Taxi fare hike: Whatever....but don't blame us when we choose Grab

[observer90210]

There will always be somebody to come up and moan the that official taxi cheats are a fine bunch of gentleman....but no misleading, they are in majority,  a bunch of cheats like the tuktuks.

 

GRAB has a bright and fine future in Thailand and in other Asian countries where the taxis are trying to cheat.

[Galactus]

grab is more expensive and unreliable service. also an illegal foreign owned business.

lots of scummy grab riders i hear extra charging the customers.

taxis in Bangkok are operating with the same rates for like 15 years.

no one likes a rate hike but it was not unreasonable too.

 

moreover, i had no issues with taxi here for like 13 years apart from a couple of issues, same as a taxi in Europe or elsewhere.

[Just Weird]

On 8/9/2019 at 11:01 AM, DualSportBiker said:

I don't condone the refusals or the bad behaviour, but the cabbies are not exclusively to blame, far from it. It's not as if they have it easy, or that cabs here are expensive. There are too many cabs - not enough fares each to make a reasonable wage. Add to that that buying a cab means paying 8% interest where normal cars are sold on 0% finance. The prices have been fixed for 25 years but cost of living has gone up multiples. Who among you would accept slow depreciation of earnings for 25 years? Without inflation-adjusted income their earnings have been slashed both in real-world terms and by slicing the pie thinner and thinner

 

Allowing 120,000 cabbies on Bangkok's roads has exasperated traffic problems and thinned earnings for all. Too little work and appalling traffic means fares to many areas are only paid one-way making the journey a significant cost to the driver. Were traffic better, many would refuse less rides. With less cabs on the road, drivers would have more fares per day. Less traffic would also increase total fares per day as the roads would be a more viable option.

 

The BMA needs to reduce the number of cabs by half; taking 60,000 cars off the streets would improve traffic overnight. It would increase earnings for the remaining drivers. On the other side of the equation, bad cabbies need to be dealt with more effectively.

 

I'll keep dreaming...

"There are too many cabs - not enough fares each to make a reasonable wage".

If that were the case, and clearly it isn't, why are there so many taxis on the road, you think that the drivers are doing it to making a loss?

 

"Add to that that buying a cab means paying 8% interest where normal cars are sold on 0% finance".

No difference.  There's no such thing as "0% finance", the dealer pays the interest charges to the finance company and then factors it into the price that the buyer pays him for the vehicle.

 

"The prices have been fixed for 25 years..."

Meter rates have not been fixed for 25 years!

[Just Weird]

On 8/9/2019 at 12:23 PM, kevin612 said:

You know the price when use grab, taxi drivers always ask for more money.

No, they don't "always ask for more money"; the majority of taxi drivers are happy to use the meter.

[e2x10]

Everyone has to accept change but them

[Just Weird]

On 8/9/2019 at 2:42 PM, Bob12345 said:

Used GRAB a few times and was surprised by the brand new vehicles and polite drivers. Might have just been lucky but for as far as i see they offer good service.

Bangkok has many brand new taxis also that offer a good service!

[Just Weird]

On 8/10/2019 at 12:39 AM, Penicillin said:

No, it’s not a “small percentage” that are bad, It’s the vast majority.  Just try asking one to use his meter.  Maybe you feel lucky to find one that does , only to discover it’s rigged. 

No, that is not accurate, it is a small percentage, the majority are fine. 

 

I use taxis in Bangkok every day usually returning home late and most will use the meter, if they don't want to, another one will be along in a minute that will.   I've never yet come across a rigged meter in Bangkok in 24 years but doubtless almost every other poster will claim that they have, frequently!

[Just Weird]

On 8/11/2019 at 7:52 PM, observer90210 said:

There will always be somebody to come up and moan the that official taxi cheats are a fine bunch of gentleman....but no misleading, they are in majority,  a bunch of cheats like the tuktuks.

 

GRAB has a bright and fine future in Thailand and in other Asian countries where the taxis are trying to cheat.

