When a "stupid" taxi rip off is not enough! Now a US dollar is worth the same as a Euro!

[webfact]

When a "stupid" taxi rip off is not enough! Now a US dollar is worth the same as a Euro!

 

 

A Facebook site posed a simple yet pertinent question...

 

Do Thai taxi drivers think foreign tourists are stupid? 

 

Not only are prices for trips on Koh Samui expensive but the charges quoted are the same in US dollars and Euros.

 

The exchange rate to the baht is about 32 for the former and 36 for the latter, reported Little Princess of Andaman. 

 

A round trip of the island would be 4,800 baht in dollars but Europeans would have to pay 5,400 baht - 600 baht more. 

 

Even on a 50 dollar trip to some of the islands popular beaches Europeans would have to fork out an extra 200 baht over their American cousins. 

 

The site suggested that taxi drives on Samui were fools themselves if they didn't think that foreigners would take one look at the charges and ask.....

 

WHY? 

 

The Facebook site said that they had not posted the charges themselves but been contacted by many foreigners who had complained about the discrepancy. 

 

They accepted that charges on Samui would be higher than the mainland but despite extra fees for things like the rank, the queue and the "win" on the island the fares were still high. 

 

Source: Facebook Little Princess of Andaman

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-12-27

 

[Darcula]

Why not just post the prices in baht?

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, Darcula said:

Why not just post the prices in baht?

Maybe the taxi driver logic is that the Dollar/Euro 'numbers' are smaller than in Baht. so the gullible tourists will think it's not expensive?

[fruitman]

39 minutes ago, BestB said:

The assumption is wrong thinking that taxi drivers think foreigners are stupid. Fact is taxi drivers are stupid , they do not know the difference between euro or dollar ????

Ask if they will change 1000 us$ for 1000 euro and see how stupid they really are. They are just scammers.

[fruitman]

15 minutes ago, BestB said:

Have you tried asking or speculating ?

I'll stay far far away from those scammers in Phuket/Samui...

[Olmate]

10 minutes ago, fruitman said:

I'll stay far far away from those scammers in Phuket/Samui...

These signs not in Phuket ! No scam taxi,s here either, if you think price is high you bargain, same every where. Why is it scamming to ask a high price.? 

[fruitman]

1 minute ago, Olmate said:

These signs not in Phuket ! No scam taxi,s here either, if you think price is high you bargain, same every where. Why is it scamming to ask a high price.? 

Oh i see, so now they use metered taxi's in phuket/samui? Sure mate!

 

So much fun to bargain for EVERYTHING when it's the law to use metered taxi's....That's my dream when on holiday, having to bargain all day with persons who can't speak english.

 

What business do you have in phuket??

 

[kelboy]

Just keep doing it 555

they have to up the price because the stupid falangs 

don't want to go anywhere. 

[racket]

Koh Samui is a dead spot these days, they have had a terrible high season. It used to be a paradise with a nice vibe, but the more scammy a place becomes the more it reflects its death spiral. Everyone are over-charging so they can make ends meet and sell off whatever they have left, and just leave. I met a thai man last year on a boat off to Surat Thani with his truck stocked with everything he had. I remember him saying the island dying and the tourist are simply not coming back. If Bangkok airways can scam people with their high fares, why would others not do the same? You are buying a ticket to scam-city and this is what you can expect.

 

Welcome to Koh Scamui!

[Bullie]

Compared to renting a motocy for 250 baht for the whole day, and take a trip around the island your self these are ridiculous prices....

Bangkok - Trat for instance is a 300 km, 4-5 hour trip and it sets me back 3500 baht - and YES, the taxidriver still has to make it back to Bangkok, included in the price!

 

 

 

[from the home of CC]

maybe they see the writing on the wall on where they see the euro's going..

[happy chappie]

I remember being driven around phuket in a taxi to temples,then on to central festival and all this time he sat and waited for me.went shopping,restaurant and about 4-5 hours for 400b back in 2005.that was £7 then.judging by the above price list it would be 12 fold the price now.

[Tradewind777]

If they do this with the USD/ EUR can’t imagine what they do about sterling!

[fruitman]

4 minutes ago, khman said:

I wonder why Government said Meter is mandatory, but no meter in Samui... No meter AT ALL.

Army cannot make the law respected?

Because the government has no influence at all on Samui....in fact it's not even Thailand.

[Development at Khaoyai]

When I was last in Samui, I was delighted to see signs in Nathon, that Phantip minibuses would now take you anywhere on the island for 250 baht !  That makes these charges appear grotesque!

[yellowboat]

That's reputation well all know.  Question everybody and everything in Thailand.  The country is full of good people and arrogantly stupid thieving types, like these.  

