Video: "Welcome to Chiang Mai" - tourists forced to leave GrabCar as tempers flare

[StevieAus]

19 hours ago, Grusa said:

Correct me if I am wrong - I am sure somebody will - but I believe there is a difference between Grab Taxi and Grab Car. The former is a regular taxi, with or without meter, but at least you know the cost up front, and it's Legal.  Grab Car is an unlicensed private car, like Uber, cheaper, and possibly/probably illegal, but again you know the cost upfront but with a better chance to be shot in the head. Then there's Grab Tuk Tuk, Motocy, Delivery, Prostitute, etc., wouldn't know about them!

 

I am just back from atriparound Australia. My impression of taxis there, in even the skankiest towns, one number nationwide to call a taxi, courteous service, vehicles vary from very good to atrociously old and filthy, drivers in the boonies very good and knowledgeable, in fhe cities clueless immigrants, the GPS and Communications systems are awesome including payment by EPOS, expensive and all suffer from the supplementary charges for airport pick-up/delivery. 

I tried Uber, no response, useless - in Sydney, at least.

Regarding The supplementary charges for airports to be fair that doesn’t go to the taxi driver but is a charge levied by the owners of the airport which was privatized years ago.

We recently visited the UK which involved flying into Manchester and were charged two UK pounds for pickup and drop off in a taxi again a charge levied by the owners of the airport, even applies if your in a private car.

Talk about a licence to print money.

[HHTel]

4 hours ago, Galactus said:

grab is a half foreign owned company providing illegal services

 

4 hours ago, Galactus said:

Grab Taxi should be closed bc it is illegal.

It's not.  Do catch up,  Recognised by the DLT in 2017 providing the car is properly registered.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed. 

[Megasin1]

You gotta love the comedic value of this report, an unlicensed tuk tuk driver attacks an unlicensed grab driver...LOL...and it's not his first time.... says it all... so you have to ask why does he feel he has the right to attack someone who is doing exactly what he is doing? It can only come down to one thing, he believes he has paid someone for the 'right' to be there. People need to start thinking carefully about picking up a family member or friend from the airport, you could be next!!!

[Vacuum]

On 10/2/2018 at 5:42 PM, Formaleins said:

They ruin everything they touch, bunch of ar$eholes the lot of them Time for more tourists to use Grab, if it gets around enough it will be stopped aand people can choose their ride freely. Nothing worse than some of those old repulsive fossils that "drive: those red cars around Chiang Mai. They cannot drive to save their lives and continuously cause hold ups and near accidents. I would drive them all out to a big empty field, lock them in their shitty red cars, chuck a gallon of gas on them and burn the lot of them. Chiang Mai would be better off without them.

 

So, you're suggesting that many thousands Thai people, should use Grab instead of the red cars? You must be insane if you think this would work.

[chang1]

8 hours ago, car720 said:

The taxi driver ends up paying for that.  It is charged directly by the government.  The taxi driver only makes what is on the meter which is also set by the government.

You are not thinking this through. If the government did not make this charge, meter fares could be lowered. Customers are paying and the driver is just giving it to the government in advance. 

[chang1]

6 hours ago, Galactus said:

grab is a half foreign owned company providing illegal services and their service is never great as they say as well.

and it steals the jobs of locals and money goes to Singapore possibly tax free?

I never understand the logic of calling a grab taxi in a bus station where there are lots of other taxis.

for what, for paying 30 baht less?

Grab Taxi should be closed bc it is illegal. Legal taxi guys pay tax and pay to mafia and pay for queue and all. grab taxi guys pay nothing.

If you were in the same situation, you do the same to protect your turf and to feed your family. easy to speak from here.

I don't think I can agree with anything you are saying to justify what happened.

"service is never great as they say as well." Thai taxi service is not without its faults either.

"it steals the jobs of locals and money goes to Singapore possibly tax free?" Thailand "steals" British jobs by selling products cheaper than the "locals" can make them.

"Grab Taxi should be closed bc it is illegal." Is it illegal? This one may have been but so was the tuk tuk driver.

