Taxis In Bangkok: Can They Refuse A Fare ?

[peter991]

Did a search on the Forum for this and couldn't find anything - so here's my situation:

I caught several taxis in Bangkok last week. In each case, I hailed a taxi which has its For Hire light on (the one at the bottom left of the windscreen).

In all cases I was with my Thai partner. He would open the front passenger door and ask the taxi driver if he could take us to our destination.

Never had a problem until last night: It was around 12.30am, in Silom and we wanted to go home to our hotel near JJ Market. First taxi he stopped refused to take us. Next taxi I flagged down (as the For Hire light was on), I opened the back door, sat in the back seat and stated the destination.

The taxi driver told us he did not want to do to our destination (a fare of about 70 to 80 baht). I told the taxi driver that if his For Hire light was on - he could not refuse a fare and I would report his refusal to the Tourist Police.

Okay - I was tired. I was also neatly dressed, without any parcels or luggage and I was completely sober. My partner likewise. Was I right or wrong? Can a taxi driver refuse a fare if they don't want to go there

Peter

[onnut]

Did a search on the Forum for this and couldn't find anything - so here's my situation:

I caught several taxis in Bangkok last week. In each case, I hailed a taxi which has its For Hire light on (the one at the bottom left of the windscreen).

In all cases I was with my Thai partner. He would open the front passenger door and ask the taxi driver if he could take us to our destination.

Never had a problem until last night: It was around 12.30am, in Silom and we wanted to go home to our hotel near JJ Market. First taxi he stopped refused to take us. Next taxi I flagged down (as the For Hire light was on), I opened the back door, sat in the back seat and stated the destination.

The taxi driver told us he did not want to do to our destination (a fare of about 70 to 80 baht). I told the taxi driver that if his For Hire light was on - he could not refuse a fare and I would report his refusal to the Tourist Police.

Okay - I was tired. I was also neatly dressed, without any parcels or luggage and I was completely sober. My partner likewise. Was I right or wrong? Can a taxi driver refuse a fare if they don't want to go there

Peter

Yes and they do refuse from time to time. sometimes they sy no because they cannot get a fare back other times its because they are soon to knock off and need to return the taxi.

I have been refused in western countries as well. not a big deal find another one, there are plenty.

[madjbs]

They are not really allowed to but they will do for various reasons. I think you did the wrong thing personally; I wouldn’t want to get in a taxi with a driver I had just threatened.

[julie_f]

They often don't like making long journeys. It is impossible to get a taxi at MBK going to the outskirts of Bangkok. We get the Skytrain as far as possible and get a taxi at the end. Thats sometimes difficult too. They often expect farangs to go to local hotels and then they can make lots of short trips and make more money.

[flightcrew1]

They do refuse and especially on Silom quite often. Two solutions. Cross the road and take taxi heading in the direction of the river as these taxi's are not paying the Mafia tax on the other side of silom. The other solution is to walk up to the corner near Robinsons on Silom, you will always get a taxi there as once they cross the lights there are not many passengers to pick up.

Also going to JJ is out of the way and maybe they won't get a fare coming back to the city. If staying in the city they can maybe do lots of quick 40 baht fares arount the Silom/Satorn area.

[neion2000]

All I know is... Many times I tried to flag down many taxi cabs with the light on and they would not stop.. I've been refused a few times to be taken to a destination by a cab driver while staying Bangkok as well.. One time the taxi driver stopped, I got in, told him to take me to the bus station, he looked at me like I was supposed to speak Thai to him, he apparently did not understand where I wanted to go, so I had to get out of the cab... Then one time near Soi Cowboy, the dude stopped, spoke to him through the window, told him I need a ride to Nana Plaza, he said no.. (not sure what the problem with that was)..

Then while in Pattaya, numerous times, them freaking baht bus pick-up trucks would not stop.. I had many drive right by me, then stop and pick up someone esle further down the street..

It's frustrating some times, but shit, when I'm in Thailand, it's not like I'm on a schedule to be any where at a set time..

[lopburi3]

The times I have been asked to find another taxi in the last ten years I can count on one hand. Almost all are willing to make long or short runs. But this is flag down rather than asking those sitting in tourist spots. Almost anyplace have a taxi in five minutes or less so not need to make an issue if they do not want to take you - normally it is due to a shift change.

