Bangkok Taxies... Worse than ever?

[AsiaHand]

The 1970s were the worst. Tiny Renault taxis that could barely seat two farangs in the back seat with very little room in the passenger front seat and no meters so you had to begun about the cost of each trip.

[luk AJ]

thought
noun
an idea or opinion produced by thinking or......
occurring suddenly in the mind.
The last one?


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[Pat in Pattaya]

On 16/5/2561 at 12:41 PM, Airalee said:

Having lived in Bangkok for about 6 months now and taken numerous taxis (at least 5 rides per week), I have only once experienced a taxi driver who didn’t want to use the meter and this was returning to my condo near Phra Khanong from Pantip Plaza during rush hour.

 

Every other time, the taxi drivers have used the meter.  What I wonder and the questions I have regarding all the people who claim to have so many bad experiences are...

 

1.  Do you smile as the taxi approaches and pulls over for you and then open the front door and politely let the driver know, in Thai language, where it is that you desire to go?  When I need to go to see a doctor at Vichaiyut, I always open the door and politely say “Kor bai Rong Payaban Vichaiyut krab”. They then nod their head, I get in the back seat and say thank you (also in Thai).  One doesn’t need to be fluent in Thai to have this limited interaction.

 

or do you

 

2. Flag down the taxi with the usual expat scowl that is all too common and just blurt out in English the name of your intended destination as you pile into the back seat?

Hahahaha!! Surely this is a joke post?

[Just Weird]

21 hours ago, MrJohnson said:

Well I must be living in a parallel universe...

... Now I just use Grab.... most of the cars are clean and have a seat belt. 

Just the same for most taxis.

[Just Weird]

20 hours ago, Airalee said:

Must be some sort of a karma thing for all these people who have such frequent problems.

I think the issue is that this is Thaivisa, populated in the main by people who take great delight in whinging about and denigrating Thailand and Thais.  Any opportunity they'll stick their ignorant and arrogant boots in anywhere it is not necessarily deserved.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Just Weird

[Just Weird]

51 minutes ago, Pat in Pattaya said:

Hahahaha!! Surely this is a joke post?

No, it's called a rational and reasoned post, unlike you-know-whose

[luk AJ]

I think the issue is that this is Thaivisa, populated in the main by people who take great delight in whinging about and denigrating Thailand and Thais.  Any opportunity they'll stick their ignorant and arrogant boots in anywhere it is not necessarily deserved.

I assure you this is not the case, I gave my honest opinion which is in this case not favorable for the majority of taxi drivers. This doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate Thailand and Thai people in general, on the contrary! In fact I consider your message rather negative and meaningless...I live and work in Thailand for the last 20y so my experience about taxis is not a one time occurance.
About Grab, same taxis, just extra “Grab” sticker and what makes it unpractical is that after the trip is confirmed, they always call for the same information.


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[Pat in Pattaya]

7 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

No, it's called a rational and reasoned post, unlike you-know-whose

Hahahaha!

[Airalee]

Just now, luk AJ said:

I assure you this is not the case, I gave my honest opinion which is in this case not favorable for the majority of taxi drivers. This doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate Thailand and Thai people in general, on the contrary! In fact I consider your message rather negative and meaningless...I live and work in Thailand for the last 20y so my experience about taxis is not a one time occurance.
About Grab, same taxis, just extra “Grab” sticker and what makes it unpractical is that after the trip is confirmed, they always call for the same information.


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The majority of taxi drivers?  Wow...bad luck must follow you.  Have you ever paused and wondered why?

[Just Weird]

7 minutes ago, luk AJ said:

I assure you this is not the case, I gave my honest opinion which is in this case not favorable for the majority of taxi drivers. This doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate Thailand and Thai people in general, on the contrary! In fact I consider your message rather negative and meaningless...I live and work in Thailand for the last 20y so my experience about taxis is not a one time occurance.

"I assure you this is not the case..."

You can't have read many threads if you expect that point to be taken seriously!  This is a Thai-bashing forum when it comes to the majority of posters, maybe you are not amongst them.

[Airalee]

40 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

I think the issue is that this is Thaivisa, populated in the main by people who take great delight in whinging about and denigrating Thailand and Thais.  Any opportunity they'll stick their ignorant and arrogant boots in anywhere it is not necessarily deserved.

I’ll bet they have to pay “farang prices” for new tires every time one blows out in the colossal potholes too.  Must get expensive.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Airalee

[luk AJ]

The majority of taxi drivers?  Wow...bad luck must follow you.  Have you ever paused and wondered why?

