Who Says Bangkok Taxi Drivers Are Bad?

[meemiathai]

Yes I tip too when it was a good ride. Hoping to encourage good service in the future.

[t.s]

thaidlehands, brilliant, you capture the stench of fear on the "dont mess with a thai or you will end up dead crew"

[Theyreallrubbish]

The only problems I've had are the usual ones of getting in a meter taxi they start moving and say they don't want to use the meter. Never had a hint of violence when I got out though, but annoying.

I still get wound up when they say they won't go somewhere. Even though I know the fare's haven't risen for a decade and I have a lot of sympathy for the economics of their decision. Maybe I'm taking it as a personal rejection!

Had a couple of incidents of a taxi making a mistake with the direction, me telling him and him saying he'll freeze the meter at whatever it was at the time.

Overall, a great experience.

My major gripe is that they want to chat when I've just arrived at the airport after a long flight and don't want to have a chat!

[Andrew Hicks]

I've been pleased with taxi service in Bangkok well over 90% of the time despite all the negative talk around

I agree. They give cheap and courteous service for little pay and doing a shitty job.

Most of them are just lads from Isaan but they bring their fine rural manners with them. I often enjoy a chat and generally find them pleasant.

They often drive too fast but they are skilful drivers.

Given increasing fuel costs, have they been allowed an increase in the fares?

[mittheimp]

I agree. They give cheap and courteous service for little pay and doing a shitty job.

In fact it's a sought after job. Why do you think so many of them come down to Bangkok to do it if it so bad?

They can also make over 1,000THB take home per day. Practically unheard of in any other profession they could do. And well over the average wage.

It's also not any type of manual labour.

I also take issue with your 'skilful drivers' comment. They are completely the opposite. They are masters of the near miss.

You obviously don't drive in Bangkok yourself as taxis are a pest, and sometimes quite dangerous.

It is admirable your defence of cab drivers but let's face the facts that they are only equipped with the most basic of driving skills.

Do Taxi drivers really earn upto 30K per month? I would be very suprised if that was even near the norm!

Some taxi drivers are very skilled, to say that all of them have basic driving skills is a ridiculous comment, but at least inkeeping with your other posts!

[kiakaha]

the longer you live in Bangkok, the less you'll have issues.Why :

1) your thai language competency increases(reading, speaking)

2) you know where to choose the best taxi's from(the most convenient side of the rd, not a stationary cab etc...)

3) you learn to detect the difference in "behavior" between a meter taxi and a non meter taxi, and of course, choose the former

4) you know the roads, sois , sub sois, shortcuts, traffic directions etc.... in the areas you frequent better than most taxi drivers themselves

5) you understand the reasons why they sometimes wont take you (ie: end of shift and destination is too inconvenient for them)..fair enough

6) you may still get the odd snotty prick, but you don't make a fuss, let alone incite violence..just politely exit the cab and hail another.

I disagree. The longer you live here the more the petty scams and try ons become apparent and the more tiresome and irritating they become. However if you are living here you will be likely using your own transport so dealing with cabbies becomes an infrequent, albeit mostly unrewarding experience.

If you haven't worked out most of the things on your list within a few weeks of being here you'll never work them out.

It would have been extremely difficult for me to "politely exit" a moving cab when I was being threatened by a driver high on metamphetamines and I am quite adequately trained to cope with such situations and not to incite violence. Perhaps next time before offering condescending advice you should be aware of all the circumstances and not jump to conclusions.

I don't know anyone whose been here a few weeks that can lay testament to points 1,4 and 5. I do agree that after while you'll use your own transport more.I have a car and driver.Only use cabs if my wife has buggered off with the car. Anyway, just my perspective of living in Bangkok continuously for 11 yrs.

Your Thai language competence didn't increase after a few weeks of living here? How bizarre.

After several days I was able to negotiate and hold simple conversations in Thai with drivers.

I do hope you eventually made an attempt to learn the basics of the language after being here 11 years!

After a few weeks, i could not read thai script , and the phrases I knew were pronounced completely tonally incorrectly, like most tourists and bar talkers I hear spluttering away on Sukhumvit.

Now I am a fluent reader and speaker, so the staff at work tell me.

I know that taxi drivers can detect the difference in your thai language ability/tonal correctness/depth of vocabulary/use of colloquialisms etc...., and will treat you like more or a local with better quality thai, so probably less of a target for a tourist scam.

[JetsetBkk]

Some taxi drivers are very skilled, to say that all of them have basic driving skills is a ridiculous comment, but at least in keeping with your other posts!

I quite agree. There are much better subjects for ET to have a rant about - I think he's picked on a loser here.

2/10 ET - "must try harder".

[meemiathai]

Do Taxi drivers really earn upto 30K per month? I would be very suprised if that was even near the norm!

Some taxi drivers are very skilled, to say that all of them have basic driving skills is a ridiculous comment, but at least inkeeping with your other posts!

A few drivers who are willing to put heavy hours in will earn around 30,000THB and most others who don't work 30 days a month will earn less. Regardless, it's a sought after job with good pay on the whole.

I'd love to know where they get all these alleged great driving skills, considering the test is so simple and there is minimal driver education required. It can't be on Bangkok roads, which are not conducive to advanced driving techniques. Perhaps they are sent away to the Nuhrburgring for training before being granted a taxi licence?

A cabbie in Australia or the UK has to blood, sweat and toil to get a taxi licence. Here they hand them out like candy to guys from hundreds of miles away who don't even know the simplest of routes or street names and barely have control of a motor vehicle.

Why are you not in Australia or the UK then? And do you know how much money those taxi drivers(in the UK) earn? To compare them and their thai counterparts? 30,000 THB? You are talking about those work 24hrs a day, right? My brother in law was a taxi driver in BKK, he quit because too little money.

BTW, what mishaps did you go through today in Thailand? Interested to know. At least I can be warned when I come live here.