"Rot Daeng" step up their war with "Grab" in Chiang Mai

 

Caption: We shall not be moved!

 

More than 200 Red Song Thaew or "Rot Daeng" drivers attended a meeting in Chiang Mai yesterday to protest against plans to legalize Grab operations in the northern Thai city. 

 

The meeting at Nakorn Lanna Co Ltd resolved to send a letter of complaint to the Transport Ministry as well as send a personal delegation. 

 

Some 2,600 taxis, rot daeng and vans in Chiang Mai are furious that Grab are coming in. They say that they have been legally serving the community and paying taxes for decades. They think they provide a great service and that it is sufficient for the city's needs.

 

Many consumers think otherwise preferring the freedom that Grab offers and enjoying lower charges on some rides.

 

Earlier reports suggest that many traditional drivers have seen their previous daily takings plummet from a handy 1,200 baht pre-Grab to a measly 300 baht now. 

 

Source: Sanook

 

 

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It's called competition.

19 minutes ago, webfact said:

They think

I seriously  doubt  that.

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

Earlier reports suggest that many traditional drivers have seen their previous daily takings plummet from a handy 1,200 baht pre-Grab to a measly 300 baht now. 

But surely if their service is "so great" this would not be happening???

Maybe if they offered better service, and stopped trying to rip off their customers every chance they get, they wouldn't have this problem.

I have some sympathy for their situation.  Some may try to "rip off" tourists. I never pay more than 50baht to get from near the river to Neeman area, usually 30baht.  I often tip them if they don't get more passengers along the way. 75% are polite and sometimes sit in front to practice speaking Thai.   Grab offers a different type service and should peacefully coexist with rot daeng.  The major drop in income probably has more to do with low season and general drop in Chiang Mai tourism.

2 hours ago, daoyai said:

 The major drop in income probably has more to do with low season and general drop in Chiang Mai tourism.

It will take a few years for it to sink in, hit home - that the most polluted air in the world is not great for attracting tourists!

Sure would like to see red sonthaews records for air exhaust pollution...

 

competition is something Thais don’t do well....it should be a learning experience 

 

how to compete...13 to 0.....get my drift 

3 hours ago, Chazar said:

But surely if their service is "so great" this would not be happening???

Quite right Chazar. 

If you have a choice, who would ride in the back a rusting, smelly, unairconditioned truck, no matter how ‘cheap’ it purports to be?

3 hours ago, daoyai said:

Grab offers a different type service and should peacefully coexist with rot daeng.  The major drop in income probably has more to do with low season and general drop in Chiang Mai tourism.

Probably as much to do with the new buses , as much as grab

"They think they provide a great service ". I been here in Chiang Mai for 7 years. When going to city, I will tell you 40 % rot daeng drivers are good, the rest are not. Most of the time, I felt frustrated when I wave my hand and they will stop. I will tell them my desired location, and they will declined(take note, no passengers at all). Since then I really enjoying using the Grab drivers whenever I went to the city. Oh, yesterday it's my first time to use the Grab Bike and it's awesome!. I used Grab Bike for 3x yesterday 555

51 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

Sure would like to see red sonthaews records for air exhaust pollution...

like one song thaew with 10 passengers compared to 10 taxis... transporting one person each?

1 minute ago, Vacuum said:

like one song thaew with 10 passengers compared to 10 taxis... transporting one person each?

Many Song thaews drive around empty most of the time though and the pollution that comes out their exhaust can be terrible and needlessly clog up the roads  , compared to Grab, which only go somewhere then they have a customer and their exhaust emissions are a lot cleaner 

1 hour ago, Roda07 said:

"They think they provide a great service ". I been here in Chiang Mai for 7 years. When going to city, I will tell you 40 % rot daeng drivers are good, the rest are not. Most of the time, I felt frustrated when I wave my hand and they will stop. I will tell them my desired location, and they will declined(take note, no passengers at all). Since then I really enjoying using the Grab drivers whenever I went to the city. Oh, yesterday it's my first time to use the Grab Bike and it's awesome!. I used Grab Bike for 3x yesterday 555

Roda07, how much for the rot daeng and for the Grab Bike?

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Many consumers think otherwise preferring the freedom that Grab offers and enjoying lower charges on some rides.