Something new to me today was an itemized receipt being provided in a new yellow/green taxi. Taxi plate number/start time/stop time/distance/total time/change on a small cash register receipt. This could be very valuable if tourists learn to pocket them and find out later they forgot something in the taxi.

[londonthai]

happens to me often - probably because they don't know the part of town I am asking for.

At the end of their shifts the driver will want to have a fare close to his base/home - pointless would be for him to drive away from base

[onethailand]

They cannot refuse a fare - if they do so you can report them to the Transport Department.

Having said that, there needs to be a procedure for when they are switching shifts. And obviously a a driver politely refuses then I don't make a fuss - but more often than not drivers seem to just wave you off, or drive off without an answer - just take out your note pad and write down their license plate number.

[TexasRanger]

These people do it all the time near JJ market, my wife was turned down by 10 one night, they are just a pain in the ass. The wife reported one to the authority and they really couldn't care less.

Just another reason why I will be going back to the UK for a while to cool off.

[samran]

around silom heading towards Rama IV they can be a pain. These blokes are looking for tourists who will agree to 200 baht for a 5 minute ride. As someone said, cross the road and the legit taxis are all there.

[Jingthing]

There are so many taxis in Bangkok, who cares? Just try the next one. I remember once I had to go from Sukhumwit to Yankee hospital and it took asking about five taxis before we found one to go. But this took about 5 minutes as there are so many taxis. I have also had them refuse to go to heavy traffic areas during rush hour.

[Jimjim]

Don't report them and grow up. Thais are refused all the time. It's not a tourist police issue. I don't know about Thailand, but in the U.S. taxis can refuse a fare if they want. Taxis are not your personal drivers or some sort of God-given privilege. They don't have to take you if they don't want to do so (note I guess it could be against the law here, but what would be the punishment? A lecture?). I've been refused a lot and usually it's due to traffic reasons. Me and my football teammates (Thai) were refused by many taxis many times in efforts to get to where we play because at that time the drivers didn't want to deal with the traffic to get there, and maybe many of them were about to have a changeover in shift. Took us more than five taxis to get someone to say they'd take us (edit: looks like I beat Lopburi's 10 year tally in 20 minutes). Also, if you're on Silom road late at night, realize that if they won't give you the meter it's because when they got onto the road in the first place, the police have a roadblock and charged them something like 30 or more baht just for using that road late in the evening. I've seen them do it.

Edited January 24, 2008 by Jimjim

[britmaveric]

Not sure if they are allowed to refuse or not. But they do refuse fares and quite often. I was coming out HRC around 12:30AM and needed get back to hotel on lower Suk. Fare is 60-70bht at best, wouldnt do it for that had to pay him dbl. I wasnt bothered at the time because needed get there in a hurry and didnt fancy legging it looking for scarce taxi(s). He wanted more dosh plain and simple - would have refused me if I didnt agree to his price.

[torrenova]

I think the fact is that a taxi has a fare structure. If they "need" more, then it is because there are too many taxis, pure supply and demand or the fare structure is wrong. In Pattaya there are too many baht busses so they hang around and just want private hire when their modus operandi is to ply the streets. If there were less, then there would be sufficient customers to provide a good income and there would still be some private hire. In Bangkok, there are, in my opinion, too many taxis and I think the fare structure is too low so they break the rules and tout for higher fares than on the meter. It is wrong but it will require the "mafia" behind them to change and that is not going to happen any time soon.

[chiang mai]

Just because refusing a fare is against the law/code in places such as US/UK, why would anyone think it must be the same way here, Thailand is a totally different country with its own laws and rules.

[PadThaiGuy]

You will find many Taxis refusing fares in the Tourist areas. Not interested in taking fares around town for the meter rate.

They are scammers, trolling for some novice tourist to cheat.

I had one confess to me that he was learning English... not to be able to provide a better service..... but so he "can lie to the Farang".

I had a taxi in the Nana area throw me out recently.......sat down in the back seat, he recognized me as a local and said "out! out!! I know you."

