Thailand's Tuk-tuk And Taxi Drivers

[MJo]

There is obviously something wrong with many of you. Yes taxis are wreckless and we all get into near-accidents.

But after my first month here, 2 years ago i have never had a taxi not put his meter. The biggest screw i got from a motocycle taxi was about 15baht, but i have no idea of the real price of my ride so sometimes its 50 sometimes 70.. both price seem fair for the distance in my head.

There is definately something wrong with what you people are wearing(clothes, bargirlfriend, haircut, sandals with socks?) i dont speak much thai, i look like a young tourist and yet never get screwed? Tuktuks at panthip or other place, the next guy alawys takes me for a lower price.. really, you guys should look at yourself.

As far as highway goes.. nobody likes to sit at a redlight for 25mins, especialy the taxi driver. Expressawy is the way to go unless you are a teacher and completely broke.

Jeez man, hate to break it to you but what you have posted here it seems you get taken with each and every time

But not to worry, if you feel ok with it there's nothing wrong with it.

[Mossfinn]

Had one who played the game on the way to Jomtiem, mad dicing with traffic, we played along and he got a little near the mark, but they all seem to know the game, I think we got there relatively safely.

Another time, decided to take a queue cut and went upstairs instead of the official taxi rank and paid the price of having a nutter, not quite on the scale of the yabba guy linked above, but close enough not to try and live off the difference.

Lessons to be learned, tell the driver you have had your near death experience and they will drive sensibly enough and always take the official taxi route at the airport.

Apart from that, nothing to report, all meters on, no further death defying incidents to regale you with, generally polite and got me and the family to the desired destination.

I don't regret the first, but I do the second, but hey, all part of life's rich pageant

[sanook2me]

There is obviously something wrong with many of you. Yes taxis are wreckless and we all get into near-accidents.

But after my first month here, 2 years ago i have never had a taxi not put his meter. The biggest screw i got from a motocycle taxi was about 15baht, but i have no idea of the real price of my ride so sometimes its 50 sometimes 70.. both price seem fair for the distance in my head.

There is definately something wrong with what you people are wearing(clothes, bargirlfriend, haircut, sandals with socks?) i dont speak much thai, i look like a young tourist and yet never get screwed? Tuktuks at panthip or other place, the next guy alawys takes me for a lower price.. really, you guys should look at yourself.

As far as highway goes.. nobody likes to sit at a redlight for 25mins, especialy the taxi driver. Expressawy is the way to go unless you are a teacher and completely broke.

One of the most sensible posts I've ever read....

Paying what you think is about right is normally correct give or take a few satang and why would you want to wait at traffic lights for 25 minutes when a 50bhat expressway journey dissipates the waiting time...

:D

Some farangs are really really sticky...

I'm with you dude so according to some other posters I must have been getting royaly screwed for a decade even though I speak enough Thai to know what's going on...

[robblok]

Recently i have on two occasions had taxi drivers that think taking the longer way on an expressway versus a shorter way with potentially a bit more traffic was benefiting me.

They do this to run up the meter on purpose cause they know that sitting at a light or two for a few minutes cannot make them nearly as much as 5 or 10 extra kilometers on an expressway.

I don't really care about the extra 50-70 baht, I do care about the dishonesty.

I have to agree with you there, its not the money its the dishonesty.

To all the other posters, it does not happen to me much those problems with taxi's but they do happen. Most of the time taxi drivers are good, but i believe we had to share horror stories here. So that is what is done here.

Most of the time i drive myself on my motorbike, saves me a lot of money and time. There are just too many trafic jams here and with the bike you can cut through them (if the cars let you)

[rsy]

Thailand's Tuk-tuk And Taxi Drivers, Share Your Horror Stories...

The thread in News about the man who tortured, shot, beheaded, and dismembered a 5 year-old boy is a taxi driver.

[way2muchcoffee]

I don't get ripped off. I don't take taxis without meters. I know the routes to take. I speak enough Thai to clearly express my routing wishes and they generally agree. When they offer an alternative routing, I judge the cost and time differentials and if it is within 10 minutes or 20 bt I don't worry about it. I always tip a taxi driver between 5 and 25 bt, depending on distance and the bills in my wallet. When taking motorcycles, which I do every day, I never set the price in advance. I just hop off at the destination and pay approximately the correct amount plus 10 bt. They never object. Tuk-tuks are to be avoided unless you are close to your destination and know the correct price.

