Thailand to legalize ride-hailing services by early 2020: ministry

 

A Grab logo is pictured at the Money 20/20 Asia Fintech Trade Show in Singapore March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Anshuman Daga

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has drafted guidelines to regulate ride-hailing companies and aims to legalize the services by March 2020, the transport ministry said on Friday.

 

Ride-sharing services exist in a legal gray area in Thailand, with police routinely stopping and fining drivers because they are not properly registered.

 

The guidelines require private vehicles to be registered and equipped with a GPS system, the transport ministry said in a statement. Drivers will need a public driver’s license.

 

Ride-hailing firms must verify the identities of drivers and operate a 24-hour complaint center, the ministry said.

 

“We have to look at what is possible within the law to give choice to the public - not increase competition with taxis in the system,” deputy permanent secretary Jirut Wisansitr told Reuters.

 

Ride-booking services are popular in the nation of 67 million for being sometimes cheaper and less likely to refuse to take passengers to their destinations than regular taxis, but they have irked traditional taxi drivers.

 

The proposed changes come after the Bhumjaithai Party campaigned in this year’s election on a promise to legalize ride-hailing services. The party won enough seats to join a coalition government and was given responsibility for the transport ministry.

 

Some ride-hailing companies have been operating in Thailand’s unregulated market for a few years now.

 

Singapore-based Grab offers rides in cars and on motorcycles, while its rival Get, a unit of Indonesia’s Go-Jek, only offers motorcycle rides.

Thai companies have also invested in ride-sharing startups..

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-06

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In your dreams...

Taxi Wars ahead....Take Cover !

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The guidelines require private vehicles to be registered and equipped with a GPS system, the transport ministry said in a statement. Drivers will need a public driver’s license.

 

Ride-hailing firms must verify the identities of drivers and operate a 24-hour complaint center, the ministry said.

In other words, become a licensed taxi.

 

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

“We have to look at what is possible within the law to give choice to the public - not increase competition with taxis in the system,”

The real issue at hand.

There will be tears and tantrums over this one 5555555......

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

Fight for survival...there will be blood!   ????

Just wonder how many DEATHS between now and then among the different 'Ride Hailing Tech Schools' dueling it out in rush hour ?

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

We have to look at what is possible within the law to give choice to the public - not increase competition with taxis in the system,

Mwaning that it'll probably be only licenced taxis that can register as drivers, in other words no change.

Demand will be satisfied by supply, whatever the law says, as enforcement will be almost non-existent. The police can’t even ensure drivers have a normal licence, let alone a PSV licence. 

 

And there are enough fake and scamming taxi drivers around to still give Grab an edge.

It seems that the existing taxis do not comply with meter and customer service laws, at least in Pattaya and Bangkok. It will be interesting as to how this unfolds.

Comprehensive and public liability insurance required?

My day they were called taxis

 

 

grab in other countries is cheaper than taxi, but not in thailand, go figure...

I wish it will bring down Phuket's Tuk Tuk and Taxi cartel. One of the biggest problems on the island, where so far all officials backed off from touching them.

22 hours ago, Benmart said:

It seems that the existing taxis do not comply with meter and customer service laws, at least in Pattaya and Bangkok. It will be interesting as to how this unfolds.

It will unfold like a really wet folded kleenex.

Watch the cost skyrocket.

I like grab not because it is cheaper than taxis but because of it convenience. I can see where the car is, when it will come to my place and how much they will charge without a haggle and they charge my credit card which at the end month it shows nicely how much I have spent on taxi services. I always use grab in Bangkok and Pattaya. 

Edited September 10, 20196 yr by onera1961