"and pay to mafia" this alone is reason not to use them. 

"If you were in the same situation, you do the same to protect your turf and to feed your family. easy to speak from here." No I would not behave like these pricks. If Grab is so much more profitable then I would do the sensible thing and register with Grab. 

[Galactus]

35 minutes ago, chang1 said:

I don't think I can agree with anything you are saying to justify what happened.

"service is never great as they say as well." Thai taxi service is not without its faults either.

"it steals the jobs of locals and money goes to Singapore possibly tax free?" Thailand "steals" British jobs by selling products cheaper than the "locals" can make them.

"Grab Taxi should be closed bc it is illegal." Is it illegal? This one may have been but so was the tuk tuk driver.

"and pay to mafia" this alone is reason not to use them. 

"If you were in the same situation, you do the same to protect your turf and to feed your family. easy to speak from here." No I would not behave like these pricks. If Grab is so much more profitable then I would do the sensible thing and register with Grab. 

 

yes, grab is illegal. you dont know that?

Thai products doesnt steal British jobs too! c'mon, what is the relation?

this is not a product, an illegal service and i prefer to support locals than a Singaporean company doing illegal business.

[chang1]

7 hours ago, Galactus said:

I never understand the logic of calling a grab taxi in a bus station where there are lots of other taxis.

for what, for paying 30 baht less?

This comment needs its own reply.

I cannot understand why you would pay 30 Baht more for a taxi.

Toenail sums it up nicely

•  #110

Posted 8 hours ago

"Sad the local “taxi” or tuk-tuk drivers cannot understand why many people prefer to use their smartphones and book a “Grab” or “Uber” ( not found in SE Asia)  1) Reliable drivers that are rated by the customer 2) clean cars 3) well groomed drivers 4) no nonsense in price 5) a feeling of confidence since the driver is held accountable whereas a driver with the taxi mafia is not"

[chang1]

27 minutes ago, Galactus said:

 

yes, grab is illegal. you dont know that?

Thai products doesnt steal British jobs too! c'mon, what is the relation?

this is not a product, an illegal service and i prefer to support locals than a Singaporean company doing illegal business.

 

Many on here say it is legal. No I don't know.

The relation is simple - supply and demand. In the UK we demand products that are made in Thailand cheaper than it is possible to make them in the UK. This gives jobs to Thais, who can do a better job at making things cheap, which could be done by UK workers.

Grab can provide a better service because it is run by people in Singapore or wherever. So instead of giving "jobs" to local mafia they are given to people who can do a far better job of running the service.

"i prefer to support locals than a Singaporean company doing illegal business." Why? These taxi and tuk tuks are run by illegal mafias, they often use violence to remove and stop competition (including from Thais). Outside of Bangkok they illegally refuse to use the meter. I have had drivers deliberately take long routes to inflate the fare if on a meter. This is the second time that driver has used violence. 

I was in Singapore years ago and their taxis were great. Polite, efficient and even had a notice in the car saying please don't tip the driver as it is discouraged. I have had many good drivers in Bangkok and some rural places but in most tourist areas it is a completely different story. I would remove all of them and bring in drivers from Singapore in a flash. The local drivers are vermin.

Just one example - my wife (Thai) and 3 friends asked to go somewhere in Hua Hin, they got in and the taxi did a u turn and dropped them off on the other side of the road instead of telling them they were so close already. He still charged them 200 Baht. My wife paid this because it was her fault for not knowing her way around. Don't know who I was more Angry with.

[HHTel]

2 hours ago, Galactus said:

 

yes, grab is illegal. you dont know that?

Thai products doesnt steal British jobs too! c'mon, what is the relation?

this is not a product, an illegal service and i prefer to support locals than a Singaporean company doing illegal business.

 

Really!

 

Quote

Uber and Grab declared legal by Land Transport Department

Jun 26, 2017, 11:26 AM

 

Quote

Ride hailing service is permissible but the cars used in the service must be properly registered, said Mr Sanit Promwong, director-general of Land Transport Department, on Monday.

