American TikToker condemns Bangkok taxi driver for trying to rip him off

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Neeranam said:

I never ask, just get in and tell them where to go.

Never have a problem. 

And they always drop the flag?

(Don't see that working out in front of a Pattaya Mall)

[recom273]

4 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

What do you mean 'up to a certain point'? Either he is obliged to take the passenger when he has his flag on open for business, or not. Frequently it is part of the licensing agreement that taxis must take fares.... many discriminating practices could ensue otherwise. It is what it is, but passengers either get messed about or overcharged, and that should not happen.

yes, he 100% he should accept the fare he stopped for, but what if the traffic is bad and he knows at that time of night he won't get a return fare - rather than refuse the fare, he offers him a deal - 300B, we dont know from a 30 second clip where the guy was, this guy laid a trap and purposely waited for a driver who wouldn't use a meter, he didnt make a banner saying, this guy wanted to charge me a possible 40B more to travel from lower Suk to Khao San during rush hour, a 45 minute journey in the best time. He also didnt make a video of the guy following him who when he jabbed his finger at the meter, just nodded and he jumped in .. what great content that would make.

[fire2rescue99]

So.....

[Jack Cook]

How utterly pathetic. $8, go back where you came from. A whining kid beg packer looking for channel content.  Taxi drivers gotta eat too

[CecilM]

A decade of using taxis pretty much daily - and I only had a handful of bad experiences. The vast majority of drivers are decent.

It might be different at tourist hotspots, but ‘no meter’ is nothing newsworthy and nothing prevents you from taking a different taxi. 

[fondue zoo]

• No Meter         Has only happened to me once so no comment. They don't care about whatever law you spout.
• No Change     (All of sudden none whatsoever, will turn out pockets to prove it. Literally)
• No Direction   (You know this road? Never say No. If you do your impromptu Taxi Tour of downtown Bangkok will begin.)
• No Clean        (Black mould, body/cigarette odour and missing wheel nuts are included.)

I had a driver get out at the lights and tighten the two he had left on one of the wheels. They were stolen I was told.

Felt bad for him but that sh????t was hilarious and yes dangerous.

 

It's a sh????tty job, in a sh????tty to drive in city, for sh????tty money. Don't make trouble for them or yourself, walk onto the next. 

 

[Ralf001]

33 minutes ago, recom273 said:

Not trying to defend the driver, but up to a certain point its his perogative, he's being straight with the guy. 

 

If they feel like they can talk to the customer, they will often tell them why, the traffic is bad in that area, its rush hour on a rainy night, I can make more doing little hops to the BTS and back, sorry. I had many times when the driver refused a long fare, to Minburi or Thonburi, if you ask why, the answer is always, they are running out of gas and would need to take you to a gas station or their shift is ending soon and they were looking for a fare to take them closer to mo chit. Tik Tok has overtaken vocal conversation theses days.

Not a scam though, thats the point and hopefully is what lands this <deleted> in very hot water.

 

[bob smith]

Nice to see the curb dwelling Pirates at it again..

 

They will never learn, thieving scum!

[bob smith]

6 minutes ago, CecilM said:

The vast majority of drivers are decent.

wrong.

[bob smith]

9 minutes ago, Jack Cook said:

Taxi drivers gotta eat too

put your meter on then if you are that hungry!!!

 

they have to use the meter by law, doing it off the books is illegal and deserves to be outed.

[2long]

This 'tiktokker' only has 7,600 'followers.' What makes one persons a 'TikTokker' and the nest person not? Same for YouTuber and influencer! Anyway, his silly clip is just a few seconds long and not news at all. Bangkok taxis are ubiquitous and if one driver doesn't want a loud smelly farang in his car going through bad traffic and he's prepared to lose money over it, then that's up to him. We in BKK are incredibly lucky to have so many very cheap taxis. Is there another large capital city with it so good? It may be illegal and I have got upset with drivers in the past, but the drivers know what they're doing... and are rarely as drunk as the self-entitled wannabe passengers.

[wwest5829]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Not if it's true...

In faring world. Here, defamation is judged as causing damage to someone or some business reputation. At least, that is my understanding.

[GlassWayOverHalfFull]

6 hours ago, still kicking said:

I often wonder why they call them taxi meters they never use their meters 

Yes they do. Learn to speak minimal Thai and you will have no issue with a metered taxi in Bangkok. 

[Andrew65]

One of the things at the root of this problem is that taxi fares are too low on the meter, I started living in Bangkok in 1998 (that's now 25 years ago!) and the 'flag'fall' on the meter was 35 Baht, and I believe it's still 35 Baht. IMHO that should now be 55-60 Baht. (I think they might have raised the fare 100 satang/km).

It's an example of how Thai people are exploited money-wise, again, IMHO.

[ChrisKC]

When in Bangkok and I hailed a taxi, he stops and I open the passenger door. asking for the meter to be turned on, if he says no, I leave the taxi with the door still open!

[NorthernRyland]

4 hours ago, RT555 said:

Just grab the next taxi............walk away.......Bangkok taxi drivers are dumb. They usually drive off in the same direction WITH NOBODY $$$$$$$ IN THE BACK SEAT.......LMAO.

but they showed you!

[KannikaP]

9 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

One of the things at the root of this problem is that taxi fares are too low on the meter, I started living in Bangkok in 1998 (that's now 25 years ago!) and the 'flag'fall' on the meter was 35 Baht, and I believe it's still 35 Baht. IMHO that should now be 55-60 Baht. (I think they might have raised the fare 100 satang/km).

It's an example of how Thai people are exploited money-wise, again, IMHO.