Edited October 14, 2009 by way2muchcoffee

[sanook2me]

I don't get ripped off. I don't take taxis without meters. I know the routes to take. I speak enough Thai to clearly express my routing wishes and they generally agree. When they offer an alternative routing, I judge the cost and time differentials and if it is within 10 minutes or 20 bt I don't worry about it. I always tip a taxi driver between 5 and 25 bt, depending on distance and the bills in my wallet. When taking motorcycles, which I do every day, I never set the price in advance. I just hop off at the destination and pay approximately the correct amount plus 10 bt. They never object. Tuk-tuks are to be avoided unless you are close to your destination and know the correct price.

You're just being ridiculous now are you, go on admit...fancy having such carefree days in Bangkok and tipping the horrible natives who are intent on ripping everyone off at every opportunity! .... how dare you come onto whingers anonymous and pretend your life is dandy!

Another good post by what appears to be a normal person enjoying a normal life in Bangkok.... never ripped off and no harm done!

That makes 3 inc me then that hasn't been raped, pillaged, robbed, threatened or ripped off by BKK taxi/tuk tuk drivers....

Do you think we could make it into double figures?

[DP25]

Never have problems with Taxi drivers. I can see how a tourist might have a few problems at first but I honestly don't understand people who've been living in BKK for years and are still having constant problems with taxi drivers.

[britmaveric]

Tuk Tuk - hmmmm normally agree to a price and the tuk tuk takes me to my choice of destination. Pretty bloody boring.

[Hawkup2000]

Personally, I like motorcycle taxis. They always have a decent price. One have to remember, unlike Taxis and Tuk tuks the motorcycle guys have to drive back to their "outpost".

Taxi drivers are nice as well. But I simply can't get my head around the Tuk tuk phenomenon; it's a combination of the worst things of motorcycles and cars (loud, no air con, no meter, can't skip traffic) yet it's more expensive. I pisses me off that one never get a decent first price when asking a tuk tuk driver, most often it's like 200% times the price of taxi and motorcycle.

[EvilDrSomkid]

I don't get ripped off. I don't take taxis without meters. I know the routes to take. I speak enough Thai to clearly express my routing wishes and they generally agree. When they offer an alternative routing, I judge the cost and time differentials and if it is within 10 minutes or 20 bt I don't worry about it. I always tip a taxi driver between 5 and 25 bt, depending on distance and the bills in my wallet. When taking motorcycles, which I do every day, I never set the price in advance. I just hop off at the destination and pay approximately the correct amount plus 10 bt. They never object. Tuk-tuks are to be avoided unless you are close to your destination and know the correct price.

You're just being ridiculous now are you, go on admit...fancy having such carefree days in Bangkok and tipping the horrible natives who are intent on ripping everyone off at every opportunity! .... how dare you come onto whingers anonymous and pretend your life is dandy!

Another good post by what appears to be a normal person enjoying a normal life in Bangkok.... never ripped off and no harm done!

That makes 3 inc me then that hasn't been raped, pillaged, robbed, threatened or ripped off by BKK taxi/tuk tuk drivers....

Do you think we could make it into double figures?

Make it 4.

I have not had any horrible things happen to ME in a taxi yet. I avoid tuk-tuks like the plague. Why bother? Smelly, noisy, sweaty and hassling about the rate. My mates when on holiday like them. They paid 150baht from KSR to NEP. Could have done it for less with a taxi.

I will take a motosai now and then, but only in the back sois.

My wife and her sister did have a scary ride at 2AM when they went home from dropping me at Swampy. Won't go into too much detail, but all turned out well in the end. They got scared because he did not turn on the meter at first and he got angry because the women thought he was going to do something. Drove like a maniac, too. 130 on Ratchada is not cool at the bumps.

The wife and I have had some real morons though. Women taxi drivers are the worst. Topographically challenged, can't handle the car well, and stall the engine constantly.

One old geezer comes to mind. We were going home from Central something or other on Rama II and the only taxi who would take us was a rancid guy. He kept blowing his nose, WITHOUT A HANKY, for 50 minutes. The steering wheel was cover in snot and boogers. What a filthy <deleted>. And he had one of those loooong hairs growing out of a mole on his cheek.

Other than that, no probs really. This one guy started going on about old Squarehead and how great he was and how Abhisit sucked. Oh brother...

I just told him, look, just let Abhisit do his job and you do yours. He did not know what to say about that.