He asked traditional taxi drivers to refrain from taking the law into their own hands by harassing drivers of Uber or GrabCar ride hailing service, but to report to officials of the Land Transport Department of taxies suspected of operating without permission so that an investigation can be conducted and punishment meted out accordingly.

Noting that there is no law pertaining to ride hailing service for the time being, Mr Sanit said the department had set up a panel to study the possibility of introducing ride hailing application with the transport system. The study, he added, will take 4-5 months.

The Land Transport Department chief, however, made it clear that the department was ready to support new taxi service as another option for the public and for the benefit of the public in general.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ride-hailing-taxi-service-ok-cars-must-properly-registered/

[Rc2702]

I expect if central group buy grab this will put an end to this nonsense

[chang1]

43 minutes ago, hyku1147 said:

For 200 baht (albeit an inflated price) a red truck will take you from the bus station to your hotel; however, if you have time - you can just walk until you can hail a regular red truck for 30 baht.

My point is they would still charge 200 Baht if your hotel was across the street from the bus station instead of telling you where it is. For the same price you can cross Bangkok in a taxi. It is a mafia run rip off. 200 Baht compared to 30 Baht for almost the same service. Hua Hin is on my list of places to avoid because of this. 

[nahkit]

On 10/2/2018 at 6:34 PM, tingtongtourist said:

but that can even work in your favour: many traffic jam my way when raining, and im not sitting in a cab for hours, just get a bus or van

So the bus or van just flies over the traffic jam does it?

[Galactus]

2 hours ago, HHTel said:

 

Really!

 

 

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ride-hailing-taxi-service-ok-cars-must-properly-registered/

 

well, they say different here:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-thailand/thai-transport-authorities-crack-down-on-uber-grab-drivers-seek-ban-idUSKBN16E17R

 

check here too.

and tell me, how this works?

legal taxies pony up a million to get registered officially while grab taxis do their business with white plates.  according to a taxi drive i talked, he said 1.2 million baht for a plate in bangkok if i dont remember wrong and he was saying like investment will pay itself in like 7 years with the cost of taxi car.

open your eyes a bit and understand why these legal taxi guys get aggressive. 

yeah it is easy and selfish to think like 'i do whatever i want and call my taxi wherever i want'

[SuperTed]

Better taxi service requires better regulation implemented by an effective police force and taxi regulator. GFL Thailand.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[SuperTed]

Taxi, Tuk and Motorcycle drivers, along with day tour operators, ruin most tourists holidays to Thailand. One ugly moment can ruin a family holiday.

You almost can’t blame the Chinese for coming here in their own buses, going to their own restaurants, being led around by their own people.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[CLW]

 
well, they say different here:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-thailand/thai-transport-authorities-crack-down-on-uber-grab-drivers-seek-ban-idUSKBN16E17R
 
check here too.
and tell me, how this works?
legal taxies pony up a million to get registered officially while grab taxis do their business with white plates.  according to a taxi drive i talked, he said 1.2 million baht for a plate in bangkok if i dont remember wrong and he was saying like investment will pay itself in like 7 years with the cost of taxi car.
open your eyes a bit and understand why these legal taxi guys get aggressive. 
yeah it is easy and selfish to think like 'i do whatever i want and call my taxi wherever i want'

Sorry I doubt that it costs more than a million baht to register a taxi.
Alone the massive number of taxis in Bangkok let this figure seem very unlikely already...

[hobz]

28 minutes ago, Galactus said:

 

well, they say different here:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-thailand/thai-transport-authorities-crack-down-on-uber-grab-drivers-seek-ban-idUSKBN16E17R

 

check here too.

and tell me, how this works?

legal taxies pony up a million to get registered officially while grab taxis do their business with white plates.  according to a taxi drive i talked, he said 1.2 million baht for a plate in bangkok if i dont remember wrong and he was saying like investment will pay itself in like 7 years with the cost of taxi car.

open your eyes a bit and understand why these legal taxi guys get aggressive. 

yeah it is easy and selfish to think like 'i do whatever i want and call my taxi wherever i want'

Clearly something wrong with system when they pay 1.2 million and the end product is easily outcompeted by a random dude with a car and a smartphone.

