. Same as phangan crackdown, they were open again the next day and never in jail at all. They not even left the island.

Also the same mafia runs grab too, they just cancel it on arrival but then charge same as grab would. They just not allow others except motorbike drivers. But in chaweng, you need to go into back sois and secretly get in, 6 minutes away from your location, to get one.

The guard just knocking on the window is a BS story too, they are all friends and family in the islands. However this entire incident was just the cliche 'ego fuelled thai male' issue again, it was mediated, he even paid 3500 baht a month!!, yet mister ego wanted revenge.

Many ignore it, whatever, but the islands run as a independent sub state. A very rich sub state which donated a lot to Anutin's campaign. For those that not know, Anutin is also the one behind starting weed with Phangan hospital originally. He also got all the deals while ensuring feminized seeds can be traded and exported legally despite future changes, with the big USA and EU weed shop owners.

This corruption and ignorance will never end, hence i said since weeks i very much doubt the real implementation of a 2x per year entry limit. I even doubt the 30 days to last long, and if they do, some easy long term visa props up next within months again instead.

Irony on that is that both Vietnam and Cambodia now start advertising heavily + change laws, to make even easier long term visa's, as well as easier work permits for Vietnam, to get more foreigners. While the Vietnam minister also visited Thailand, they even admit, the thai elite invests and earns good from Vietnam lol, while it costs the Thai economy money. Yet they educate locals Thailand only policies.

Wouldn't even be surprised if the guy is already driving people again as usual business, while wearing a electronic bracelet (very famous down south).

The win-win solution is to slightly adjust the meter charge, so the taxi drivers can live from the turnover. Fuel and other costs are little higher on Samui. Then the authorities shall insist on taxis shall use their meter. Tourists can afford it — even the overpriced they charge now on fixed fees are still relative cheap, compared to many tourists' home countries for same distance in a taxi — the major feeling from being cheated is, when the meter is not turned on.

Remark to having meter turned on: I was in Stockholm some years ago and should a short distance in Taxi from the Mälardrottningen Yacht Hotel over to the Vasa Museum on an neighbouring island. The meter started at a high fee and clicked at rate similar to heavy dance track beat — each click was one Swedish Krone, which compared to around 4 Thai baht. Hardly 4 kilometre costed little more more than 200 Swedish kroner. It was a feeling of officially being ripped off in an extremely organized country. I decided for a cost saving and very healthy short walk back to Mälardrottningen; the walking distance is shorter than the way a taxi needs to drive, only around 2½ kilometre...

Come next week and it will be forgotten..those mafia are to intertwined with local authorities, it would take a dedicated team from Bangkok, with the dedication of Elliott Ness.

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

For years, certain taxi queue groups have allegedly dominated public spaces, effectively preventing licensed taxis from operating freely. Amorn emphasized that such activities could severely harm Koh Samui’s reputation

So why didn't they put a stop to it years ago? Well I wonder ...

Another 'crackdown' 'cos someone got killed this time. This too will pass.

Nothing will change regarding taxis on Samui until the Police enforce the use of meters, but that is becoming more difficult with the advent of "Ride Share" groups like Bolt, Grab, and inDrive.