Crackdown on Bangkok taxis: New fines for drivers who refuse passengers

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Department of Land Transport officials have announced a new crackdown on taxi drivers who refuse fares from passengers.

 

Under the new plans, the fine for rejecting a passenger will be increased from 2,000 baht to 5,000 baht.

 

The increase will put the fines for taxi drivers on a par with those in place for other types of public transport such as vans and buses who reject passengers.

 

Taxi drivers who are found to frequently reject fares also face having their licenses suspended for between 3-6 months, Daily News reported.

 

Along with not using the meter, refusing fares is typically the biggest complaint passengers have about taxi drivers in Bangkok.

 

According to Land Transport Department stats, Bangkok taxi drivers are most likely to refuse passengers on Sukhumvit, Silom, Sathorn and Phayathai roads.

 

Passengers can complain about Bangkok taxi drivers by calling the Land Transport Department hotline on 1584.

 

Source: Daily News

 

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3 minutes ago, webfact said:

Under the new plans, the fine for rejecting a passenger will be increased from 2,000 baht to 5,000 baht.

There's no point in this if it's not enforced, and I'm almost certain it won't be.

Edited June 24, 20197 yr by Wiggy

What's the point if the 1584 hotline do not speak English. 

They wanted a Thai to speak to them when i rang 2 weeks ago?

Crazy. 

Is this a crackdown on the previous crackdown on crackdowns ? ????

Not easy being a Taxi driver, I only drove in Brisbane, Aust and that had its moments.

We did use the meter unless there was a special request for an extended hire.

 

If in Thailand I expect the meter to be used and most times it is.

 

Mind you I often refused to take passengers if I thought they where going to spew up in my Cab or where drunk to the eyeballs.

 

BKK traffic. well you can hardely blame the drivers for not wanting to brave that.

Give us a way to report abuses though an app or social media account. Not some phone number

Not using the meter  55555 just get out.     Amazing how quickly the taxi stops if you open the door .   Yes I have done it in the middle of a junction.    It would help if foreign visitors who visit occasionally think that negotiating the price is somehow better than using the meter.

Is there a capital city with cheaper taxis than Bangkok?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

so why new fines if the old fines were never implemented?

The never ending crackdowns....none ever work for very long.

And do you think it works? To laugh, how can a passenger who has been refused prove it?

The promulgated crackdown is set to be implemented between 1600 and 1700 p.m. on Friday 28th. June.

After that it will be business as usual...................until the next crackdown is announced in a years time.

They say Suk Rd and Silom are bad for it, so why can't City Hall have inspectors down there trying to get a taxi and fine them if they wont accept ?  Simple answer ?  It requires work. Something Thai people don't want to do

I think the taxis sometimes have valid reasons for not wanting to go on a certain route.

Who would want to head into a 2 hour traffic jam?

or travel an hour through a jam to get to a U-turn thats only a few kms away?

 

Also, these guys listen to traffic reports on radio and know the problem areas.

If they accept a farangs fare, then get stuck in a traffic, next thing that farang will be swearing and accusing them of going the long way or deliberately going into a jam.

they cant win!

 

Sometimes you will hear people complaining about not getting a ride, and they are standing like 100-200metres from a MRT or BTS!!

There are so many buses, vans, bikes..so many options..

At least do a bit of research in your surroundings and youll never have a problem

 

19 hours ago, webfact said:

axi drivers who are found to frequently reject fares also face having their licenses suspended for between 3-6 months, 

 

""face having their licenses suspended for between 3-6 months

 

more lucrative to not suspend the license. let them keep paying 5k a pop

14 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Is there a capital city with cheaper taxis than Bangkok?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

CHEAPEST CITIES TO TAKE A TAXI (PER 3KM)

1. Cairo, Egypt 70c

2. Mumbai, India $1.80

3. Bucharest, Romania $1.88

4. Jakarta, Indonesia $1.88

5. Mexico City, Mexico $1.96

6. Tunis, Tunisia $2.07

7. Bangkok, Thailand $2.10

8. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia $2.42

9. Sofia, Bulgaria $2.48

10. Hanoi, Vietnam $2.67

17 hours ago, sherwood said:

Not easy being a Taxi driver, I only drove in Brisbane, Aust and that had its moments.