 

Where did those 1.2 million go and for what?? 

 

They thought them how to drive? How to navigate? How to speak with customers?? All solved by common sense + smartphone app.. 1.2 million was a waste of money... I feel bad for them...kind of... But then when they overcharge themselves out of the market they have only themselves to blame.

[chang1]

15 minutes ago, Galactus said:

 

well, they say different here:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-thailand/thai-transport-authorities-crack-down-on-uber-grab-drivers-seek-ban-idUSKBN16E17R

 

check here too.

and tell me, how this works?

legal taxies pony up a million to get registered officially while grab taxis do their business with white plates.  according to a taxi drive i talked, he said 1.2 million baht for a plate in bangkok if i dont remember wrong and he was saying like investment will pay itself in like 7 years with the cost of taxi car.

open your eyes a bit and understand why these legal taxi guys get aggressive. 

yeah it is easy and selfish to think like 'i do whatever i want and call my taxi wherever i want'

Uber sold out to grab a long time ago. That link must be out of date. It doesn't matter how much they pay to operate many still operate illegally. Bangkok taxis are generally way better than tourist town taxis like Hua Hin or on islands like Phuket or Samui. 

If taxis are as wonderful as you seem to think, why is anyone using Grab? We are pissed off with being ripped off and treated badly by mafia controlled @rseholes.

[HHTel]

43 minutes ago, Galactus said:

 

well, they say different here:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-thailand/thai-transport-authorities-crack-down-on-uber-grab-drivers-seek-ban-idUSKBN16E17R

 

check here too.

and tell me, how this works?

legal taxies pony up a million to get registered officially while grab taxis do their business with white plates.  according to a taxi drive i talked, he said 1.2 million baht for a plate in bangkok if i dont remember wrong and he was saying like investment will pay itself in like 7 years with the cost of taxi car.

open your eyes a bit and understand why these legal taxi guys get aggressive. 

yeah it is easy and selfish to think like 'i do whatever i want and call my taxi wherever i want'

Look at the date of those reports.  That was some time ago.  Everything changes.

[Galactus]

10 minutes ago, chang1 said:

Uber sold out to grab a long time ago. That link must be out of date. It doesn't matter how much they pay to operate many still operate illegally. Bangkok taxis are generally way better than tourist town taxis like Hua Hin or on islands like Phuket or Samui. 

If taxis are as wonderful as you seem to think, why is anyone using Grab? We are pissed off with being ripped off and treated badly by mafia controlled @rseholes.

 

yep, then you use another mafia, an international one which operates illegally. moreover, living in highly tourist cities of course have some disadvantages and sorry but you cant complain for that. move to ubon ratchathani for example. taxi guys are great there and cheap. and less tourist, less competition, less aggressiveness.

[Galactus]

2 minutes ago, HHTel said:

Look at the date of those reports.  That was some time ago.  Everything changes.

 

clearly, only registered legal taxi with proper plates can work for grab taxi, rest is illegal. no need to be a genius to understand that. hence all these protests by legal taxi guys.

[Galactus]

20 minutes ago, hobz said:

Clearly something wrong with system when they pay 1.2 million and the end product is easily outcompeted by a random dude with a car and a smartphone.

 

Where did those 1.2 million go and for what?? 

 

They thought them how to drive? How to navigate? How to speak with customers?? All solved by common sense + smartphone app.. 1.2 million was a waste of money... I feel bad for them...kind of... But then when they overcharge themselves out of the market they have only themselves to blame.

 

unfortunately but that is bc of 35 million tourists coming to thailand making these guys aggressive. moreover, they need to pay 1000 to 1200 to the owner of gaxi if they are drivers. that makes them more aggressive i reckon. can understand the pressure? just some empathy. you need to make 1200 baht a day just to cover the rent and you need to pay petrol, food and for your family waiting for food back home.

it is easy to speak from your comfy chair in front of your computer!

