Airport director hits back: Don Mueang has no taxi mafia!

[dddave]

6 hours ago, Darcula said:

 

What happens at Suvarnabhumi. Not exactly a good benchmark, that.

 

 

"the system at DMK and BKK seem about the same to me, although DMK tends to have longer wait periods.  you get a number and wait for it to be called at DMK.  at BKK, you get a number and walk to where the taxi is parked (i've never had to wait"

 

Suvarnabhumi uses a taxi pool system, much like many international airports.  Drivers can not just go directly to the curbside taxi area.  They must first enter a Taxi queue at a separate parking area and pay a B50 fee (which they are allowed to pass on to the passenger)  They are dispatched to the curbside area when needed.  They must show their receipt to get a queue number at the curbside area.

DMK's system is less organized but will probably get a system similar to BKK's.  

I fly a lot and use taxi's from both airports, though most often BKK.  I go to a not particularly desirable destination (Phra Khanong, about B200 on the meter) but rarely get grief from the drivers and have only been asked for a flat rate 3 or 4 times in over 100 trips.  I use DMK less often but there to, I have only been asked for a flat rate 4 or 5 times out of perhaps 25 trips. 

 

I suspect many of those who complain about taxi cheats are those same people who themselves try to cheat the system by grabbing taxis dropping passengers at the departure level.  Som nom nah.

Edited February 6, 2018 by dddave

[Peterphuket]

The taxi drivers whispered it in his ear, yeh, with 1000 bath payment each.

Go play darts, man.

[wavemanwww]

Pigs flying and Red bull's wings also  growing longer just like Pinocchio,s nose!

[Jimbo in Thailand]

He claims NO MAFIA.  If that's true then why is there a 120 baht (IIRC) surcharge added to your taxi fare from Don M. airport?  We all know who pockets that surcharge.  NO MAFIA? Complete BS!

[wvavin]

The taxi mafia in reference is no longer the taxi drivers themselves but the airport management! 

[phkauf]

I have not had any problems with the taxis at DM, i tell the dispatcher where I'm going in Thai and the driver is right there to hear it. But once they know I'm not a tourist maybe they act better. Having said that, this past Sunday was an absolute sh!tshow everywhere - immigration was a mess as usual and the customs morons put down their phones and made everyone from the HK flight get their bag throughly checked, probably another 40 minute wait (i just walked right by that line). Once through that mess the taxi line was at least 40 minutes deep. I just went outside and grabbed the A3 bus - about 30 minutes to Silom for 50 baht. But this was around 11:30 at night. Not sure I'd try that during the day.

There are so many other problems at DMK, I find taxis are the least of my worries.

[simtemple]

8 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah, right...sure, there’s no mafia. 

He will be getting  his cut too. That's how this country operates. 

[ujayujay]

???

[StevieAus]

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Maybe they should model it on Changi airport ,Singapore,

very organised,taxi  arrives,you get in ,he understands where

you want to go,puts on the meter,does not stop half way to

destination,demanding more money.or wants to take you

to hotel,where he gets commision,instead of the hotel you

are booked into .

regards Worgeordie

Yes but Singapore is a country that has legislation against corruption that is enforced and I understand a Police Force that cannot be bribed.

[buick]

it would be nice if those claiming 'taxi mafia' at DMK would provide some examples based on personal experience.  i use DMK monthly and haven't had what i'd call a 'mafia' problem in the last two years.  sometimes i get queue number that is clearly going to take a long time and then i go to the departure level and get a taxi there.  i always go to BTS mochit/MRT chatuchak to get into inner bangkok and have ALWAYS been given the meter rate (via the queue system or the departure levels).  maybe the 'mafia rate' comes into play when you try to go to inner bangkok ?

 

that is not the case at BKK, but it has been a long time since i have used departure level to get a taxi (never got the meter with that method).  using the queue system at BKK is great.

 

my idea of taxi mafia is (i) the taxi's that park in front of hotels and want 500th to take you somewhere that would be 150thb on the meter and (ii) the taxis around patpong, i pay 70thb to get there on a sat or sun (no traffic) and then have to go through 3-4 taxi's to get a fare of 120thb home (no meter, negotiated rate with the 'opening offer' being 200thb).  one time i got a taxi and the taxi mafia guys stopped the taxi as it wasn't one of 'them' and had to pay a 40thb 'fee' in order to proceed !!  that was a classic.

[observer90210]

Oh come on !!....Bangkok Taxi drivers are the most honest professionals in the world... please wait for the next nice "cabbie-returns-wallet" story to come up.