Ok majority of taxi drivers I experienced. Sorry for this statistical error.
Yes it is possible my personal negative opinion is related to my character. That’s why it is a personal (bold) impression which is maybe not reflecting yours. On the other hand, taxi drivers who pass my criteria are very well tipped.



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[Airalee]

1 minute ago, luk AJ said:

Yes it is possible my personal negative opinion is related to my character.



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So, you’re saying you’re not a very likable guy?  

[observer90210]

Some posters here must be looking really far to smart (or far to broke,  perhaps) as they never seem to have got cheated by a BKK taxi crook ???

 

....never had the meter refused ??...never had a run refused ?...  and not to mention some other posters, who must be really stinking rich that they actually want the BKK taxi rates to increase ?....

 

am I missing something ?  are these just another bunch of cabbie-trolls ?...or were they cabbies back home ?

 

or is it me, who looks plainly like another rich farang fool,  who all the taxis enjoy refusing the meter and  cheating on the price, as it happens much to often in BKK ?

 

Thanks for reading, this was my mid-week rant and I am ready now for the bashing,  or a few nasty/caty comments, or the elfs and the trolls, so be my guest

Edited May 17, 2018 by observer90210

[mogandave]

Some posters here must be looking really far to smart (or far to broke,  perhaps) as they never seem to have got cheated by a BKK taxi crook ???
 
....never had the meter refused ??...never had a run refused ?...  and not to mention some other posters, who must be really stinking rich that they actually want the BKK taxi rates to increase ?....
 
am I missing something ?  are these just another bunch of cabbie-trolls ?...or were they cabbies back home ?
 
or is it me, who looks plainly like another rich farang fool,  who all the taxis enjoy refusing the meter and  cheating on the price, as it happens much to often in BKK ?
 
Thanks for reading, this was my mid-week rant and I am ready now for the bashing,  or a few nasty/caty comments, or the elfs and the trolls, so be my guest:cheesy:

Making stuff up really does not strengthen your position.

I don’t think anyone has implied they have never been refused a ride or never had a driver insist on not using the meter.

Not much to do about being refused a ride, but the meter is easy, just get out.

[luk AJ]

So, you’re saying you’re not a very likable guy?  

Majority doesn’t like me :)


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[Airalee]

46 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Some posters here must be looking really far to smart (or far to broke,  perhaps) as they never seem to have got cheated by a BKK taxi crook ???

 

....never had the meter refused ??...never had a run refused ?...  and not to mention some other posters, who must be really stinking rich that they actually want the BKK taxi rates to increase ?....

 

am I missing something ?  are these just another bunch of cabbie-trolls ?...or were they cabbies back home ?

 

or is it me, who looks plainly like another rich farang fool,  who all the taxis enjoy refusing the meter and  cheating on the price, as it happens much to often in BKK ?

 

Thanks for reading, this was my mid-week rant and I am ready now for the bashing,  or a few nasty/caty comments, or the elfs and the trolls, so be my guest

I’ve had the meter refused once as I mentioned in my original post and one time the driver didn’t want to go where I wanted.  It was terrible.  I had to wait at least another 60 seconds for another cab.  I just don’t understand how so many posters have such extreme bad luck with taxi drivers here in Bangkok.

 

Could it be that sometimes, I just use common sense, and if I am going to (or coming from) a touristy area such as Siam Paragon or whatever other mall along Sukhumvit that I feel like seeing a movie at or getting a bite to eat, that I realize that it might be better to use the BTS?  Sure, I have to walk a couple hundred meters to the BTS station and yes, I will sweat a little more but I seem to have no problem finding alternative modes of transportation (including walking) to avoid those location dependent situations with the taxi “crooks”.

 

Perhaps, after the complainers have finished their business on whatever soi they were most recently “serviced”, they should consider the kind of area that they are in and what kind of taxi drivers are waiting to screw them (a second time) and then find their way to a local BTS station.  Or are they too embarrassed when all eyes are on them as they get on the BTS at Nana?

[luk AJ]

I’ve had the meter refused once as I mentioned in my original post and one time the driver didn’t want to go where I wanted.  It was terrible.  I had to wait at least another 60 seconds for another cab.  I just don’t understand how so many posters have such extreme bad luck with taxi drivers here in Bangkok.
 
Could it be that sometimes, I just use common sense, and if I am going to (or coming from) a touristy area such as Siam Paragon or whatever other mall along Sukhumvit that I feel like seeing a movie at or getting a bite to eat, that I realize that it might be better to use the BTS?  Sure, I have to walk a couple hundred meters to the BTS station and yes, I will sweat a little more but I seem to have no problem finding alternative modes of transportation (including walking) to avoid those location dependent situations with the taxi “crooks”.
 
