Airport Taxi, They're Devious

[HarryHacker]

There seems to have been an abundance of Taxi threads of late, most concerning airport runs, maybe Admin should start a forum call Taxi and promote Bendy to mod it .

[Shrubbery]

There seems to have been an abundance of Taxi threads of late, most concerning airport runs, maybe Admin should start a forum call Taxi and promote Bendy to mod it .

I second that.

[wjmark]

Took a meter taxi from the new airport a few months ago. Usually I find Bkk taxis honest, friendly, and cheap.

But this one (from the Arrivals Level) had a 'rigged' meter. I watched the meter jump and jump. It was a slightly different meter than usual - missing the 'time' and 'distance' displays.

Halfway home the meter hit 200bt (when I know that the whole ride was only 200 a few weeks earlier), so I looked for a place to stop him. As we came off the highway, I told him to stop.

We got out, and I brought out 200 bt (the meter was already at 240bt), and put it on the back seat. The driver started yelling 300bt because it was an airport job.

I walked away, and we got in another taxi - normal meter - finished the ride for 65bt. If I had stayed in the original taxi, it would have been at least another 200bt.

Liars, cheats, scumbags. I don't like being ripped off for 30bt, let alone 300bt.

I don't mind paying what I think is fair, even if their 'rigged' meter say more.

And I don't 'tip' people who rip me off.

[BigSnake]

Yes they are a little Devious and little on the scamming side if you ask me.

[daveh]

Last month I took a taxi from the airport to Sukhumvit. The driver asked, but did not "tell", if I would agree to a 400 baht fare including tolls. I knew it would be cheaper to use the meter, but I was happy to pay the 400 baht since he politely asked me. I like the fixed fare since the price does not change if we hit a traffic jam and I know he has an incentive to get me to my hotel the fastest way possible.

However, later that week, I was changing hotels from the Sukhumvit area to Sofitel at Central Latprao. The first taxi I got into wanted 300 baht (I knew this would be around 70 baht), the second taxi had the same deal, so I decided to walk to the MRT. As I was walking pulling two suitcases behind me, I was approached by many taxis all charging a fixed 300 baht. I was surprised at how consistent the pricing was. Finally, one guy stopped and when I asked "Meter?", he said "Sure, but you pay tolls". This was fine. Since the traffic was bad, I didn't mind using the tollway. When I got to the hotel the fare was only 72 baht. I gave him 100 and told him to keep it. He was very appreciative. I'd spent less than half what the others wanted, so I was happy, and this driver was getting a good tip, so he was happy. I bet those other drivers were still driving around wasting gas looking to scam someone else by time this honest driver was looking for a second fare.

When I lived in Thailand, near Victory Monument, I never had an issue with taxis; not once over a year. I think it mostly depends on where you are picked up or where you are going.

[jstumbo]

I have never had a taxi ask for a fixed price in town. I take at least four taxi rides each day. They do it a lot at the airport, and I just get out and get in the next one. Maybe it was because you were going to the Sofitel, and they figured that with a high end hotel like that people would not care about money and would pay whatever was asked.

I did have my first experience with a bad taxi a couple of weeks ago. I was coming back from a suburb of BKK and I noticed that the taxi meter was charging both the time and the milage while we were going down the road at 60KPH. At that speed it should only be racking up the milage, not the time. Since I was lucky to even find one out there, I had to stay with it until I got farther in town so that I could get another one.

The meter has a little flashing light that is either flashing near the time when you are sitting, or near the distance when you are moving. In my case, they were both flashing and the time kept going up and was the same as the amount of time the entire trip took.

[way2muchcoffee]

Why can't they just do an honest day's work?

Perhaps because an honest day's work doesn't provide an honest day's pay for the majority of the population?

Edited February 24, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[richard_smith237]

I've been driving myself around in Bangkok for about 6 years. I quote one of the reasons for having a car as having to deal with taxis when sobre (I'm a good natured drunk !)...

...........The opening door, always too hot, having to listen to issan music, gobbing on up out of the door, nose picking, hacking their guts up, the noise they make when trying to suck something out of their teeth, the Manchester / Liverpool conversation, the you have thai girlfriend? conversation, the you want sexy lady, you like boom boom? conversation etc etc… the list is endless.................

But.. In defence of taxi's in Bangkok in General I’d suggest that 90% of them are quite reasonable, often the quickest route is not always the most direct.

After driving here for long enough I’ve worked out that at different times of day its sometimes better to take slightly different routes…i.e. its better to travel out of town, get on a toll way just to travel half way across town…

However the shockers are the ones who can sense weakness and try to over charge outside hotels etc. I imagine international hotels and the Airport attract a lot of the scum.

When not driving myself (i.e. at night cos I’m drinking) traveling around town the only common issue I ever have is that the taxi does not want to go where I want to be taken.

At 7pm this is infuriating because they don’t seem to want to go anywhere….

I had a taxi the other evening (actually about 3am) who was taking me back towards town along Ratchada rd (from the other side of Vip-Rangsit rd). I think I had a new guy (perhaps in his fathers taxi, the ID photo was a lot older than the apparent 17 y/o driving the taxi). The poor lad had trouble changing gear and then insisted on keeping in the left most lane, I had trouble persuading him to change lanes to the middle two so that we could take the flyover and underpasses… this was hard work.. What was more hard work was trying to convince him not to pull up behind the long line of other taxi’s waiting to pick people up coming out of the clubs nr Ratchada Soi 4 and 6. After pulling up behind a second line of taxi’s and becoming boxed in, and after explaining that I wanted him to stay in the outside lane to navigate round the stationary waiting taxi’s I gave up, handed him a 100 (B80) said thanks and got out. I took another taxi and arrived home with out further issue. Had I not known where I was going, the first guy would have got me very very lost, particularly has I had to stop him from taking the turning towards Rangsit soon after I got in (my Thai friends told him where I wanted to go and when I got in the car I asked him and he confirmed my destination)…

Simply, he was not out to rip me off he just didn’t know where he was going or how to drive. I wasn’t annoyed, just exasperated . But it did make me think… What if the same thing happened to someone new to the city… fortunately getting lost or a wild goose chase costs very little compared to the potential cost back home, although if you allow it to it can cost a lot in stress !

[way2muchcoffee]

6-8,000 bt/month is decent?

You try it for 5 years, come back and let us know how decent of a life you were able to have.

[niggle]

I always pay the tolls as we get to them - that way no "confusion"

[way2muchcoffee]

I hear what you are saying.

But the typical Thai also sees corruption at every level from the highest echelons on down. Benz capital of asia and all that. Everyone's getting in on the action and thus making a better life for themselves and their families. Why not try to milk a bit off the 'rich falang'?

I'm not saying I condone this behavior, but I can understand the temptation and the economic forces behind the practice.

[chiang mai]

I think Thai taxi drivers are some of the nicest people I have met in Thailand, they are all fair, honest and exceptionally good drivers. I wont hear a bad word said against any of them.

[way2muchcoffee]

Me too. Aren't they just so cute and cuddly and helpful?

[Thaifan2]

There are far more good ones than bad ,thats for sure .Its the opposite with Tuk,Tuk drivers IMO .

[sonnyJ]

My earlier post regarded the airport taxis, and most other touris areas.

90% of the rides I take are with no fuzz, I know where I'm going and can speak enough Thai to communicate with the driver.

I had an interesting conversation with this one driver through a fluent Thai friend. The driver conformed that there are laws for them that they can't actually say no to any asked destination. Most are renting the cars though and I kind of understand that excuse, it might be the truth after all.