[PeaceBlondie]

Okay, so it works both ways. I got off the Skytrain at Mochit station and wanted to go to Mochit bus terminal. This has happened a few times. I get in and there is no way the driver knows what planet I'm from or what galaxy I want to go to, so I get out. Or I get in and he insists on a 100 baht or higher fare without the meter on. I open the door at maybe 15 kph, make a hasty retreat on the run, and he loses all chances of making the fare because he's out of the queue now, and thirty meters down the road. It serves him right.

[Ijustwannateach]

It is my understanding that the law says they cannot refuse a fare. However, conditions on the ground- the fact that the driver will be responsible for your safety, that the driver may be unsettled/mad/on drugs/drunk himself, that the driver is most likely carrying some sort of concealed weapon in the taxi for his own protection- tend to discourage me from trying to argue or fight my way into a ride with someone who doesn't want to give me one.

If a taxi driver causes me considerable inconvenience- like telling me 500m after taking off that he doesn't want to go where I want to go, so that I am worse off than I was, and not being near the pavement but in the middle of the road- then I will usually show my appreciation by leaving the back left door open as I walk away.

"S"

[PadThaiGuy]

If they don't turn on the meter, I say nothing.

Not my problem if the meter says zero at the destination.

If I'm in a good mood, I give them 40thb.

[mauiguy90]

Same thing happened to me at Chinatown. Guess I didn't have my <deleted> Man Chu look down. Finally used a tuktuk to get to the subway.

During the rainy season, it happens all the time. They will turn down multiple riders and let them get soaked to the bone. Or they will overcharge fares, depending on how desperate you look.

[HarryHacker]

Snip

- then I will usually show my appreciation by leaving the back left door open as I walk away.

"S"

Fully understandable, however, if people follow this example, you could end up in trouble. At this point you have proved you have a cranky driver and the chances of him having a physical pop at you is higher than the norm.

[chiang mai]

It is my understanding that the law says they cannot refuse a fare.

As is:

Driving on the wrong side of the road, riding a motorbike on the pavement, speeding, driving whilst intoxicated, not having a license and all the other things that people do here. So really, just having a law in place does not mean much at all.

[actiondell4]

Belive me Cab Drivers are the same the world over and Sydney has some of the worst with a combination of Arabic ,Chinese ,Filipinos,indian and Vietnamese.

Yesterday i get i hail a cab in Sydney,the driver a Arabic guy stops,i hop in the front seat and tell him up to Darlinghurst,about a 8 dollar fare,i noticed when he puts on his taxi meter the fare starts at 3 dolars but he also tries to put on another button for a booking fee of 2 dollars so i watch to see he doesnt add the 2 dollars but then he starts asking me "where do you work",do you earn good money" so i told him i didnt work,when we got to my desto he didnt add that 2 dollar booking fee but im sure he was going to.

Last Monday i put on my old clothes and go downtown to the not so good Sydney City suburb of Redfern so i can go to the op shops there.

I get the Subway train there and dodge the beggars outside the railway station and walk to the op shops after being called "white trash" etc etc from the beggars and junkies,so i look in the Mr Finklesteins Pawn shop,bought a camera etc and anyway i decide to hail a cab,this is at 4pm,well past the 1 hour Cab change over,no bloody cab would stop for me until i worked out that i actually looked like a junkie in the clothe i wa wearing.

I felt very embarrassed trying to get vacant cabs to stop,the area was becoming deserted as i saw the many op shops and pawn shops closing whilst it was still daylight pulling down there steel shutters.

I knew at 6pm the Traffic lights are turned off to allow cars to not stop because of Robbery .So all i wanted to do was to take my bargain camera and go home,so i thought maybe i should just go back to the train station and again dodge the aggressive beggars.

One cab stopped,wind down his passenger window,a asian guy,"where you go",he asked.,

"Up to Darlinghurst" i said,trying to sound effeminate so he doesnt get scared.

"ok ,he said,"my meter not work,how much you give me"?

I looked at him nervously,"well its usually 10 dollars" i said.

As i was talking to him a large Aboriginal lady walks up to me,"got a f...... smoke c...t"?

I looked up her stunned,"ummmm no , i apologised.

The cab driver put his foot on the accelator obviouly thinking she would hop in his cab,so i shouted out almost in a begging way,"Nooooo pleeeeeeese"!

