Chiang Mai drivers complain about Grab

[snoop1130]

Chiang Mai drivers complain about Grab

By Nisanart Kangwanwong 
The Nation

 

 

Drivers of red public songthaews and tuk-tuks in Chiang Mai submitted a petition to provincial governor Supachai Iamsuwan to complain about the Grab ride-hailing app.

 

The service is offered on smartphone apps and offered by normal drivers. 

 

The petition said the app had caused their income to drop by more than 50 per cent.

 

Deputy governor Phutthipong Sirimat said he would pass this case to the Dhamrongtham Center for further investigation. 

 

Phutthipong said the director of the provincial land transport office would be contacted to discuss the issue.

 

The group's leader, Korn Kankanokporn, said drivers’ incomes had dropped from around Bt2,500 per day to less than Bt1,500 since Grab arrived. 

 

He said Grab used personal cars and motorcycles, which had no public transport licence and were hence illegal. 

 

The group has made similar complaints before without success. 

 

He said his group would employ the Chiang Mai Lawyers Council.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30369515

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-05-16

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[BritManToo]

Nothing to stop them signing up with Grab .......

but they wouldn't be able to extort tourists anymore as the prices are all fixed in the App.

[sammieuk1]

Oh dear what a shocker for the taxi drivers but never mind just Thais doing other Thais jobs????

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

The group's leader, Korn Kankanokporn, said drivers’ incomes had dropped from around Bt2,500 per day to less than Bt1,500 since Grab arrived. 

I hope the Thai tax authorities will be making sure the drivers claiming that income on the petition all paid the correct income tax for past years.

[arithai12]

My contribution to tuk-tuk and red bus drivers salary went to zero already well before Grab.

 

[ZeVonderBearz]

So, I could take songtawes from my house to my favourite bar. This would involve walking a KM to the nearest main road, waiting and finding songtaews going my way and I'd have to change at the old city, also I'd have to barter to get a price and sit in the back of a pickup truck. Total time 1 hour. Cost 60 baht if the drivers are giving the real price to farangs. Hassle = a lot. 

 

Or I take a Grab from door to door. Total time 20/30 minutes depending  on how much traffic there is. Cost 80-120 baht. Hassle = minimal.

 

Yeah, give me grab any day of the week. 

[sweatalot]

to lazy to give better service without extorting tourists and full ov envy to those who do without extorting.

 

Let those dinosaurs go down or change for the better - (sign up with grab e.g.)

 

What will the government do? Protect a minority of cheaters doing bad work - or protect the majority of citizens to have  sincere service available?

[sharktooth]

Polite, courteous drivers in clean cars who know where you are and where you want to go... or an arrogant, lazy cock in some old banger, who has no idea what the hell is going on? And that’s without even going down the avenue of cost comparison.

[smedly]

7 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Drivers of red public songthaews and tuk-tuks in Chiang Mai submitted a petition to provincial governor Supachai Iamsuwan to complain about the Grab ride-hailing app.

why ?

 

Oh wait, they don't like not being able to rip off tourists

 

didn't read the article just as far as the quote above  was enough

[THAIJAMES]

To me this is all good news as it means less of these polluting red cars on the roads.

 

Please more grab taxis

[holy cow cm]

Thai are becoming the biggest bunch of whiners. We can't gouge as much as Grab is here and people want to be comfortable.

[jackdd]

It's of course all because of grab, and totally not the lack of tourists because Chiang Mai got labeled the most polluted city in the world ????

The first thing they should do is to make the pricing and routing more transparent. In Thai it says "not more than 30 baht", while in english it says "30 baht". The city should change this to a fixed price of 15 THB for every ride, clearly written in Thai and English on each vehicle, and make clear which route the vehicle is using.

[cnx101]

Funny how Vietnam, Malaysia and the rest of Asia don’t make these problems about Grab, the only taxis I’d ever use, good service, polite drivers, and in Vietnam before I got my own bike I used Grab bikes every time.

[BritManToo]

4 minutes ago, cnx101 said:

Funny how Vietnam, Malaysia and the rest of Asia don’t make these problems about Grab, the only taxis I’d ever use, good service, polite drivers, and in Vietnam before I got my own bike I used Grab bikes every time.

In Cambodia, PP, it's mainly 'passapp' very cheap and easy to use.

No airport criminal gangs stopping them driving you to and from there either.

[Hanuman2547]

I was in Chiang Mai last December for a weekend.  I primarily used Grab taxi almost all the time.  It was quick, fast, cheaper for three people, and went directly to my destination without having to follow the standard songthaew route.  Sorry red bus drivers, Grab is a way better deal.  

 

Now if they could just sort out the airport mafia and their extortionist policies with regards to getting transport into the city.

[csmith]

Surprised they didn't also complain about new(ish) Viabus routes/service in Chiangmai … ViaBus
https://itunes.apple.com/th/app/viabus/id1074208600?mt=8

[Assurancetourix]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The petition said the app had caused their income to drop by more than 50 per cent.

 

The group's leader, Korn Kankanokporn, said drivers’ incomes had dropped from around Bt2,500 per day to less than Bt1,500 since Grab arrived. 

It's not more than 50% but less than 40% ..