We all know that 2023 minus 1998 is 25! But is 100 satang = 1 Baht? 555

[Andrew65]

Just now, KannikaP said:

We all know that 2023 minus 1998 is 25! But is 100 satang = 1 Baht? 555

My mistake I meant to say 10 satang/km????

[sambum]

This has been going on for YEARS despite the Government's empty promises that they are going to clamp down on such  rip offs. It's all just empty words, and until these rogue drivers lose their licences for at least a year for refusing to use their meters nothing will change. I believe that they are given a licence to drive a METER taxi on the understanding that they use the METER, so if they don't use it - take it away from them!

Suggested solution:-  "Sorry, meter not work". "OK, sunshine, until it does work, you are grounded!" But that would mean someone enforcing the law, so that ain't gonna happen!

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, fallup88 said:

But this problem is usually isolated to down town Bangkok, and tourist areas.

Good that you wrote usually, but try to get a taxi to use the meter in Pattaya or Phuket or Khon Kaen or others, all of which actually have residents, not only tourists.

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, fallup88 said:

Nowadays it’s not just tourist, locals complain about the problem too. It got worse due to influx of tourist in the past 10 years, taxis rather take tourist than Thais. But this problem is usually isolated to down town Bangkok, and tourist areas.

It just doesn't happen to farang, one night with my wife and her friend we couldn't get a taxi about the 5th one decided to take us, 

[Jiggo]

First question to driver, use meter

Answer No.

Get out, leave door open.

Easy

[bignok]

300 baht is less than 10 bucks usd. Clown show tt flog. Just use Bolt or Grab. These TT clowns should be put down.

[Modern Coding]

One simple solution: avoid Bangkok like the plague.

 

Sure, Bangkok is a great and exciting place to be, with many spots to enjoy. The main problem, however, is to GET to these spots! And let alone to work places!

 

Commuting in Bangkok is just a pain in the rear part of the anatomy each time I come to Bangkok for business purpose; I wouldn't like to literally be in the shoes of all Bangkokians having to commute every day to work!

 

Taxi? While I have faced only once the no-meter issue, more and more taxi drivers just refuse the ride, And maybe you have noticed, but it has become a little more challenging to find an available taxi with the time. And when I got one, while the experience has mostly been OK until now, I have faced the same as anyone faces here: stuck in the traffic jam!

 

Public transportation?

 

As someone who wanted to become a bus driver and who respects the profession, I have never seen such a bunch of morons: complete idiots on the wheel who do not even stop, even if they are hailed. Yes, HAILed: you have to do the nazi salute, as if you were shouting "heil hitler" if you want to stand a chance to get the bus stopping. Why is that so? Because either they are not looking in the right direction, or they are too busy racing with their colleagues to focus on bus stops and driving on the proper lane! So you have been waiting for 20 minutes? You are bound for another 20-minute waiting time! If you are lucky... And shall I tell about those fare ladies who do not even know their lines?? Fully unprofessional!

 

The overground? Not much better. Each time it is a pain to get a receipt for my company. Then, that same stupid security guard always asking me to open my same bag again and again, and making me miss the train, and the next one comes only 10 minutes later because the system, as it becomes to be known to more people, starts to be broken! As I was learning Thai, the overground being broken was a recurring topic!

 

As if Bangkok's public transportation organizations' main mission were to collect all the failed incarnations of the nation!

 

And after all this, as a business owner: expect your coworkers to show up on time?? And wonder why they leave without notice just because they found a better workplace closer to their home, that pays 10 bahts more??

 

Operating business from the province, where my coworkers are only 5 to 10 minutes away by walk or scooter ride is the best decision, one entrepreneur running business in Thailand can make!

[MrJ2U]

The taxi's are being replaced by Grab, Bolt, etc.

 

Taxi's overcharging isn't some new revelation in any case.

 

If the TicToker tries that in Phukett he'll probably get his head bashed in. 

[OneMoreFarang]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

An American TikToker condemned [...] for trying to rip him off

I thought TikTokkers exist to be ripped off. Would he report about an ordinary taxi ride? Obviously no. So the taxi driver gave him what he wanted. 

[Modern Coding]

2 hours ago, recom273 said:

Has the situation drastically changed in BKK? When we used to live there getting a decent taxi driver wasn’t difficult, I think maybe 75% chance. You would ask politely and the guy driving would give you a strange look to say “of course I will use the meter. Why not?” - never take a standing taxi unless it’s at an issan food stall and the guy is just finishing lunch.
 

But I read on Reddit, tourists constantly bemoaning taxi drivers.

 

I don’t know or care, but this guy has gone out of his way to catch a taxi driver, he’s already got the phone out with the intention of catching him out to make a video, the phone is in his hand, it’s pretty shady. Maybe we see the guy at the police station, but I hope we see Mr jason too, making a video to purposely damage Thai tourism.

i checked his feed, he does have another video with a guy where he negotiates 20B discount on a tuktuk, but videos of a guy saying ‘yes I use the meter ever day’ dont generate likes. 

Yes, it did!

BEFORE covid: it used to be easy.

DURING covid: it used to be easy.

AFTER covid: it has become challenging.

[OneMoreFarang]

Did the TikTokker asked the person in the video for permission to publish this on the internet?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Not if it's true...

Under the law here, AFAIK, truth isn't actually a legal defense.

 

The complaining person only has to prove that his reputation was damaged.

[cdemundo]

Taxi driver: “300 hundred baht, OK?”
Rupp: “Meter?”
Taxi driver: “No, no meter.”

 

So he got in the taxi which implies he agreed to the conditions.

Against the law?, then he aided and abetted a crime.