Edited February 6, 2018 by observer90210

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, simtemple said:

He will be getting  his cut too. That's how this country operates. 

Sure, telling the truth is not seen as important. You are usually told what the person thinks you want to hear.

 

Years ago when I had a bar, customers told me that often the taxi driver always claimed to know where their hotel was when they climbed into the taxi. He would always say "Yes" when asked if he knew it. Later on in the journey they found out he had no idea, and understood very little English, apart from the word "Pattaya".

 

I told them the next time to ask the driver a stupid question first - usually, "Are you an airline pilot?" If the answer was affirmative I told them to find another taxi.

[Sir Dude]

Quote

Don Mueang has no taxi mafia...

Yeah....right! Probably the most deluded thing I've heard in a long time. Haha, thanks for the laugh 'du jour' comment. The sheer chutzpah of him to come out and casually say it is breathtaking.

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

How long it has been … since 2013 for sure. I either take the transfer bus from Don Muang to The Swamp. If I head into town it is the A1 bus to the Moh Chit.   BTS station and sky train from there.

I have no clue about mafia but based on ugly past experience I never take a taxi. So do the locals and the independent Chinese tourists who have been advised to AVOID all taxis so the A1 is full most of the time.

 

I've used that service very many times and indeed it is crammed. But only one way. When I return to the airport it is nearly always almost empty. One of life's great mysteries.

[Bangkok Barry]

40 minutes ago, buick said:

it would be nice if those claiming 'taxi mafia' at DMK would provide some examples based on personal experience.  i use DMK monthly and haven't had what i'd call a 'mafia' problem in the last two years.  sometimes i get queue number that is clearly going to take a long time and then i go to the departure level and get a taxi there.  i always go to BTS mochit/MRT chatuchak to get into inner bangkok and have ALWAYS been given the meter rate (via the queue system or the departure levels).  maybe the 'mafia rate' comes into play when you try to go to inner bangkok ?

 

that is not the case at BKK, but it has been a long time since i have used departure level to get a taxi (never got the meter with that method).  using the queue system at BKK is great.

 

my idea of taxi mafia is (i) the taxi's that park in front of hotels and want 500th to take you somewhere that would be 150thb on the meter and (ii) the taxis around patpong, i pay 70thb to get there on a sat or sun (no traffic) and then have to go through 3-4 taxi's to get a fare of 120thb home (no meter, negotiated rate with the 'opening offer' being 200thb).  one time i got a taxi and the taxi mafia guys stopped the taxi as it wasn't one of 'them' and had to pay a 40thb 'fee' in order to proceed !!  that was a classic.

Why don't you use the 30 baht A1 or A2 bus that runs every few minutes to Mor Chit? Packed for sure, but it only takes 15 minutes using the tollway.

[Marc Roth]

How can anything at Don Muang be taken seriously when they cannot even set up a new terminal correctly.

I went to meet my wife arriving on a flight yesterday at the NEW Terminal 2.......they don't even have an arrivals board to know what flights have landed......absolute shambles....

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, Marc Roth said:

How can anything at Don Muang be taken seriously when they cannot even set up a new terminal correctly.

I went to meet my wife arriving on a flight yesterday at the NEW Terminal 2.......they don't even have an arrivals board to know what flights have landed......absolute shambles....

Terminal 2 has been set-up Thai style.

You don't need an arrivals board, just give a fortune teller 100 Baht and he'll tell you the arrival time and gate immediately.

What you probably won't see is him calling the AOT on 1722 to ask the same question.

[janpharma]

And Thailand has no brothels...and Prawit doesn't have watches worth 30 million...and the chief of police didn't take 300 millions (at least) from the prostitution industry (because it doesn't exist in LOS...)...and...and....and...

[SABloke]

5 hours ago, dddave said:

 

"the system at DMK and BKK seem about the same to me, although DMK tends to have longer wait periods.  you get a number and wait for it to be called at DMK.  at BKK, you get a number and walk to where the taxi is parked (i've never had to wait"

 

Suvarnabhumi uses a taxi pool system, much like many international airports.  Drivers can not just go directly to the curbside taxi area.  They must first enter a Taxi queue at a separate parking area and pay a B50 fee (which they are allowed to pass on to the passenger)  They are dispatched to the curbside area when needed.  They must show their receipt to get a queue number at the curbside area.

DMK's system is less organized but will probably get a system similar to BKK's.  

I fly a lot and use taxi's from both airports, though most often BKK.  I go to a not particularly desirable destination (Phra Khanong, about B200 on the meter) but rarely get grief from the drivers and have only been asked for a flat rate 3 or 4 times in over 100 trips.  I use DMK less often but there to, I have only been asked for a flat rate 4 or 5 times out of perhaps 25 trips. 

