Taxis easily top public-transport complaint list in Bangkok

[webfact]

Taxis easily top public-transport complaint list in Bangkok

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

People complained about taxis more than any other form of public transport in the first five months of fiscal 2018, the chief of the Land Transport Department said on Wednesday.

 

Sanit Promwong said his department received 33,616 complaints about public transport vehicles in Bangkok, other than mass transit, from October to February via the 1584 hotline, Facebook, email and a mobile application.

 

He said the department had responded to 31,280 complaints and planned to summon drivers who were the subjects of another 2,336 grievances.

 

Sanit said there were 17,794 complaints against taxi drivers, mainly over refusals to take on passengers, impolite behaviour and dangerous driving.

 

There were 638 complaints against motorcycle taxis, 136 against tuk-tuks and 54 against mini-trucks modified to operate as taxis.

 

In mass transit, Sanit said, there were 1,565 complaints against buses run by private firms on concessions from the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority. Most drivers were accused of failing to stop at bus stops and being impolite.

 

There were 993 complaints against passenger vans, 950 against private upcountry buses operating out of Bangkok and 784 against BMTA buses.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30341410

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-21

[HooHaa]

taxis in bangkok are by far the most economical and convenient i have encountered in most of the world, most certainly in asia.

try getting a taxi in rush hour manila or jakarta or even KL or singapore.

[Thian]

30 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

taxis in bangkok are by far the most economical and convenient i have encountered in most of the world, most certainly in asia.

try getting a taxi in rush hour manila or jakarta or even KL or singapore.

Ho ho mate, in singapore they are excellent and much better than those crappy things the Thai call taxi's. The drivers also speak good english.

Also in Singapore the subway/skytrain is much better and not so overcrowded as in Thailand.

 

KL also has good skytrains so i prefer those above the taxi's. 

 

 

[HooHaa]

6 minutes ago, Thian said:

Ho ho mate, in singapore they are excellent and much better than those crappy things the Thai call taxi's. The drivers also speak good english.

Also in Singapore the subway/skytrain is much better and not so overcrowded as in Thailand.

 

KL also has good skytrains so i prefer those above the taxi's. 

 

 

yeah,  I love standing in an orderly little queue like a sheep waiting forever for a ride.

 

[neek]

"People complained about taxis more than any other form of public transport in the first five months of fiscal 2018"

We are in March 2018.  Excuse me if I am being ignorant, but how are the first five months of fiscal 2018 being covered at this time?

[The manic]

9 hours ago, HooHaa said:

taxis in bangkok are by far the most economical and convenient i have encountered in most of the world, most certainly in asia.

try getting a taxi in rush hour manila or jakarta or even KL or singapore.

Or London or Pattaya! 

[Netease]

Didn't see any complaints about UBER

[Bob12345]

There are also many more taxis than that there are buses and tuktuks. The comparison based on absolute numbers seems a bit strange.

[Bangkok Barry]

The authorities have no interest at all in reigning in taxi drivers who break the law. If they were serious they would get out of the office and/or pay volunteers to try and get a taxi, and every one who refused to do their job should immediately lose their licence. Pay the volunteers by results, per lawbreaking driver they catch. A month of blanketing the roads and the problem would be solved, although a smaller number should be kept on the job to prevent the drivers thinking that the clampdown was over.

 

All we get now is half a day once or maybe twice a year in one location (Siam Paragon or Mah Boonkrong usually). And you know and I know and the drivers know that is useless. But the authorities just don't care.

And it's no good the drivers complaining the fares are too low. They took the job knowing the fares and the rules. There is no point taking a job knowing that the income is low and then complaining that the income is low. I'd guess that the problem is that the majority of drivers are not qualified to do anything else. And that in itself leads to other problems that people have complained about.

[RichardColeman]

10 hours ago, neek said:

"People complained about taxis more than any other form of public transport in the first five months of fiscal 2018"

We are in March 2018.  Excuse me if I am being ignorant, but how are the first five months of fiscal 2018 being covered at this time?

Ignorance stamped approved. Thai government fiscal year runs from October.

Edited March 22, 2018 by RichardColeman

[Eaglekott]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

via the 1584 hotline, Facebook, email and a mobile application.

 

I wonder what mobile application that might be, The "DLT Check-in" only reports "Can not connect to server"

 

 

[FarangLife]

Bangkok taxi drivers have stopped the cab in dimly lit areas to "negotiate" a non-metered amount. They have gone left when I said go right in both Thai and English, running the meter to over 200 baht for what should've been 60. There are some really sweet and polite Thai taxi drivers in the Mall Tha Phra area, most of the rest are scammers who are not above intimidation to rip off Thai and foreigner alike. I am surprised that there weren't more complaints lodged. 

[FarangLife]

5 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

There are also many more taxis than that there are buses and tuktuks. The comparison based on absolute numbers seems a bit strange.

Yes but when was the last time you saw 60 complaining people crammed into one taxi. Those bus complaints may have been from groups of people. 

[observer90210]

Who said that the Bangkok cabbies refuse passengers, argue to turn ON their meter and pretend never to have change....really!!...this is just another misunderstanding !

[Just Weird]

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 3:20 PM, Thian said:

Ho ho mate, in singapore they are excellent and much better than those crappy things the Thai call taxi's. The drivers also speak good english.

Also in Singapore the subway/skytrain is much better and not so overcrowded as in Thailand.

 

KL also has good skytrains so i prefer those above the taxi's. 

 

 

"The drivers [in Singapore] also speak good English".

How is that a surprise worth mentioning?  Why would you expect Thai taxi drivers to speak good English, do German Taxi drivers speak Thai?

 

"...in singapore they are excellent and much better than those crappy things the Thai call taxi's".

They use the same sorts of cars so what makes them so much less "crappy" than the Corollas, Prius, (hundreds, maybe thousands of them brand new) used as Thai taxis?

[Just Weird]

On ‎3‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 11:24 PM, neek said:

"People complained about taxis more than any other form of public transport in the first five months of fiscal 2018"

We are in March 2018.  Excuse me if I am being ignorant, but how are the first five months of fiscal 2018 being covered at this time?

Because the fiscal year begins 1st October.  You're excused.

[wotsdermatter]

On 3/21/2018 at 4:20 AM, Thian said:

in singapore they are excellent and much better than those crappy things the Thai call taxi's. The drivers also speak good english.

Also in Singapore the subway/skytrain is much better and not so overcrowded as in Thailand.

First, you forget that the taxis in Thailand, especially Bangkok, provide a service to more people than they do in Singapore.  Second, you forget that there is a tremendous difference in the size of the populations of Bangkok and Singapore.  I have had crappy taxis turn up for me in Singapore.