He braked suddenly and i quickly walked up and tried to open the door but it was locked,"you give me 15 dollar ok" the cab driver said,

I looked at his face,i could see he was a South East Asian,so i nodded yes,as i looked sideways to see a group of Aboriginal kids aged in their early teens smashing a payphone metres away from me.

I went to open the cab door again,but it was locked,the asian cab driver with his laughing eyes looked up at me again,"15 dollar ,he shouts ,

"Yes yes ,i said,still trying to open the door,

"NOW !!!!!,he shouts,putting his open hand out toward the passenger window,

Not wanting him to take off with my money,i smiled at him and said "yes yes i have it",pulling out a 20 dollar note,wondering if he was going to give me change.

"Give to me",he shouts thru the partially opened pasenger window.

I pratically begged him to open the door which he finally does and he tells me to get in the back seat whilst wringling his nose as in i seem to stink to him.

I then gave him the 20 dollar note,he drives up to Darlinghurst in a mad state,before i direct him to Oxford street,

"OUT,"he shouts as i tell him where to stop,he then hands me a 2 dollar coin.and i get out as he takes off with a sscreech.

Last month i hop into a cab at 5am on a Sunday morning not wanting to walk home,because of the drunks still out,a cab driver stops at the red traffic light and i walk over and get into the front seat next to him, and a guy with a American accent is driving .

I told him my destination and he still stops without moving.

He then says" Hey buddy thats only up the road,why dont you walk"?

I said"well i only just finished work and i got to walk pat the nightclubs which are just closing"

He still stays at the now green traffic lights,i look at him and see he looks like John Lennon with long hair and round glasses.

He looks like his thinking and all of a sudden the car behind us starts blasting its horn because the traffic lights are green now.

The cab driver reaches under his seat and pulls out what looks like a baseball bat and gets out of the cab and walks to the car behind us and i can hear shouting" you got a problem asshol_e" to a car behind us.

I look back and see the car quickly swerve around him and get in the next lane and take off.

The American driver gets in and says "f... punks"

He then looks over at me and says" oh yere,where were we,please refresh my memory"

I said "mate all i wanna do is go down Oxford Street":

He looks plainly in my eyes and says "oh yere,you aint gonna run on me now are ya"?

I was shocked,i said ,trying to remain friendly "as i thought he was joking,i said look at me im a middle aged overweight guy,why would i run off without paying.

As he was driving me the short distance he starts telling me that "sally" his "girl" has met a lot of drunken Aussies.

The fare was 5.60 and i gave him 10 as i was scared.Only later did i realise "Sally" was his baseball bat.

[hedonist44]

Belive me Cab Drivers are the same the world over and Sydney has some of the worst with a combination of Arabic ,Chinese ,Filipinos,indian and Vietnamese.

Yesterday i get i hail a cab in Sydney,the driver a Arabic guy stops,i hop in the front seat and tell him up to Darlinghurst,about a 8 dollar fare,i noticed when he puts on his taxi meter the fare starts at 3 dolars but he also tries to put on another button for a booking fee of 2 dollars so i watch to see he doesnt add the 2 dollars but then he starts asking me "where do you work",do you earn good money" so i told him i didnt work,when we got to my desto he didnt add that 2 dollar booking fee but im sure he was going to.

Last Monday i put on my old clothes and go downtown to the not so good Sydney City suburb of Redfern so i can go to the op shops there.

I get the Subway train there and dodge the beggars outside the railway station and walk to the op shops after being called "white trash" etc etc from the beggars and junkies,so i look in the Mr Finklesteins Pawn shop,bought a camera etc and anyway i decide to hail a cab,this is at 4pm,well past the 1 hour Cab change over,no bloody cab would stop for me until i worked out that i actually looked like a junkie in the clothe i wa wearing.

I felt very embarrassed trying to get vacant cabs to stop,the area was becoming deserted as i saw the many op shops and pawn shops closing whilst it was still daylight pulling down there steel shutters.

I knew at 6pm the Traffic lights are turned off to allow cars to not stop because of Robbery .So all i wanted to do was to take my bargain camera and go home,so i thought maybe i should just go back to the train station and again dodge the aggressive beggars.

