Even Major News Picking Up On Tuk Tuks

[LivinLOS]

http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/none/phuket-p...ve-greed-187418

[airplane]

What would we do without the up-to-the-minute coverage of a fine international news organization like CNN? Can you believe it? Tuk-tuks actually ripping people off in Thailand? Who would have thought it possible?

Honestly, I could have reported this story 20 years ago. But, really it is quite an improvement to get a CNN story reported from outside of the confines of their offices in Bangkok. They actually made it to Phuket!

[KarenBravo]

I think the point that is being made is not the contents, but, that a major news organization has seen fit to publish a story mentioning the tuk-tuk rip offs.

You may have been able to write the story 20 years ago, but, you're not an influential news agency, are you?

[barka]

where have they been for 20 year?,, nothings changed only more of them. i hope they report facts and not stupid opinions, if they want the truth they have to get both sides of the story.

that means interviewing the mafia tuk tuk bosses,if they know who they are

[katasyd]

It was written by the Phuketwan founder.

CNN did nothing but use his article.

[LeungKen]

Patong tuk-tuks, your reputation is international news.

[neverdie]

It was written by the Phuketwan founder.

CNN did nothing but use his article.

Yes a 'fill' article.

Patongs tuk tuk mafia are still scum of the earth.

[ma91c1an]

It is far better to book a limo in advance to pick you up at the airport in Phuket than to pay the extortionate rates charged by the taxi mafias in that town.

[stevenl]

It is far better to book a limo in advance to pick you up at the airport in Phuket than to pay the extortionate rates charged by the taxi mafias in that town.

A taxi at the airport, especially the meter taxi but even the limousines, will be cheaper than a pre booked limo.

[Big Guy]

justt use the metered taxis from the airport, they are the cheapest way to go

[KarenBravo]

From the airport, the metered taxis aren't worth it. For 100 Bt more you can ride in one of the airport "limousines". They are newer, cleaner and the air-con always works.

Edited December 25, 2009 by KarenBravo

[WOOHOO]

From the airport, the metered taxis aren't worth it. For 100 Bt more you can ride in one of the airport "limousines". They are newer, cleaner and the air-con always works.

They are also, by far the worst drivers on the island. I don't hang about, but those guys will fly past you, lane weaving as they go. Don't get me wrong, constant lane changing and under taking, is unavoidable in Phuket, but the way they do it is reckless and dangerous to say the least, they think nothing of filling the gap in front of you that's only three feet bigger than their car is, all done at very high speed. Wouldn't let my family anywhere near them, that's for sure.

[cotambear]

good stuff

krabi has gone up in my estimation now.

[thaigerd]

From the airport, the metered taxis aren't worth it. For 100 Bt more you can ride in one of the airport "limousines". They are newer, cleaner and the air-con always works.

They are also, by far the worst drivers on the island. I don't hang about, but those guys will fly past you, lane weaving as they go. Don't get me wrong, constant lane changing and under taking, is unavoidable in Phuket, but the way they do it is reckless and dangerous to say the least, they think nothing of filling the gap in front of you that's only three feet bigger than their car is, all done at very high speed. Wouldn't let my family anywhere near them, that's for sure.

agree with you!!!

Gerd

[ScubaBuddha]

From the airport, the metered taxis aren't worth it. For 100 Bt more you can ride in one of the airport "limousines". They are newer, cleaner and the air-con always works.

They are also, by far the worst drivers on the island. I don't hang about, but those guys will fly past you, lane weaving as they go. Don't get me wrong, constant lane changing and under taking, is unavoidable in Phuket, but the way they do it is reckless and dangerous to say the least, they think nothing of filling the gap in front of you that's only three feet bigger than their car is, all done at very high speed. Wouldn't let my family anywhere near them, that's for sure.

Agreed 110%. It is a rare sight to see one not doing something crazy and dangerous like driving 20cm from the back bumper of the vehicle ahead, or undertaking in the motorbike lane at very high speeds. Next time you see a silver sedan driving particularly insanely (even for Thai standards) take a look at the license plate. I bet it's green. I would rather walk. It's so satisfying to see them after they have crashed in the ditch. (As long as the tourist inside isn't injured) I really do think they time how quickly they can make thier runs. One recently creamed a motorbike sidecar along the airport road IFO the outlets.

