Foreign men attack Phuket taxi driver over fare dispute - video

[Centigrade32]

1 minute ago, Blueman1 said:

Taxi guy should have mentioned there was a further fee......SO You THINK It Should be a 'FREE "Ride Do YOU ???

 

They paid 570 baht + 50 baht. Where was the 'free ride'? The attack was in response to the taxi driver going to his car to retrieve a weapon.

[Woke to Sounds of Horking]

8 minutes ago, smew said:

taxis notoriously overcharge and demand tips. Any detours or slight change in trip routings charged at unbelievable rates…

OK the taxi mafia on Pooket is corrupt, but these idiot passengers are total idiots, they watched way too many MMA pay per views.

 

Suck it up sissy boys.

[Centigrade32]

10 minutes ago, Blueman1 said:

 and they need to drive you to an exchange and wait for you, then take you back to your intended destination. And THEY ( The Passengers NEED To PAY ) Taxi Drivers the World over Do NOT / Cannot work for FREE !! Hope the BIB Catch the IDIOTS & LOCK Them up for Assault !!

 

Why so angry?

There was no attack over the fare, the response was to the taxi driver going to his car to retrieve a weapon.

[Blueman1]

2 hours ago, baansgr said:

Try paying a London taxi driver with Thai Baht...sure they would take you to an atm but at extra cost....the real crime is the 570 baht fare to begin with

Try paying a London taxi driver with Thai Baht...I Was a Liverpool Cabbie for Over 43 Years & I HAVE Taken Thai Baht on a Few Occasions....( But ONLY Because I KNEW ) I Would be Coming HERE In the FUTURE.....

[Centigrade32]

2 minutes ago, Woke to Sounds of Horking said:

OK the taxi mafia on Pooket is corrupt, but these idiot passengers are total idiots, they watched way too many MMA pay per views.

 

Suck it up sissy boys.

 

Wow...some angry people on this board. "sissy boys" certainly dominated the situation. Didn't they? So perhaps the taxi driver was the 'sissy'? Either way, your responses seem way over the top.

[Centigrade32]

Just now, Blueman1 said:

Try paying a London taxi driver with Thai Baht...I Was a Liverpool Cabbie for Over 43 Years & I HAVE Taken Thai Baht on a Few Occasions....( But ONLY Because I KNEW ) I Would be Coming HERE In the FUTURE.....

 

You sound like a high quality individual. Congratulations. I think you might have taken Euros if there was a profit in there for you.

[LivingNThailand]

5 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Some are, others are fine just doing a job.

My neighbor is a taxi driver.  She is excellent.  I use her from time to time here is Phuket.  Maybe I pay a little more than the "cheaper" apps, but I can count on her 100%.  Hard working and extremely nice.  They are not all a-holes, just hard working.   Communication is usually the problem.

[Nairbem]

7 hours ago, Flemo said:

Looks like the shoe is literally on the other foot

Guessing the 3 one?

[Rimmer]

Multiple unnecessary flames have been removed

[ChipButty]

They found them two tourist, all add's up they were Saudis, arrogant piece of dog poo, 

[LivingNThailand]

46 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

They found them two tourist, all add's up they were Saudis, arrogant piece of dog poo, 

Is there a follow up story?  Most of the time there isn't but you seem to know something.  

[Ctkong]

19 hours ago, NativeBob said:

Taxi drivers at Phuket are hellishly greedy bastards. The worst in TH

The onus is on the visitors to have local currency as taxi drivers are not money changers. Tell it as it is. 

[Ctkong]

I remembered many years ago when I went to Dublin, Ireland from Paris. Thinking Ireland was part of Great Britain, I had with me mainly British pounds. I took a taxi from the airport to hotel and try to pay my fare in pounds. ‘Sorry mate. I cannot take your money ‘ said the driver. 
‘thinking that it was British hospitality, I almost thank the guy profusely until he told me that in Ireland, being an EU member, they uses only euros. Luckily I managed to change some money at the hotel lobby to settle the fare.  I guess it is on the visitors to have the correct local currency in any country. 

[Centigrade32]

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2025/01/03/patong-taxi-river-and-saudi-tourist-make-peace-after-altercation/

 

All the nasty unnecessary comments.

 

It appears the the App based payment system failed. That's why they had to try to pay with cash instead and had to get to an exchange. The taxi driver tried to take advantage of the situation and even threatened them with violence. Also knocking the tourist's phone out of his hands.

Hence them both being fined 500 baht.

Some nasty racists on this board.

[Ctkong]

6 minutes ago, Centigrade32 said:

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2025/01/03/patong-taxi-river-and-saudi-tourist-make-peace-after-altercation/

 

All the nasty unnecessary comments.

 

It appears the the App based payment system failed. That's why they had to try to pay with cash instead and had to get to an exchange. The taxi driver tried to take advantage of the situation and even threatened them with violence. Also knocking the tourist's phone out of his hands.

Hence them both being fined 500 baht.

Some nasty racists on this board.

App based payment may not work properly if your app was from foreign country and not downloaded locally. Always have the  cash on hand if taking local taxis to avoid incidents. I learnt that when in vietnam recently trying to use grab pay app with my foreign debit card linked to it. 