Nonsense, taxi cheats are the minority.  There is no comparison between taxis, the majority of which will use the meter and tuk-tuks that cannot use a meter because they don't have them.  The whole idea of a tuk-tuk is to negotiate the fare before you accept the ride!

[ThomasThBKK]

2 hours ago, Galactus said:

grab is more expensive and unreliable service. also an illegal foreign owned business.

lots of scummy grab riders i hear extra charging the customers.

taxis in Bangkok are operating with the same rates for like 15 years.

no one likes a rate hike but it was not unreasonable too.

 

moreover, i had no issues with taxi here for like 13 years apart from a couple of issues, same as a taxi in Europe or elsewhere.

 

Most of grab taxis are ... taxis. So yes, lots of scummy grab riders.

 

Grab isn't unreliable, it works excellent and no one bothers to rip you off as a negative rating will get them kicked off from the app.

Everything works so much better if there are consequences for wrong doing - it's magic.

 

Grab is so illegal that they team up with the royal thai police: https://www.grab.com/th/en/press/consumers-drivers/grab-teams-up-with-the-royal-thai-police-to-train-driver-partners/

 

A match made in heaven?

[observer90210]

4 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Nonsense, taxi cheats are the minority.  There is no comparison between taxis, the majority of which will use the meter and tuk-tuks that cannot use a meter because they don't have them.  The whole idea of a tuk-tuk is to negotiate the fare before you accept the ride!

Utter nonsense. Not worth taking this any further please. Thank you.

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Utter nonsense. Not worth taking this any further please. Thank you.

Yes, you were stating utter nonsense.  Either you don't use Bangkok taxis very often and rely on Thaivisa hearsay or you just want to post false information.

 

Funny how those who don't have a real answer tend to resort to the "end of discussion" tactic!

[observer90210]

8 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Yes, you were stating utter nonsense.  Either you don't use Bangkok taxis very often and rely on Thaivisa hearsay or you just want to post false information.

 

Funny how those who don't have a real answer tend to resort to the "end of discussion" tactic!

Goodbye Mr Troll and welcome to my ignore list.

Edited August 13, 2019 by observer90210

[gunderhill]

On 8/9/2019 at 9:47 AM, webfact said:

It is not safe, the drivers are rude and throw in the constant refusals to take passengers where they want to go

hang  on ,  didnt  the  great  and  powerful  leader  stop  all  that, and  motorbikes  riding  on  the  pavements,  how much  reward  money,  if  any,  did  they  ever  pay  out  when  you  reported  this? total bs

[HampiK]

11 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Yes, you were stating utter nonsense.  Either you don't use Bangkok taxis very often and rely on Thaivisa hearsay or you just want to post false information.

 

Funny how those who don't have a real answer tend to resort to the "end of discussion" tactic!

You are right, when you not stay in Sukhumvit or Silom area. There are really many of the taxis bad. If you stay out of this areas you will mostly not have any problem. Actually I never had a problem with a taxi, when I take one from a non tourist place!

 

2 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Goodbye Mr Troll and welcome to my ignore list.

I think you can't accept, that there are people who not have the same location as you. Therefore they not encounter the same problem as you. Most of the Foreigners in Bangkok are living in Sukhumvit area and this area is know for the bad behaviour of taxis. I live on the other side of the River (Saphan Taksin) and there I never encountered a bad taxi driver.

 

 

About there are too many taxis on the road? I think this not true anymore. I remember 10-15 years ago, where from my feelings every second car was a taxi on the road.. Now it's not that anymore. Today 7am, I waited in Front of St.Louis Hospital and there were no taxis at all driving to the other side of the river (let's say no empty ones, a few with passenger drove by). So I think everything depends on location!

[dubai thai farang]

the only problems Ive experienced with normal taxis is the turning down of fares which is a constant daily experience. Grab cures that. 

Other than that I have no preference so, depending where Im going I will choose to book a grab if experience tells me this journey is going to be difficult to get a cab on the street to take me.

[Just Weird]

6 hours ago, observer90210 said:

15 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Yes, you were stating utter nonsense.  Either you don't use Bangkok taxis very often and rely on Thaivisa hearsay or you just want to post false information.