[nakachalet]

EVERYONE

seems to agree that p h u k e t is certainly not the best place to spend your holidays....

and we all keep on bleeping and bleeding about how horrible that ripoff town named P H U K E T is....

i definitely agree with you all....

and i and several others also protest with our wallets....

that is.... we avoid that ripoff town named PHUKET totally.... for several years now....

come on, you guys can do the same thing.... spend your precious vacation some place else,

like KRABIE, LANTA ISLAND, EMERAL CAVE IN TRANG... just to name a few....

i even refuse to visit relatives in that ripoff town.... even with all expenses paid.... lol

i just can not stand to hear the took-took drivers telling the unsuspecting tourists that it

costs 200 baht to go around the corner.... or to go to the mentioned restaurant which sits on

the next street....

besides, we spent 12,000 baht for a sea food dinner for 6 persons at that sea food place which

i shall not mention its name.... and that was the last ripoff from us....

now.... for the same kind of food and with even better quality and health and sanitary conditions, we head

for penang.... where at the live-seafood restaurant by the beach, we only spent about 7,000 baht....

and we have been back there several times since....

friends, going over to penang is a snap.... besides, we need re-entry visa anyway....

irrespective of every horrible things and experiences, we all have to endure....

here is wishing everyone a merry christmas and a very prosperous new year....

Edited December 25, 2009 by nakachalet

[Valentine]

The airport limo drivers can be extremely dangerous especially with their tailgating but they are not the only ones as can be seen by the increading number of white marks on the roads showing evidence of rear end collisions. Metered taxis servicing the airport drive just the same. A couple of years ago I remember number 8 who's antics, which I witnessed many times, on the roads far surpassed any of the limo drivers but have not seen this taxi for a while so maybe it was written off in a crash.

The dreaded tuk tuks can also be dangerous when they are crawling around looking for a fare causing others to commit dangerous overtaking after the frustration of being stuck behind.

Anyway, back to the topic. The mere fact that CNN is airing this, even if it is a fill in, means this issue is not going away & is becoming talked/written about more & more. This continuing adverse publicity, especially as the high season is not looking very good, may eventually force someobe higher up, who does not have his snout in the trough & yes I am sure there are some but not many, to do something about it. Actually the whole tourism sector needs cleaning up & most of you could name many rorts you know of or have been a victim of.

[stevenl]

EVERYONE

seems to agree that p h u k e t is certainly not the best place to spend your holidays....

That seems like a case of selective perception.

[WOOHOO]

EVERYONE

seems to agree that p h u k e t is certainly not the best place to spend your holidays....

Not sure where you get that idea from in a thread about Taxis and Tuk-Tuks. I think you will find, that there are 10's of thousands of people that have just had the best holiday and Christmas of their lives in Phuket.

Metered taxis servicing the airport drive just the same.

I'm sorry, but that's simply not true. I'm not saying there aren't bad taxi drivers. The standard of Thai driving is atrocious across the board, we all know that. But the green platers take it to a whole new level. Metered taxis couldn't drive as dangerously as the limos if they wanted to, because their cars simply aren't powerful enough. That's what the problem is. They have very powerful, big, new cars and it gives them some weird misplaced sense of importance and arrogance on the road.

[grumpyoldman]

From the airport, the metered taxis aren't worth it. For 100 Bt more you can ride in one of the airport "limousines". They are newer, cleaner and the air-con always works.

They are also, by far the worst drivers on the island. I don't hang about, but those guys will fly past you, lane weaving as they go. Don't get me wrong, constant lane changing and under taking, is unavoidable in Phuket, but the way they do it is reckless and dangerous to say the least, they think nothing of filling the gap in front of you that's only three feet bigger than their car is, all done at very high speed. Wouldn't let my family anywhere near them, that's for sure.

well, I find my driving is not so good too, WHEN I'M DRUNK !