 

So legalise them and let the consumer choose the best service... but the Song Taews can only operate a monopoly... they cannot change their ways to changing demands.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

More than 200 Red Song Thaew or "Rot Daeng" drivers attended a meeting in Chiang Mai yesterday to protest against plans to legalize Grab operations in the northern Thai city. 

The march of change is not the friend of those who believe the world doesn't change.

The only constant in this world - is change. 

3 hours ago, Vacuum said:

like one song thaew with 10 passengers compared to 10 taxis... transporting one person each?

Like 20 songteaws driving around  with nobody in it , or a grab car who drives from drop of point to  new existing customers ?

4 hours ago, sanemax said:

Probably as much to do with the new buses , as much as grab

I've seen loads of the new blue buses around CM in my trips to the city never with more than 5 passengers,all foreigners.

 

Thais in Bangkok are very bus oriented but in CM you are trying to change habits of a lifetime of catching songteaws and tuk tuks.

I guess they do business from the airport but must be losing money hand over fist.

 

IMO they made a big mistake with the big buses trying to manouvre around narrow sois.Buses should have been half the size and doubled the journeys.

Expecting peopole to wait for buses when tuk tuks and songteaws cruise around empty is a temptation not to wait for a bus

Agree.  The current CM buses are much too large. 16-20 passenger vans, with some luggage space, would serve more people.  I suspect the buses were gotten very cheaply.

I grabbed a handful last night to stop my rot setting in???? 

Only 200 out of 2600 attended? Hardly 8%.

Can't take this serious, but talking is better than fighting.

21 hours ago, webfact said:

They think they provide a great service and that it is sufficient for the city's needs.

Some might, but too many do not.  
 

21 hours ago, webfact said:

Earlier reports suggest that many traditional drivers have seen their previous daily takings plummet from a handy 1,200 baht pre-Grab to a measly 300 baht now. 

 

This is what happens when you cheat people.  They stop using the service or stop buying the product.  

Too many red trucks clogging the streets, stopping suddenly in the middle of the road, traffic jamming and black smoke belching, hot and uncomfortable.
Sell your truck and join Grab.  Happy days.

15 hours ago, chingmai331 said:

Agree.  The current CM buses are much too large. 16-20 passenger vans, with some luggage space, would serve more people.  I suspect the buses were gotten very cheaply.

Bigger the price tag, bigger the kick back ?

15 hours ago, chingmai331 said:

Agree.  The current CM buses are much too large. 16-20 passenger vans, with some luggage space, would serve more people.  I suspect the buses were gotten very cheaply.

There are also smaller mini buses 

2 minutes ago, DonDoRondo said:

These things absolutely choke Old Town.  Driving around at 10 miles an hour, stopping

alongside  anyone walking on the sidewalk, then accelerating off leaving a

contrail of gray/black exhaust.

Just nasty. 

 

                            

                                 

                                                 

Not forgetting putting their foot down and staying in first gear whilst speeding off 

On 7/2/2019 at 10:31 AM, Just1Voice said:

Maybe if they offered better service, and stopped trying to rip off their customers every chance they get, they wouldn't have this problem.

 

Rot daeng are not ripping off their customers, they have invested in their Isuzu D-Max converted and were not getting an unreasonable return.

 

The drivers are mostly elderly, their vehicles too, pollution and the environment is an issue.

 

Tuk tuk too.

 

The grab vehicles and their drivers are young. I am not convinced that the Grab business model is successful in the medium-term at the rates Grab charges for the drivers.

 

We need to be looking electric. And we need an integrated system that includes public transport as well as private with solutions that could include pedestrian only streets and bicycle lanes.

 

The economy of that smart city relies on its infrastructure, of which transport is key.

Quote

They say that they have been legally serving the community and paying taxes for decades. They think they provide a great service and that it is sufficient for the city's needs.

Hmmm ... many people would disagree. If there is a big demand for Grab then obviously there is a problem and the hitherto services need to up their game/service. You can't just cry and whine to the government that your mafia cartel business with crap service should just stay the same regardless. Also, I think you red cabs are in cartoon land when you talk about "legally serving the community and paying taxes for decades." 

The customer base is different between each mode of transportation.

One customer is a tech-savy dial-up while the other is a stand-on-curb and wait.

No real relationship between the two.

I can't see why they can't co-exist while bringing more choice into the market.