 

I suspect many of those who complain about taxi cheats are those same people who themselves try to cheat the system by grabbing taxis dropping passengers at the departure level.  Som nom nah.

You're lucky. Do you ask for your destination in Thai or English? As I said before, in my experience, unless you're local, your percentages go waaay up. My family visit often. None of them tries to cheat the system. Not a single visitor has gotten into town without a fixed price (and they all use the taxi rank downstairs). Well, they used to: Now I just pay 1100 for the AOT Mu-X limo service which is well worth it since an entire family with luggage can get in without having to worry about a gas canister in the boot. (Although I'm even more fortunate in that I've never been asked for a flat rate at Suvnarabhumi)

 

NB: 3 times is 3 too many from a "registered" taxi rank if you ask me. Hell, at DMK you've got guys trying to shaft you 20% of the time apparently 

Edited February 6, 2018 by SABloke

[falangjim]

500 bht was what I was quoted at Swampy late one night. I can still hear the echo of my laughter in the garage as I turned away from him. 

[kaorop]

Maybe no mafia, how about the mob or syndicate? And as "the money always flows up" just who is "up" there? oh yeah that guy...

[josephbloggs]

12 hours ago, Darcula said:

 

What happens at Suvarnabhumi. Not exactly a good benchmark, that.

 

Why not?  Do you actually use it or just going on TV stories from the usual people who complain about everything?

 

I travel in and out of Suvarnabhumi two or three times a month and I've been using the airport since it opened (lived here since 1995).  In the early days it used to be bad but these days it's a breeze.  Well organised, the queue system works well, it's generally quick and I have never, ever been refused a meter.  Never, in well over 100 trips.  

Edited February 6, 2018 by josephbloggs
Hit send before I'd finished.

[Krataiboy]

Airport director hits back: Don Mueang has no taxi mafia!

 

Really? I'd always assumed Don Mueang was a Thai sidekick of Don Corleone.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

Of course, and he gets no kick backs either.

Check his income against possessions, I guess he will have loaned out a few watches to friends for a start.

[kiwikeith]

18 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Yeah, right...sure, there’s no mafia. 

That is why the guy that tried to take me to a Taxi with no metre  and a big fare to Pratunam ,at the airport a few weeks ago was not a scammer.

 

Because if the big boss does not know of these things happening then it does not happen.

Didn't see it ,didn't do it.

[jacko45k]

I enjoy this type of headline in the morning, it cheers me up.

[Darcula]

8 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Do you actually use it or just going on TV stories from the usual people who complain about everything?

 

Of course not. I always get here by boat.

[rosst]

20 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Maybe they should model it on Changi airport ,Singapore,

very organised,taxi  arrives,you get in ,he understands where

you want to go,puts on the meter,does not stop half way to

destination,demanding more money.or wants to take you

to hotel,where he gets commision,instead of the hotel you

are booked into .

regards Worgeordie

Well, you can yell that as loud as you like, no money for all the corrupt individuals holding out their hands, lying cheating, thieving bastards, and that is the good ones. 

[samsensam]

 

just walk 100 metres to the main road and flag a taxi down. easy.

[lvr181]

23 hours ago, Darcula said:

 

What happens at Suvarnabhumi. Not exactly a good benchmark, that.

 

Only ever had one driver from 'Swampy" tried it on with me. On the way to Windsor Hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 20 driver stopped on side of road and stated "No meter, you pay me 600bht". It is now dark, do I refuse to pay and get out (he drives off with my luggage)? Does he want to beat me up? In the space of about 10 secs I agreed, knowing that when I get to hotel, concierge will meet the taxi and take luggage inside (I had been a regular guest and knew the 'drill'). Upon arrival at hotel, I fiddled around while concierge removed luggage from boot of cab, got out and paid the driver 300bht while the concierge guys were nearby, and I walked off. Nothing was said by the driver who then drove off. Problem easy solved. 

 

I have heard of cab passenger/s 'ringing a friend' and announcing their ETA and to meet outside the lodgings on arrival to give a hand with luggage. That also seems to put the rogue cabbie off his intentions.

 

Maybe slightly OT but may also help someone who is being conned, whether from Don Muang or Swampy by the 'non-existent mafia'. 

 

What I do now is to greet them and ask how they are (in basic Thai) make sure meter is on when in cab and confirm if they know where the accomodation is (they know because it is on the despatch docket) and tell them I stay there many times (hopefully puts them off taking long way round to get to my accomodation thus increasing fare).

 

 

Edited February 7, 2018 by lvr181
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