[caf]

Anyway, back to the topic. The mere fact that CNN is airing this, even if it is a fill in, means this issue is not going away & is becoming talked/written about more & more. This continuing adverse publicity, especially as the high season is not looking very good, may eventually force someobe higher up, who does not have his snout in the trough & yes I am sure there are some but not many, to do something about it.

The more this gets into the international media the better

Edited December 26, 2009 by caf

[stevenl]

well, I find my driving is not so good too, WHEN I'M DRUNK !

I don't like the limo drivers, but if you're implying that they are driving drunk: that is not true. Soem of the tuktuk drivers, yes, but the limo drivers not in my experience.

[paulfromphuket]

The more this gets into the international media the better

The more this gets into the international media the worse.

Many people here are dependant on the tourists, this should been fixed years ago by the local government not by tens of thousands of spent tourists gone forever due to media scare mongering.

Maybe the dum ass karon TT mafia will be the first to learn the lesson having taken on one of the richest families in the kingdom, we are so keen to kill the calf here and then moan why crime is on the up.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Many people here are dependant on the tourists,

Paul

Don’t you think that some of the people/hotel owners and all other people depending on tourist should have gone together loooooong time ago? not that i say it will work but i really think it won’t do any harm.

For me, don’t use them and never will and i don’t go to the places advertised on them

[vanalli]

You people do know that CNNGo is a regional travel website done by CNN, right? It's not the news network's main website and that article isn't a news story. Don't get too excited.

[katabeachbum]

Hi

Many people here are dependant on the tourists,

Paul

Don't you think that some of the people/hotel owners and all other people depending on tourist should have gone together loooooong time ago? not that i say it will work but i really think it won't do any harm.

For me, don't use them and never will and i don't go to the places advertised on them

Good idea HDRIDER, not only avoid the tuk-tuks but also avoid the businesses advertising on the tuk tuks

[steelepulse]

A friend just messaged me about a common acquaintance who has family visiting from Europe. Apparently the tuk tuk drivers broke his brother's leg with a tire iron and beat up the elderly parents....................All for parking in their spot. Thugs and lawlessness prevail.

[LivinginKata]

A friend just messaged me about a common acquaintance who has family visiting from Europe. Apparently the tuk tuk drivers broke his brother's leg with a tire iron and beat up the elderly parents....................All for parking in their spot. Thugs and lawlessness prevail.

Too true. I know first hand of many similar stories over the years. It's a disgrace. And what is really disgusting is that the police never arrest or charge these thugs. I know of cases where the tourist was arrested for causing a 'disturbance of the peace' when they dared challenged these bullies & thugs.

[starkey_rich]

Too true. I know first hand of many similar stories over the years. It's a disgrace. And what is really disgusting is that the police never arrest or charge these thugs. I know of cases where the tourist was arrested for causing a 'disturbance of the peace' when they dared challenged these bullies & thugs.

I posted a thread on TV a few years ago about a run in I had with the Tuk Tuk slime.Thinking about it now I was lucky. I got away.

I had only been living here a few months and was looking for an address in Patong.I pulled the truck into the kerb to look at directions I had written down.Next thing there is some tw@ banging on the roof shouting "You No Park Here".I put the window down and was telling the fat tw@ where to go and that I was not parking.By this time he had his head in through the open window and was ranting and raving.Out of the corner of my eye I saw another 3 guy's running in our direction.

I thought **** this and put my foot down.The thing was that fatty still had head his inside when I took off,giving him a bit of slap on the head.Now I am thinking what if they had chased me and I had got stuck in traffic.It gave me a good feeling at the time though

[LivinLOS]

A friend just messaged me about a common acquaintance who has family visiting from Europe. Apparently the tuk tuk drivers broke his brother's leg with a tire iron and beat up the elderly parents....................All for parking in their spot. Thugs and lawlessness prevail.

Sorry to hear that.. But no longer surprises me.

When I posted a story with far less injury about my elderly parent being threatened it was cause for multiple abusive PM's by disbelievers and deniers..