We did use the meter unless there was a special request for an extended hire.

 

If in Thailand I expect the meter to be used and most times it is.

 

Mind you I often refused to take passengers if I thought they where going to spew up in my Cab or where drunk to the eyeballs.

 

BKK traffic. well you can hardely blame the drivers for not wanting to brave that.

But they shouldn't be taxi drivers if they don't want to brave the traffic.

I am going to go against the grain here but if the BMA didn't sell every square inch of the city to developers with ZERO regards for infrastructure and sustainability the taxis could go everywhere...

 

It is always easier to blame and bash the little guy who is actually himself a victim of the mess and can't do his job properly while losing earning than look at the source of the problem, the fat cats sitting at the top that create this mess in the first place

 

 

Who owns most of them taxi's? just the little guy has to pay rent everyday

2 hours ago, pookondee said:

Who would want to head into a 2 hour traffic jam?

or travel an hour through a jam to get to a U-turn thats only a few kms away?

What does it matter, they'll get paid doing it.

Brewster, yes,,, Jakarta, polite, clean, never overcharge, never try to bargain stick to Bluebird

21 hours ago, webfact said:

new crackdown

There isnt a "yawn"  icon big enough!

37 minutes ago, firestar said:

It is always easier to blame and bash the little guy

As  opposed to them "bashing"  you!

I look forward to someone in authority dealing with the taxi mafia in Pattaya. The drivers usual refrain, "We don't use meter Pattaya", is often followed by "300 baht", regardless if the are breaking a law or how short the trip.

 

I can only belive that "someone" is being paid off to ignore, condone and facilitate this practice. 

19 hours ago, aussie11950 said:

What's the point if the 1584 hotline do not speak English. 

They wanted a Thai to speak to them when i rang 2 weeks ago?

Crazy. 

They told me to contact the tourist police. I did, and they told me to contact the taxi complaints line. So don't even bother.

 

There is no point at all in increasing the fine if the drivers are not arrested. What the situation need is the police and army to go out in plain clothes and arrest every driver who refuses a fare or refuses to use the meter. Do that every day, and not just for two hours a year outside MahBoonKron. Do it every day, and for week after week until either they get the message or there are no taxis left on the roads.

Edited June 25, 20197 yr by Bangkok Barry

16 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Is there a capital city with cheaper taxis than Bangkok?

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 

 

What is your point? That as the fares are low the drivers are entitled to break the law?

19 hours ago, sherwood said:

Not easy being a Taxi driver, I only drove in Brisbane, Aust and that had its moments.

We did use the meter unless there was a special request for an extended hire.

 

If in Thailand I expect the meter to be used and most times it is.

 

Mind you I often refused to take passengers if I thought they where going to spew up in my Cab or where drunk to the eyeballs.

 

BKK traffic. well you can hardely blame the drivers for not wanting to brave that.

So because the traffic is bad in Bangkok, drivers are justified in refusing passengers? Maybe driving a taxi in Bangkok is not the best profession for people who don't want to deal with traffic.

27 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

What does it matter, they'll get paid doing it.

When the taxi is not moving they barely earn and most don't own the Taxi but rent them, so no they don't really get paid if they take one hour to do 5 miles

17 minutes ago, bkkgriz said:

So because the traffic is bad in Bangkok, drivers are justified in refusing passengers? Maybe driving a taxi in Bangkok is not the best profession for people who don't want to deal with traffic.

Independant contractors like plumbers or electricians refuse jobs all the time... does that mean they have to stop being plumbers?

 

Anyway taxis would like nothing better than being able to go everywhere and make more money, how about for once looking higher up at the BMA and those who do the city planning with brown envelopes? For example taxis never refused to go where I live, a 8 story building was the highest condo, now only a few years later there is close to 20 high rises it is jammmed all the time and half the taxis refuse to go losing out on their fare it is not the taxis making a mess of the city

 

________

Edited June 25, 20197 yr by firestar

4 minutes ago, firestar said:

 

Double post

Edited June 25, 20197 yr by firestar