[Jo M]

Renting a car per day with full insurance in Samui about 1,200 THB, about 37$ or 33€. Less than the cheapest trip by taxi... Hahaha

[billsmart]

Did they forget to put in the decimal? ????

[Destiny1990]

Seems meter taxi not yet invented there.

good reason for never to go back there again.

[khunJeroen]

Well at least they publish the prices so you know in advance so there is no bill shock later on and btw you dont have to take those taxis.

[Lipoman]

I departed Samui 10 days ago, after a five day holiday.  Taxi from USM to my hotel in Lamai Beach 700THB.  Taxi from McDonalds to Chaweeng Central Festival 600THB, same price on the return trip, Dusk to 22:00, if time of day matters.  Same price from my hotel to Samui int'l stadium for muay thai fights on Thu & Sat, Dec 13 & 15, respectively; 600THB for return trip afterward.  Since I was on holiday the price didn't seem terrible to me.  Especially since I had been drinking alcohol before each journey.  The drivers quoted me 700THB, they each accepted 600THB.  Did I overpay or not overpay? 

[prakhonchai nick]

32 years in LOS and NEVER been down saaf!.. Always been way overpriced and I am known to speak my mind.

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

 

A Facebook site posed a simple yet pertinent question...

 

Do Thai taxi drivers think foreign tourists are stupid? 

 

Not only are prices for trips on Koh Samui expensive but the charges quoted are the same in US dollars and Euros.

 

The exchange rate to the baht is about 32 for the former and 36 for the latter, reported Little Princess of Andaman. 

 

A round trip of the island would be 4,800 baht in dollars but Europeans would have to pay 5,400 baht - 600 baht more. 

 

Even on a 50 dollar trip to some of the islands popular beaches Europeans would have to fork out an extra 200 baht over their American cousins. 

 

The site suggested that taxi drives on Samui were fools themselves if they didn't think that foreigners would take one look at the charges and ask.....

 

WHY? 

 

The Facebook site said that they had not posted the charges themselves but been contacted by many foreigners who had complained about the discrepancy. 

 

They accepted that charges on Samui would be higher than the mainland but despite extra fees for things like the rank, the queue and the "win" on the island the fares were still high.  

 

Source: Facebook Little Princess of Andaman

Nowhere does it claim that anyone thinks that the value of the USD and the Euro are the same!

 

Could be something to do with the fact that $150 is easier to exchange than EUR131.73!

 

Or, of course, the whingers could easily get around the issue by not expecting Thai taxi drivers to accept Euros or Dollars and simply pay in Baht, the currency of the country they are in!

[geriatrickid]

3 hours ago, Olmate said:

 

Yes mate! in Phuket, my reply was about Phuket! Metered cabs,grab,vans,tuk tuk, baht bus, public and route bus, moto taxi or you can hire limos. Hire cars bikes cycles, not much choice I know! Speak English you ask,this is Thailand and if you communicate your destination I’m sure you,ll get a price, then it’s up to you! Ps my business?

The metered taxis   are not allowed access to the key tourist locales from Kata to Surin and you know it. The metered taxis  refuse to use the meter from the airport and I had multiple confrontations with the drivers. Not  an option to argue as they are all in on the the price fixing.

It's offensive to those of us who have been around and had to deal with the rip offs of everyone from the illegal taxi mobsters, to the tuk tuks, to the other organized crime entities, when you claim that there isn't an intentional rip off in effect. No sangthaew options in Patong are there? It is deplorable that they were  charging 400 baht to honest and decent elderly Scandanavian and Japanese tourists  to go less than 1 km. The transportation . problems have been  discussed for the past decade and I remind you that the public bus system was sabotaged by the  tuk tuk groups who used physical threats and violence to  interfere.

[Vacuum]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Do Thai taxi drivers think foreign tourists are stupid?

Anyone who pay $150 for a "roundtrip" on a tiny island is stupid.

[korkenzieher]

The concept of repeat customers, and spreading your business through good reputation isn't very high on their list. Maybe it is just the case that there's no-one there, because the once-bitten-twice-shy response to this, has worked its way through just about everybody that might want to go there.

[JimmyJ]

2 people in another thread said that sign is not really displayed.

[thailand49]

5 hours ago, Darcula said:

Why not just post the prices in baht?

Small brains come up with small visuals?

 

100 US, 100 Euro

3200 baht,  3600 baht

 

see the difference? or the reaction? 

 

 

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

2 people in another thread said that sign is not really displayed.

Would you care to provide a link - was it a TV thread/facebook/somewhere else?

[Bigpanda420]

It's the taxi mafia again.....on Samui always catch the red and yellow taxis, they have propper insurance just in case of an accident