Perhaps, after the complainers have finished their business on whatever soi they were most recently “serviced”, they should consider the kind of area that they are in and what kind of taxi drivers are waiting to screw them (a second time) and then find their way to a local BTS station.  Or are they too embarrassed when all eyes are on them as they get on the BTS at Nana?

Which one of the Avengers are you?


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[observer90210]

10 minutes ago, Airalee said:

I’ve had the meter refused once as I mentioned in my original post and one time the driver didn’t want to go where I wanted.  It was terrible.  I had to wait at least another 60 seconds for another cab.  I just don’t understand how so many posters have such extreme bad luck with taxi drivers here in Bangkok.

 

Could it be that sometimes, I just use common sense, and if I am going to (or coming from) a touristy area such as Siam Paragon or whatever other mall along Sukhumvit that I feel like seeing a movie at or getting a bite to eat, that I realize that it might be better to use the BTS?  Sure, I have to walk a couple hundred meters to the BTS station and yes, I will sweat a little more but I seem to have no problem finding alternative modes of transportation (including walking) to avoid those location dependent situations with the taxi “crooks”.

 

Perhaps, after the complainers have finished their business on whatever soi they were most recently “serviced”, they should consider the kind of area that they are in and what kind of taxi drivers are waiting to screw them (a second time) and then find their way to a local BTS station.  Or are they too embarrassed when all eyes are on them as they get on the BTS at Nana?

Thanks for sharing. The main problem is also when tourists take a cab from BKK airport to town, they have no choice after a long flight and have just arrived at the airport where the disgusting cheating and meter refusal is done at it's full...Bangkok airport arrivals area  is obviously a "touristy area" as you say,  but difficult to just walk away with all your luggage after a long flight and look for a "non touristy" area around Suvarnabhumi....and to take the rail link MRT is not convenient with luggage, jet lag on arrival and for the further connections to the hotel.

Edited May 17, 2018 by observer90210

[Airalee]

15 minutes ago, luk AJ said:

Which one of the Avengers are you?


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Which one is the most politically incorrect?

[mauGR1]

22 minutes ago, Airalee said:

I’ve had the meter refused once as I mentioned in my original post and one time the driver didn’t want to go where I wanted.  It was terrible.  I had to wait at least another 60 seconds for another cab.  I just don’t understand how so many posters have such extreme bad luck with taxi drivers here in Bangkok.

 

Could it be that sometimes, I just use common sense, and if I am going to (or coming from) a touristy area such as Siam Paragon or whatever other mall along Sukhumvit that I feel like seeing a movie at or getting a bite to eat, that I realize that it might be better to use the BTS?  Sure, I have to walk a couple hundred meters to the BTS station and yes, I will sweat a little more but I seem to have no problem finding alternative modes of transportation (including walking) to avoid those location dependent situations with the taxi “crooks”.

 

Perhaps, after the complainers have finished their business on whatever soi they were most recently “serviced”, they should consider the kind of area that they are in and what kind of taxi drivers are waiting to screw them (a second time) and then find their way to a local BTS station.  Or are they too embarrassed when all eyes are on them as they get on the BTS at Nana?

Apart from the overtly moralistic stance of yours, i think you have a good point here.

[Airalee]

13 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Thanks for sharing. The main problem is also when tourists take a cab from BKK airport to town, they have no choice after a long flight and have just arrived at the airport where the disgusting cheating and meter refusal is done at it's full...Bangkok airport arrivals area  is obviously a "touristy area" as you say,  but difficult to just walk away with all your luggage after a long flight and look for a "non touristy" area around Suvarnabhumi....and to take the rail link MRT is not convenient with luggage, jet lag on arrival and for the further connections to the hotel.

I’ve never had a problem coming from the airport

[Airalee]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Apart from the overtly moralistic stance of yours, i think you have a good point here.

It was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek.  I’m certainly not one of the virtue signallers here on TV.

[mogandave]

I’ve never had a problem coming from the airport

I have to agree. When getting a taxi from the taxi stand at BKK I have never had the driver try to not use the meter, and they have to agree to take you before you get in, and finally, the taxi stand has a record of your name and the corresponding taxi number if complaints are registered.

Of course I’ve never been smart enough to get one of the taxis from departures, so I can’t speak to that...

[poohy]

1 hour ago, luk AJ said:

Which one of the Avengers are you?


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Avengers!? hes sounds like  a "Mr James Hunt " to me!