[NobbyClarke]

Phuket used to be a nice place.

First the Tsunami, afterwards, the new building, new money, prices through the roof. Then COVID, then the. Chinese and Russian bad boys invaded to run the place.

Now it is a danger zone.

 

[Bundooman]

19 hours ago, Celsius said:

 You seem woke and entitled. I despise Phuket and I vote with my wallet. If you want to go then expect to pay up. Not worse than any capitalist scumbag western country.

So, please pray tell, which capitalist, socialist/communist scumbag Eastern country do you come from?

[BerndD]

That's it, Thailand, you can't get rid of the spirits you called!

[thai006]

Found them and deport them far away

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, LivingNThailand said:

Is there a follow up story?  Most of the time there isn't but you seem to know something.  

PATONG TAXI DRIVER AND SAUDI TOURIST MAKE PEACE AFTER ALTERCATION... อ่านข่าวต้นฉบับได้ที่ : https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2025/01/03/patong-taxi-river-and-saudi-tourist-make-peace-after-altercation/

[Andrew65]

9 hours ago, globalspark said:

I am not defending Thai taxi drivers because in general they are all <deleted>. The  use  a Bolt app  so know exactly what the fare will be.  Am I correct in saying that?

 How would they think the taxi driver takes them to  to the supermarket for free?  Why did they not go inside the hotel and ask  to change money there?

The whole saga sounds suss. I personally would not get into a taxi without knowing I had enough money. I had my  share of dramas with Thai taxis at airports. Bangkok  tried to introduce the 50 baht booking fee  but that just adds 50  baht and in most cases   the argument start because they refuse to use meters.

These days I use  Bell to Pattaya  and if I am going to Bangkok use skytrain.Last time I was in  Phuket it was a fixed fare .

25 years ago the flag-fall on the taxi meter was 35 Baht, today it's still 35 Baht, but should be double that. That's where the problem lies.

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

25 years ago the flag-fall on the taxi meter was 35 Baht, today it's still 35 Baht, but should be double that. That's where the problem lies.

 

Valid point....   

 

But, the low flag-fall rate of a taxi is not why taxi drivers charge inflated of 500 or 800 baht etc for a 150 or 200 baht journey... 

 

.... The reason they charge inflated rates is because they are cheating rip-off merchants.

 

Nothing would change IF the flag-fall rates were increased to 70 baht...  the same drivers would cheat and rip-off passengers, they would still carry weapons, they would still get into fights...

 

 

In this case, all we are seeing is the shoe on the other foot - thats not to suggest the behavior of the foreigners is acceptable, its not at all... but for this incident the tables were turned...  the next incident will likely be a taxi / tuktuk driver attacking a tourist... (and it will be in Pattaya or Patong).

 

 

[sambum]

No nationality mentioned  - just "foreigners",  so they can't have been Brits!

[Andrew65]

I first visited Thailand in 1985, before the introduction of meters in taxis (or they were introduced around that time). You used to haggle the fare before getting in the taxi.

[ThailandGuy]

This kind of news is never good for foreigners and for Thailand.  We all know stories of taxi drivers scamming their customers and one bad apple infects the whole lot. But bringing news like that this way also does more harm than good.  It feeds the ones that hate the foreigners and it feeds the ones that hate the way foreigners are ripped off. Neither will win this discussion. Is it not just a way to draw negative attention by the news media earning their money from additional advertisements?

[Tropicalevo]

Khaosodenglish states that they have kissed and made up.

Both the driver and the Saudi were fined 500 baht. (The driver started it.)

[geisha]

22 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

None of it would have happened if the Taxi drivers do not refuse to use the Meter. 

 

 

This was a Bolt - so there were simple solutions. 

The Bolt Fare was 570 baht (really ???) - the additional fare was 200 baht ? (really).

 

IF the driver had turned on the meter for the extra distance - would the passengers have become so angry ?

 

 

Regardless, thats no way to behave and the tourists were aggressive ayholes...  Ayhole tourists - ayhole taxi drivers - its always one or the other causing problems and in Phuket these issues seem more common than else where, as if like attracts like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly, if the authorities pulled their finger out and ordered and controlled all taxi meters, then tourists and drivers would have a lot less trouble when paying for the ride. Pattaya is no better than Phuket , I’ve taken a taxi a few times when necessary ( I don’t have a car) and they are just as expensive as Phuket. What is a really good deal is the private taxis that do the airport run.

I find the 1200 + Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi cheap. 

[jas007]

When you book a ride on Bolt, don't they tell you the fare in advance?  Whoever booked the ride should pay.  It's just that simple.  

 

Of course the taxis and tuk tuks in Phuket can be expensive. Everyone knows that.  I'm not sure what the rates are these days, but you probably have to pay at least 200 baht to go anywhere.  

[MRMOUSE]

11 hours ago, Cereal said:

I didn't see what kind of foreign currency was mentioned. That could be pertinent to the dispute. Rubles? No thanks. US$? Okay.

Both have quoted exchange rates

[ChipButty]

2 hours ago, sambum said:

No nationality mentioned  - just "foreigners",  so they can't have been Brits!

They were Saudis