One cab stopped,wind down his passenger window,a asian guy,"where you go",he asked.,

"Up to Darlinghurst" i said,trying to sound effeminate so he doesnt get scared.

"ok ,he said,"my meter not work,how much you give me"?

I looked at him nervously,"well its usually 10 dollars" i said.

As i was talking to him a large Aboriginal lady walks up to me,"got a f...... smoke c...t"?

I looked up her stunned,"ummmm no , i apologised.

The cab driver put his foot on the accelator obviouly thinking she would hop in his cab,so i shouted out almost in a begging way,"Nooooo pleeeeeeese"!

He braked suddenly and i quickly walked up and tried to open the door but it was locked,"you give me 15 dollar ok" the cab driver said,

I looked at his face,i could see he was a South East Asian,so i nodded yes,as i looked sideways to see a group of Aboriginal kids aged in their early teens smashing a payphone metres away from me.

I went to open the cab door again,but it was locked,the asian cab driver with his laughing eyes looked up at me again,"15 dollar ,he shouts ,

"Yes yes ,i said,still trying to open the door,

"NOW !!!!!,he shouts,putting his open hand out toward the passenger window,

Not wanting him to take off with my money,i smiled at him and said "yes yes i have it",pulling out a 20 dollar note,wondering if he was going to give me change.

"Give to me",he shouts thru the partially opened pasenger window.

I pratically begged him to open the door which he finally does and he tells me to get in the back seat whilst wringling his nose as in i seem to stink to him.

I then gave him the 20 dollar note,he drives up to Darlinghurst in a mad state,before i direct him to Oxford street,

"OUT,"he shouts as i tell him where to stop,he then hands me a 2 dollar coin.and i get out as he takes off with a sscreech.

Last month i hop into a cab at 5am on a Sunday morning not wanting to walk home,because of the drunks still out,a cab driver stops at the red traffic light and i walk over and get into the front seat next to him, and a guy with a American accent is driving .

I told him my destination and he still stops without moving.

He then says" Hey buddy thats only up the road,why dont you walk"?

I said"well i only just finished work and i got to walk pat the nightclubs which are just closing"

He still stays at the now green traffic lights,i look at him and see he looks like John Lennon with long hair and round glasses.

He looks like his thinking and all of a sudden the car behind us starts blasting its horn because the traffic lights are green now.

The cab driver reaches under his seat and pulls out what looks like a baseball bat and gets out of the cab and walks to the car behind us and i can hear shouting" you got a problem asshol_e" to a car behind us.

I look back and see the car quickly swerve around him and get in the next lane and take off.

The American driver gets in and says "f... punks"

He then looks over at me and says" oh yere,where were we,please refresh my memory"

I said "mate all i wanna do is go down Oxford Street":

He looks plainly in my eyes and says "oh yere,you aint gonna run on me now are ya"?

I was shocked,i said ,trying to remain friendly "as i thought he was joking,i said look at me im a middle aged overweight guy,why would i run off without paying.

As he was driving me the short distance he starts telling me that "sally" his "girl" has met a lot of drunken Aussies.

The fare was 5.60 and i gave him 10 as i was scared.Only later did i realise "Sally" was his baseball bat.

Well I got to tell you aall, if I was a taxi driver in Bangkok, I surley would want the right to refuse a fare. Can you possibly imagine what a driver runs up against during one shift alone? Give the guys a break, or find and alternative way of getting around.

[zorro1]

They cannot refuse a fare - if they do so you can report them to the Transport Department.

Having said that, there needs to be a procedure for when they are switching shifts. And obviously a a driver politely refuses then I don't make a fuss - but more often than not drivers seem to just wave you off, or drive off without an answer - just take out your note pad and write down their license plate number.

And do what?

[richard_smith237]

This happens to me frequently. Often at the busy time of day (6-7pm) if I want to go into an area where the traffic is likely to be busy. Its irritating at the best of times and infuriating when the driver doesn’t even say no, or sorry, he just dismisses me with a lazy wave of his hand and drives off. And this often happens 2-3 times in 10 mins before I can get a taxi that agrees to go to my destination. The problem is, by the time I’ve waited 10-20 mins for a cab at times like this, I’m hot and sweaty…

However, I can’t say I blame the taxi driver for refusing me a journey that’s going to take him into or through the middle of gridlock or in the opposite direction if he is looking for his last fare before knocking off.