 

Funny how those who don't have a real answer tend to resort to the "end of discussion" tactic!

Goodbye Mr Troll and welcome to my ignore list.

...and then they make the false assertion of my trolling (rational observation and comment is not trolling) before scurrying off to click on the ignore button, as though anyone sees that as a punishment!  On the contrary, I'm flattered.

 

 

[Bob12345]

23 hours ago, Just Weird said:

Bangkok has many brand new taxis also that offer a good service!

Sure, but you can't stand at the side of the road waiting for a taxi to pass, ask 10 of them if they wanna go, and then turn down the one that says "yes" because his taxi is old and dirty. Or you can, but by that time I will be dripping with sweat already and have had enough. I rather sit inside in the AC and wait till the app tells me the taxi is there and have a 100% success rate regarding cleanliness and politeness.

[Jo3200]

I have no problem with taxis that pick me up. I've more a problem with taxis that refuse me. 

Try to get away from Sukhumvit on any eve and you first have to be refused by literally 10 taxis if you are lucky enough, before finally be picked up.

 

With Grab you will be sure of a taxi and you will know the price even before you accept the taxi. Also they have many promos and give points which you can use later for discounts.

[Just Weird]

8 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

Sure, but you can't stand at the side of the road waiting for a taxi to pass, ask 10 of them if they wanna go, and then turn down the one that says "yes" because his taxi is old and dirty. Or you can, but by that time I will be dripping with sweat already and have had enough. I rather sit inside in the AC and wait till the app tells me the taxi is there and have a 100% success rate regarding cleanliness and politeness.

Not many people will get turned down by 10 in a row that are driving, not parked up, unless they are choosing one of the well-known more difficult areas but there is an equally well-known answer to that problem.  

 

"...and then turn down the one that says "yes" because his taxi is old and dirty".

If you choose to hail an old, potentially mucky taxi, that's your choice.  I let them go by and stop a new(er) one.

 

"...wait till the app tells me the taxi is there and have a 100% success rate regarding cleanliness and politeness".

Does Grab guarantee that?  

I have to admit that I have only used Grab once, on a wet night in Bangkok.  When I got into the not-new Vios, with no registration plates back or front that turned up, the driver said he wanted B200 for the Grab-agreed B136 (or thereabouts) fare.  I let him go and got into the taxi that was coming up behind him who took me with no problems on the meter. 

Yes, I did complain to Grab and was told that they would investigate the driver.

[Just Weird]

5 minutes ago, Jo3200 said:

I have no problem with taxis that pick me up. I've more a problem with taxis that refuse me. 

Try to get away from Sukhumvit on any eve and you first have to be refused by literally 10 taxis if you are lucky enough, before finally be picked up.

 

With Grab you will be sure of a taxi and you will know the price even before you accept the taxi. Also they have many promos and give points which you can use later for discounts.

"Try to get away from Sukhumvit on any eve and you first have to be refused by literally 10 taxis"

That is not, literally, the case, presumably you were using "literal" in a figurative way and anyone who states that, categorically, as though it applies to everyone in every situation is, very obviously, exaggerating.  My daily experience, at night, from Sukhumvit in the 11/13 area disputes that number of refusals.

[Just Weird]

Here's a tip for those trying to get taxis in Bangkok; hail the ones with the green "for hire" light in the window. Most of those have the interior of the taxi permanently covered by a camera mounted on the dash or screen permanently recording what goes on inside, i.e. a drivers refusal would be on record.  Doesn't always work but it piles the odds in your favour.

 

Here's another, only hail taxis that are being driven, not those that are parked or those cruising around with the front passenger window open.

[Bob12345]

Do you get commission from the taxi companies or something to promote them?

 

I wont even react to your points as everyone here can share experiences with crappy old taxi's and taxi's refusing rides and nothing seems to convince you. So there is no point. 

Good that you are happy with Bangkok taxi's, now accept that many are not.

[Galactus]

On 8/13/2019 at 1:20 PM, ThomasThBKK said:

 

Most of grab taxis are ... taxis. So yes, lots of scummy grab riders.