[bkkbound04]

i've had 2 that spring to mind...once on a baht bus where i gave the guy 20 baht for a 10 baht fare and he tried to get cheeky and threatening as he wanted more money i just lol and walked back to his door and asked what he was saying? he then lowered his tone but didn't seem too happy then as he drove off called me a cheap charlie lol he was paid well for the distance travelled and must have been in the habbit of talking to older westerners with his manner and getting away due to intimidation or manipulation

another was a taxi that was to take me to the airport and this was a scam, the driver agreed the fare and then pulled up in the boonies at a petrol station about 10 minutes out of town...well away from any other taxis that i could travel in..he then demanded half of the agreed fare and said i''d have to change cars and pay the new driver(his pal) the initial agreed fare(i.e tried to bump the fare up by 50%)...i was in a situation like the op and needed to get to the airport for my flight...i stuck to my guns and told him that if he wanted half the fare then his pal was only going to get the other 50%...there would be no increase paid lol he didn't like it and tried to whine but i just said it was a problem for the 2 of them to resolve...then as i fiddled with my phone ignoring the pair of them i wondered aloud what the number was of the tourist police...within 2 minutes they relented, the original driver left in a huff but the new driver seemed pleasant enough on the journey, i arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and tipped the new driver twice, once with a couple of hundred baht and secondly with the info that his friend was a prick and best avoided as it would damage his reputation lol hindight being 20/20 they were probably related lol

[drum]

Ive never had a problem with taxi or tuk tuk over charging or wanting to take me on unwanted shopping trips,i don't haggle to much just ask the cost knock of 50bt and hop in,then give them a tip,

taxi firms are top of the tree, companies will and do delivery water and food to taxi ranks,give gifts for drivers celebrating almost anything ,and pay taxi firms commission for bringing customers,

[drum]

Ive never had a problem with taxi or tuk tuk over charging or wanting to take me on unwanted shopping trips,i don't haggle to much just ask the cost knock of 50bt and hop in,then give them a tip,

taxi firms are top of the tree, companies will and do delivery water and food to taxi ranks,give gifts for drivers celebrating almost anything ,and pay taxi firms commission for bringing customers,

[richard_smith237]

I had a disagreement with a driver who wanted to u-turn and go a different way from the direction I thought was best (correction, the direction I knew was best, quickest and most direct). So, he stopped and told me he didn’t want to go in that direction.

Nothing more to say, so I just got out and walked off. Watching him drive down the road stopping and starting trying to get his passenger door to swing shut was rather amusing… (yes, childish I know). I caught another cab and went in the correct direction without issue)....

Once I refused to take a taxi because it was so old, dirty and decrepit I really couldn’t see it arriving at the airport and if did, my clothes would have become oily.

The driver was a little peeved after stopping for me, but I didn’t really care. In hindsight I could have missed a flight had it broken down.

I take mild satisfaction in saying… “Ok, Mai-pen-rai krup” when an indecisive driver has taken a little too long to reply while deciding if he wants to take me or not, or whether or not he’s going the play the ‘meter no work game’…

You can often see their mind ticking deciding whether or not I am 'rippoffable'

Generally speaking, no issues whatsoever. I'd say less than 10% of drivers are bad apples and / or drive too dangerously and erratically.

[IanForbes]

The only truly bad experiences with tuk-tuks I know happened in the Philippines where everything is shady. Thefts, murders, ripoffs and rapes are quite common occurances. I had to threaten and talk myself out of one situation that could have turned VERY nasty, but only cost me about $100. But, I know of at least 3 blokes who were taken some place in the country and murdered for their wallet and gold jewelry. Fortunately, I've never had a problem with taxis or tuk-tuk drivers in Thailand. Most have been very reasonable guys who were helpful and only trying to earn a decent wage.

[mca]

Back in the days before I had a car the flights to Khon Kaen were full so I was at Morchit bus station about to take the bus and a taxi boy approached me asking where I was going. When I told him he offered to take me in his taxi for, wait for it, 20000 baht.

I declined his generous offer. I didn't want to see him out of pocket.

Once I was waiting to pick my wife up from work and as she got in the car a tuk tuk with passengers pulled in behind me and hit the back of the car. We hopped out and inspected the damage. There was a slight scuff on my bumper which would polish out but he'd smashed his light. My wife told him never mind but as we got back into the car he said words to the effect of that I should have pulled away quickly once my wife was in the car and he didn't use the polite form of "you" either. Considering I was parked in a legal parking space my wife thought that was a bit rich so we got out again, my wife told him that being good hearted we had been willing to let it go but opening his big gob had just cost him 1000 baht. He paid up too.

Edited October 18, 2009 by mca