For this reason I have a car for the daytime. But for evenings when I’m drinking I need a cab. I’ve become so used to just grabbing a cab when I want one in the evenings and usually going home is not a problem. Going out at 7pm is – I think we can book taxis but I’ve never done this.

Has anyone any experience of booking metered taxi’s over the phone? And how easy is it? i.e. I imagine some difficulty getting my correct address across.

[onethailand]

They cannot refuse a fare - if they do so you can report them to the Transport Department.

Having said that, there needs to be a procedure for when they are switching shifts. And obviously a a driver politely refuses then I don't make a fuss - but more often than not drivers seem to just wave you off, or drive off without an answer - just take out your note pad and write down their license plate number.

And do what?

To report a complaint about a taxi driver, please contact the Department of Transport on 02 689 1144 and 02 277 5460. I believe there is, or used to be, a 4 digit number you could call as well.

Sometimes, however, the taxi driver is looking in his rear view mirror - and on more than one occasion the taxi came to a screeching halt and agreed to take me to my destination.

[bulmercke]

The times I have been asked to find another taxi in the last ten years I can count on one hand. Almost all are willing to make long or short runs. But this is flag down rather than asking those sitting in tourist spots. Almost anyplace have a taxi in five minutes or less so not need to make an issue if they do not want to take you - normally it is due to a shift change.

Something new to me today was an itemized receipt being provided in a new yellow/green taxi. Taxi plate number/start time/stop time/distance/total time/change on a small cash register receipt. This could be very valuable if tourists learn to pocket them and find out later they forgot something in the taxi.

That's right.....but even those taxis cruising through tourist spots are reluctant to use their meters a lot of the time - even if they're not statonary.

They are meter taxis - but they will - to your face - refuse to use their meters. They don't care - and the police don't care either.

The same treatment is dealt out to Thais equally.

[IMA_FARANG]

Did a search on the Forum for this and couldn't find anything - so here's my situation:

I caught several taxis in Bangkok last week. In each case, I hailed a taxi which has its For Hire light on (the one at the bottom left of the windscreen).

In all cases I was with my Thai partner. He would open the front passenger door and ask the taxi driver if he could take us to our destination.

Never had a problem until last night: It was around 12.30am, in Silom and we wanted to go home to our hotel near JJ Market. First taxi he stopped refused to take us. Next taxi I flagged down (as the For Hire light was on), I opened the back door, sat in the back seat and stated the destination.

The taxi driver told us he did not want to do to our destination (a fare of about 70 to 80 baht). I told the taxi driver that if his For Hire light was on - he could not refuse a fare and I would report his refusal to the Tourist Police.

Okay - I was tired. I was also neatly dressed, without any parcels or luggage and I was completely sober. My partner likewise. Was I right or wrong? Can a taxi driver refuse a fare if they don't want to go there

Peter

I don't know what the legal position is, but taxi drivers do often refuse fares.

One reason is that the driver usually does not own the taxi, he works a shift for the owner of the taxi. If it is near the end of his shift, he has to return the taxi to whereever he picked the taxi up. That way the new shift driver can take over. So if where you want to go is too far from where he has to return the taxi and he won't be able to get to his return point in time, he often will refuse the fare.

Another frequent cause of refusing a fare is when you ask to go to a place where the driver knows that the traffic is very heavy. Why would he want to take you to a place where a 50 baht fare is what he can charge, but he knows because of heavy traffic, it will take him 2 hours (and maybe 100 baht of fuel in stop and go traffic) to get you there? I've been in a taxi on Sukhumvit road during rush hour, when I could literally have walked there faster than the taxi could move due to the traffic.

However, it all works out in the end. I've had a taxi driver explain to me that he had to return the taxi for the next shift, but if I was willing to wait while he did that, the next driver would take me where I wanted to go. As I wasn't in a hurry, I agreed. Had a nice conversation with the driver while he returned the taxi, was offered a glass of Chinese tea while I waited, and the new driver took me to my destination at the same fare I would have paid anyhow. All in all, it was a good time. Learn to live the Thai way, Mai pen rai.

Edited May 30, 2008 by IMA_FARANG