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Taxis still an issue in Bangkok ?


CharlieH

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6 hours ago, iaminwa said:

Try doing it at peak hour and not at night and you will get the same issues as the OP...you are obviously not a Thailand regular. Taxi drivers are notoriuos for refusing rides to busy traffic areas during the day! OP - will never change, I avoid them like the plague - I have found Bolt MB taxis the way to go.

That explains it, i've only been here 12 years. I've used taxis here at all times of day, and my comment is based on my experience. Maybe the op should change his travelling time to after midnight then. 

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Whenever I hand a taxi driver a slip of paper with an address written on it, they invariably flip the paper over and study whatever scribbling is on the other side. It could be Granny's recipe for fruit cake, it doesn't matter, they're determined to figure it out. I tell them to flip the paper back and only look at that address. They glance at it, then flip over the paper and continue studying the back again. It's easier just to make sure nothing is written on the opposite side of the address. 

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really not much change in the taxi situation in inner bkk.  i've been living in the same place btwn asoke and phrom phong sukhumvit area for 15 yrs.  i guess the good news is 'rates' have been about the same for that entire period of time.

 

generally speaking, i pay 100thb for any taxi ride i take (not the airport).  i take the BTS/MRT to get close to where i'm going.  if i need a taxi from there, 100thb.  i don't take change for a fare under 100thb.  late night from nana is sometimes 200thb - mainly when it is raining.  a couple months ago there was a rainstorm for the ages and i paid 300thb to get home.  i was absolutely thrilled with that !  no sarcasm at all.  i walked out of the plaza, the taxi was right in front, i dashed in the back (got soaked from a few seconds of exposure), and we were off.

 

i go to CW immigration once or twice a year, i usually take MRT to chatuchak station.  i always get a meter there.  and always get a meter from CW back to that MRT station.  that fare is over 100 but under 200.

 

to get to the two airports it has gone up a bit.  i remember 400 being ok for bkk for a long time.  they seem to want 500 now.  depending on the time of day/traffic levels, i will take the airport train/taxi combo.  i can usually get to DMK for 300.  i pay tolls on top of those fares.  depending on time of day/traffic levels, i sometimes do MRT/taxi combo for DMK.

 

 

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2 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I just tip well  -  if the service has been good. 

 

 

For low fares like 30 Baht from a local hotel to Don Muang airport I will pay 100 Baht.

It costs 38 baht flagfall to get into the taxi, so 30 baht for a trip from a hotel to DM isn't even possible. 

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1 hour ago, Aussieroaming said:

It costs 38 baht flagfall to get into the taxi, so 30 baht for a trip from a hotel to DM isn't even possible. 

So.....I was 5 or 8 Baht out (5 actually, I think the minimum fare was 35 Baht) ....................sue me! ????

 

Then get a life you pedant!  The point is that I generously paid 100 Baht to reflect the fact that the metered fare was too low.

Edited by hotandsticky
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I guess I’m just lucky, I rarely seem to have issues and recently I’ve had a few really decent drivers. Having said that, I avoid sukhumvit and other ‘tourist hotspots”, I’m rarely there at night so use skytrain.

Bolt can never find a location and wait times are always long. My success rate in trying to use them is about 10%. I’ve also noticed that fares have rocketed recently.

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16 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

I guess I’m just lucky, I rarely seem to have issues and recently I’ve had a few really decent drivers. Having said that, I avoid sukhumvit and other ‘tourist hotspots”, I’m rarely there at night so use skytrain.

Bolt can never find a location and wait times are always long. My success rate in trying to use them is about 10%. I’ve also noticed that fares have rocketed recently.

 not sure that you're lucky, more like others are unlucky or behave in a way that screams; i don't know what i'm doing, rip me off... e.g. go with drivers that approach them, or drivers that are hanging around tourist spots. always use a flagged down a taxi.

 

i've been here years and can say i've never had an issue with a taxi driver, i know where i'm going and they have always taken the most direct route, or if not, are clearly avoiding traffic jams. i've never been hassled for a tip. never been over charged.

 

the worst problem is occasionally a driver won;t accept my fare, but this happens to my thai friends too, and the next taxi along usually takes me.

 

oh yea, and, bangkok taxis are really cheap

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On 11/23/2022 at 9:04 PM, Lorry said:

You are too polite and ask them first for the destination, like Thais do.

I get into the taxi first,  then tell them where to go. The barrier to kick me out again is quite high. 

I know I am not nice.  I don't care.  When traveling together with a Thai, the Thai will ask the destination first and many taxis will refuse, no matter where. 

 

BTW i found Bolt just as useless as you

 

Screenshot 2022-11-27 at 13.50.01.png

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On 11/24/2022 at 4:10 PM, hotandsticky said:

So.....I was 5 or 8 Baht out (5 actually, I think the minimum fare was 35 Baht) ....................sue me! ????

 

Then get a life you pedant!  The point is that I generously paid 100 Baht to reflect the fact that the metered fare was too low.

But the question is---did you leave the door open, enquiring minds need to know????

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1 hour ago, couchpotato said:

But the question is---did you leave the door open, enquiring minds need to know????

Certainly not, a healthy tip and a hearty "Chok Dee" is what good taxi service gets from me.

 

....the b4stards who refuse a pick up, against government rules, get the door left open.

 

 

Simples.

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On 11/23/2022 at 9:40 PM, ThailandRyan said:

Yesterday tried to get a taxi from CentralWorld home to Lumpini, a short normally 65 Baht ride.  Every taxi driver in the que refused, a TukTuk in Q said he would take us for 400 Baht, what the hell is wrong with these folks, we walked to the BTS station and too the BTS to Sala Daeng then the MRT home to Lumpini. Cost was 82 baht for each of us and took us almost 40 minutes with the walk to the BTS at Siam and then the walk to the MRT from the BTS while carrying our bags of goodies.

 

This is not the first time this has occurred, and this time the GF was so <deleted> she spit on the TukTuk drivers shoes and called him a buffalo, while the other drivers laughed.....What a sad state of affairs getting a taxi has become.  I don't drive to CentralWorld from the condo because it is just a mere 3km away, but the damned traffic makes it take 30 to 40 minutes, maybe why the drivers always refuse.

I always live walking distance to a bts/mrt station.

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On 11/24/2022 at 10:07 AM, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I  usually open the rear passenger to ask about the ride.

 

 

If they decline I walk off and leave the door open. Childish, I know, but I know that the mild inconvenience will irritate them. 

Then (again) there's that story of the chap who got chopped up by an angry taxi driver who went for the samurai rather than close any doors left jar by the petulant.

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