 

Grab isn't unreliable, it works excellent and no one bothers to rip you off as a negative rating will get them kicked off from the app.

Everything works so much better if there are consequences for wrong doing - it's magic.

 

Grab is so illegal that they team up with the royal thai police: https://www.grab.com/th/en/press/consumers-drivers/grab-teams-up-with-the-royal-thai-police-to-train-driver-partners/

 

A match made in heaven?

grab ride is an illegal service. i didnt say grab taxi, you are distorting things.

only legal service they have is the one with the legal taxis.

Grab car riders really dont give much s   t for the ratings.

lots for horror stories like customers are charged a lot extra.

such services using illegal taxis are getting forbidden in many countries and for a good reason.

and yes, grab car is illegal and it is a half Singaporean company too.

so you should be stupid to support a Singaporean company offering illegal services, but i am not, i am with locals.

[DualSportBiker]

On 8/13/2019 at 12:49 PM, Just Weird said:

"There are too many cabs - not enough fares each to make a reasonable wage".

If that were the case, and clearly it isn't, why are there so many taxis on the road, you think that the drivers are doing it to making a loss?

 

"Add to that that buying a cab means paying 8% interest where normal cars are sold on 0% finance".

No difference.  There's no such thing as "0% finance", the dealer pays the interest charges to the finance company and then factors it into the price that the buyer pays him for the vehicle.

 

"The prices have been fixed for 25 years..."

Meter rates have not been fixed for 25 years!

Instead of coming to your own opinion, you might want to read the reports compiled by transportation consultants for the BMA that prescribe the 'optimal' number of taxis for Bangkok. The last report I read stated there are 118,000 cabs on the roads. 30,000 or thereabouts should have been retired, but are still running. How do you come to the conclusion that "clearly it isn't" the case there are too many cabs? Personal experience? Not acceptable.

 

Those people are working as cabbies because they can scrape by and have little other choice. I suggest you try talking to them, every one of them for several years as I have (since 1991) to understand what they think.

 

Taxis remain a more expensive option than many compact and mid-sized cars. You can spin the ticket price any way you want, the facts remain that taxis are disproportionately expensive and cab drivers are disadvantaged as a result.

 

You don't seem to understand all the meanings of fixed...

[Just Weird]

32 minutes ago, DualSportBiker said:

Instead of coming to your own opinion, you might want to read the reports compiled by transportation consultants for the BMA that prescribe the 'optimal' number of taxis for Bangkok. The last report I read stated there are 118,000 cabs on the roads. 30,000 or thereabouts should have been retired, but are still running. How do you come to the conclusion that "clearly it isn't" the case there are too many cabs? Personal experience? Not acceptable.

 

Those people are working as cabbies because they can scrape by and have little other choice. I suggest you try talking to them, every one of them for several years as I have (since 1991) to understand what they think.

 

Taxis remain a more expensive option than many compact and mid-sized cars. You can spin the ticket price any way you want, the facts remain that taxis are disproportionately expensive and cab drivers are disadvantaged as a result.

 

You don't seem to understand all the meanings of fixed...

That report comments on the number of taxis registered, not on the earnings that the drivers make!  Logically, if those drivers were not making money they would not be doing it, they'd be better off doing nothing!

 

"Taxis remain a more expensive option than many compact and mid-sized cars. You can spin the ticket price any way you want, the facts remain that taxis are disproportionately expensive and cab drivers are disadvantaged as a result".

Without specifics, that's just your opinion, my comment about interest-free credit was not an opinion, it was fact.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

On 8/9/2019 at 11:01 AM, DualSportBiker said:

I'll keep dreaming...

That's exactly what you're doing - dreaming. Less competition will mean more refusals and even more drivers refusing to use the meter and overpricing. Bangkok is actually one of the only places where they got it right, go to Phuket or Pattaya and good luck trying to get a driver to turn on the meter. Phuket particularly bad with 5 minute trips costing 350-400 baht - and that has nothing to do with traffic - pure greed, because the number of taxis are limited and they're all in on it. They can't do that in Bangkok which is good.