[new2here]

I think it’s fair to say that - in some cases - the level of service etc that the current DLT-licensed taxi provide could clearly be improved, and failing to do so opens them up to those kinds of issues and makes them, generally speaking, a hard group to be sympathetic towards..... I get that.. but... I DO also think that Grab drivers should be held to the same regulatory “playing field” in terms of licensing, insurance etc... in other words, I do think that either the playing field needs to be changed to expressly permit non-yellow plates to be used and address the licensing and other issues .... or mandate that white-plates may not under any circumstances be paid transport...

To me, what the playing field will be is one issue, the necessity that all the player use the same standard, I think is something different.




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[Nowisee]

I surmise that IF the majority of songtaew drivers (and perhaps taxis) did not constantly cheat/ripoff/overcharge passengers, the very people that make their living possible, that these people just might not be using Grab as much.  If it was a pleasant experience, most people would not change and would in fact support them.
This, like most other forms of customer service, loyalty, fairness and repeat customers is lost on these people.
They get zero sympathy from me.  
Plus, songtaews are traffic jamming, polluting nuisances.  I haven't used one in years and never used a tuk tuk.  
 

 

[Rockhopper]

Welcome to Thailand 4.0

[wisperone]

In addition to Grab, Indonesian ride service is spreading out.  In Indonesia it is called Go Jet, in Vietnam it is called Go Viet.

[alant]

Whilst I have some understanding of the argument a friend of mine made that the Red van and Tuk tuk drivers are licenced and have invested in their livelihood I regard their action as projectionist. Moreover there service is not in line with my needs.

My reasons?

Service, since the advent of Uber then Grab they have done nothing to improve their service or standardise fares, they continue to try to con as much of a fare as possible at least from farangs.

They refuse fares, even within the city where they think 1 person isn't worth the effort.

They do not frequent the area I live in, nor do they want to go there in the evening.

 

As a result of this I find the use of Grab almost an essential for me, they will come to my house and pick me up, they will return me to my house. I know the charge, the ride is recorded and therefore safer.

[jingjai9]

It is a new world we are living in with phone Apps. Grab is one manifestation of entrepeneurs capitlaizing on phone apps. New businesses that utilize phone Apps surface daily and whenenver a new enterprise begins, it is going to step on someone's proverbial toes and threaten their way of life. The first big splash was Amazon against brick and mortar stores -  The list grows.

 

In New York City several taxi drivers committed suicide because they could no longer make a livable income with competition from Uber. How many stores and malls did Amazon "destroy" ? Life goes on.

 

In America we recently witnessed the demise of Sears after more than 100 years in business. Remember many years ago, Sears stole business from local stores when they published their groundbreaking mail order catalog and enabled rural people to buy products not available locally.

 

I think the biggest threat to life in the era of phone Apps is the effect on wages and employment. Do amazon workers make more or less than clerks working in a store at a mall? What does a Uber or Grab driver earn.  Do Amazon and Grab make products and services cheaper? If so how are the profits distrubuted?  Does the money spread to thousands of people or are the bulk of the profits collected by a member of the billionaire class like Jeff Bezos? Do Grab drivers keep all the money collected by fares or do they share it with Grab? Who owns Grab?

 

 

The industrial revolution like the digital revolution produced the same social dynamic. Imagine if you were a blacksmith or a dealer of wagon wheels when interchangeable parts and division of labor factory production were on the rise.

[4737 Carlin]

2 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

 

Now if they could just sort out the airport mafia and their extortionist policies with regards to getting transport into the city.

There's a bus into the city from the airport - it costs 20 baht. 

[Burma Bill]

2 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

 Grab is a way better deal.   

 

I appear to be the only one who has had a bad experience of Grab in Chiang Mai, so much so I decided never again. The booked car arrived being driven by a young lady who, as it transpired, did not understand English. Having stated my hotel destination, she then toured the inner city having no idea where to go. After much frustration, I asked her to stop and I got out more or less in the same area I started from. There was no payment and fortunately an empty passing "red bus" took me direct to my hotel for 40 baht - brilliant!

[malibukid]

back to the plow with these crooks.  half the time they never understand where you want to go.  let the Chinese have them.  plus there is a lovely new bus service now in CM that i support.  who wants to sit in back of a rickety old pick up truck in the heat. can't wait for the flying taxis

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

I appear to be the only one who has had a bad experience of Grab in Chiang Mai, so much so I decided never again. The booked car arrived being driven by a young lady who, as it transpired, did not understand English. Having stated my hotel destination, she then toured the inner city having no idea where to go. After much frustration, I asked her to stop and I got out more or less in the same area I started from. There was no payment and fortunately an empty passing "red bus" took me direct to my hotel for 40 baht - brilliant!

Doesn't Grab work using GPS as your start and end points when you call?

(I've only ever used Passapp, where you enter your own start and end points, and the car just takes you between the two)

 

How can the GPS not work?

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Doesn't Grab work using GPS as your start and end points when you call?

(I've only ever used Passapp, where you enter your own start and end points, and the car just takes you between the two)

 

How can the GPS not work?

 

I've had issue with grab who are unable to follow their GPS because:

a) they either have difficulty following a Map

b) they have their Wifi switched off (triangulation is less accurate)

c) their data has run out and they can't find the location

 

On those occasions the driver usually calls up and asks where you are - it works if your Thai is passable. 

 

There is also the common issue for drivers where the passenger puts in the wrong location pin making because their Wifi is not on (and other reasons listed about) which makes it difficult for the driver to accurately make the pickup point.

[Deli]

Nationwide a preferred way to spend time: complaining about competition.

[hotchilli]

It's not about Grab... it's about any competition who offers another choice of transportation... They want the monopoly!