 

sure legal taxi guys improve their services but they will due to the fear of grab or uber. new regulations follow in time too.

anyway, no way i support grab or uber.

prefer to pay 50 baht more to a local guy. but that is me.

[HHTel]

40 minutes ago, Galactus said:

 

clearly, only registered legal taxi with proper plates can work for grab taxi, rest is illegal. no need to be a genius to understand that. hence all these protests by legal taxi guys.

That is what I said! http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ride-hailing-taxi-service-ok-cars-must-properly-registered/

 

There are illegal ops on both sides.  In the case in question, the tuk-tuk driver was also illegal.  The fact is that Grab is operating legally in a number of countries including Thailand.

 

GrabTaxi Holdings Pte. Ltd. (branded as simply Grab) is a Singapore-based technology company that offers the only ride-hailing, ride sharing, and logistics services through its app in Singapore and neighboring Southeast Asian nations Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

 

Local taxi drivers need to accept that and compete. Doesn't come naturally here unfortunately.

[CLW]

 
unfortunately but that is bc of 35 million tourists coming to thailand making these guys aggressive. moreover, they need to pay 1000 to 1200 to the owner of gaxi if they are drivers. that makes them more aggressive i reckon. can understand the pressure? just some empathy. you need to make 1200 baht a day just to cover the rent and you need to pay petrol, food and for your family waiting for food back home.
it is easy to speak from your comfy chair in front of your computer!
 
sure legal taxi guys improve their services but they will due to the fear of grab or uber. new regulations follow in time too.
anyway, no way i support grab or uber.
prefer to pay 50 baht more to a local guy. but that is me.

I have a different opinion, especially in Bangkok.
They can't generate a proper income because there are simply too much taxis competing for customers.
Supply and demand, simple calculation.
Nobody forces them to drive taxi.
The lazy ones are also the most aggressive ones and trying to cheat.
Why should they then refuse to take passengers somewhere or not drive by meter...
No wonder they have no money every day if they act like this...

[chang1]

1 hour ago, Galactus said:

 

yep, then you use another mafia, an international one which operates illegally. moreover, living in highly tourist cities of course have some disadvantages and sorry but you cant complain for that. move to ubon ratchathani for example. taxi guys are great there and cheap. and less tourist, less competition, less aggressiveness.

I don't know how legal Grab taxis are but on here more people think they can operate legally than not. I would not class a legal reputable company that provides a good service as a mafia.

You then are arguing against yourself. Ubon tuk tuks are nothing like the ones found in say Phuket. Grab will have trouble making business there as there will be little need for it. You will not see many complaints about Ubon taxis. Just because you live in Phuket doesn't mean you should have to put up with bad service from rouge drivers. Would your opinion change if when in Ubon you had to pay 200 Baht to go 300m,  risk being beat up if you said the fare was wrong or being driven at speeds way above the speed limit? 

A tuk tuk in Phuket has only slightly higher expenses and potentially more customers than one in Ubon so there is no justification for fares 4 or more times higher for an inferior service.

 

[chang1]

1 hour ago, Galactus said:

anyway, no way i support grab or uber.

prefer to pay 50 baht more to a local guy. but that is me.

The Grab driver is a local guy who doesn't hand your 50 Baht over to the local mafia.

[chang1]

1 hour ago, Galactus said:

unfortunately but that is bc of 35 million tourists coming to thailand making these guys aggressive. 

I don't know where to start with this comment. It is wrong in so many ways. Sure there will be many tourists who I would not want to deal with but they are a tiny minority. It is not tourists making them aggressive it is greed. This greed has partly been fuelled by weak minded tourists who give in and pay excessive fares and give tips when they are not deserved without thinking about the consequences. If more people stood up to these vermin instead of being intimidated by them things may get better. 

If tourists are the problem maybe Grab will take the pressure off letting them all calm down and start to provide a good service everywhere.

[sanemax]

2 hours ago, Galactus said:

no way i support grab or uber.

prefer to pay 50 baht more to a local guy. but that is me.

 

    Uber drivers are also "local" guys