Patong Taxi Federation Formed

[webfact]

'Patong Taxi Federation' formed

FAMILIAR SITE: Tuk-tuks line the beach road in Patong. At night they become so numerous they choke the streets with traffic and block access to businesses.

Hundreds of motorcycle taxi drivers will also join the Federation, its president says.

PATONG, PHUKET: -- More than one thousand tuk-tuk, motorbike and car taxi drivers are banding together to form a new 'Patong Taxi Federation'.

One of the organization's primary goals will be to clean up the image held by many of Patong's taxi drivers.

A second aim will be to improve traffic flow by having a central body that will oversee all three types of transport.

The federation, formally established on Monday, is the brainchild of Patong Municipality.

Around 90 members elected Setthasak 'Ko Aew' Buason as temporary president of the Patong Taxi Federation at its first meeting.

Ko Aew already leads a group of more than 500 saloon car and minivan drivers in the town.

"The federation wants to improve the image of Patong and make Patong the number one tourist destination in the world," he said.

"When tourists come here they will see a town that looks beautiful and organized," he said. "They'll also have more space to park their cars."

With the aim of improving traffic flow around Patong, the federation will set up fixed stands from which the various types of taxi will pick up passengers.

"Right now tuk-tuks parked at the side of the road are creating traffic jams, but the problem can be solved," he said.

Rental cars parked along the beach road were also a major problem, he said.

A call center will be set up to assign taxis for passengers.

"They won't be driving around looking for customers like they do these days," Ko Aew said.

A meeting with other taxi groups would take place soon and a new president might be chosen as a result, Ko Aew said.

These groups include more than 1,000 tuk-tuks, as well as the roughly 900 members of the Patong Hired Motorcycle Taxis group and 500 members of the Saving Cooperative, another motorcycle taxi association.

All Patong taxis will have to join the federation. Members will be issued stickers allowing police and municipal officials to check if they are members, Ko Aew said.

The federation will collect information and conduct background checks on all its members, he said.

"We admit that in our group most members still run black plate [unregistered] taxis. We're going to set up a cooperative for black plate taxis and get them properly registered with green plates," he said.

Asked if the reputation of Patong taxis, particularly tuk-tuks, was affecting tourism in Patong, Koh Aew said he thought the poor state of the tourism economy was a world-wide problem, not one particular to Patong.

"Before these problems became well-known, people were still visiting Patong. It depends on how the media presents the story to the public.

"If the media do so positively, it will help. But, anyway, fewer tourists are coming here because of the global economic crisis," he said.

"Not many Thai people come to Patong, but we expect this project will increase their numbers," he added.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-02-12

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Phil Conners]

Hm, they have had a similar organization in Pattaya for years, didn't seem to help much here.

[ovenman]

Now all they need is a shirt colour that they can claim as their own...

[Meridian007]

A regulated meter-system, (beginning at 35 Baht, like Bangkok), should be a priority. The vehicles in the top picture don't look like tuk-tuks to me, they look more like the share-taxis they have in Pattaya and some areas of Bangkok. If so, I wonder if they are run like they are elsewhere. You pay ~20 Baht, they wait till they fill a truck with people going the same way, then they leave.

If this is the case in Patong, I wonder if the problem is that tourists don't know how to use them, and are renting out the whole truck. I could understand the extortionate fees that I've heard about if that were the case. Then there just needs to be signs informing the tourists how to use them properly, like in the bus station at Pattaya.

[jackr]

The federation wants to improve the image of Patong and make Patong the number one tourist destination in the world...

:D

[madmitch]

A regulated meter-system, (beginning at 35 Baht, like Bangkok), should be a priority. The vehicles in the top picture don't look like tuk-tuks to me, they look more like the share-taxis they have in Pattaya and some areas of Bangkok. If so, I wonder if they are run like they are elsewhere. You pay ~20 Baht, they wait till they fill a truck with people going the same way, then they leave.

If this is the case in Patong, I wonder if the problem is that tourists don't know how to use them, and are renting out the whole truck. I could understand the extortionate fees that I've heard about if that were the case. Then there just needs to be signs informing the tourists how to use them properly, like in the bus station at Pattaya.

Please read the several hundred posts on Phuket tuktuks that have been posted this year and you will realise that your thoughts could not be further from the reality.

These are single hire tuktuk taxis that look very different from their cousins in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand.

[Meridian007]

^ I'm not surprised. I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt since they look more like share-taxis. Maybe the head of the police (or some other pu-yai) needs to make a new group of metered taxis to counter the current mafia.

[Payboy]

Its just an union to ensure that there will be no meter taxis for the next 100 years.

[tonglen]

Oh yay! An already numerous group organizing and morphing into some evil symbiosis to make themselves EVEN larger and more difficult to control. Maybe they can name themselves the Group of Three T's: The Tuk Tuk, Taxi and Trike Mafioso. Maybe they can enjoin a skull and crossbones as their logo. This will make a transportation filibuster even harder to achieve. I may just invest in a jetpack to travel around Phuket or look into space and time travel. It would be easier, cheaper and quicker.

I may be a "glass is half-empty" kind of guy, but that's how I see it. A pragmatic view, me thinks.

[LuckyLew]

Funny how they are trying something new

and people are so quick to put it down

Guess there is no "wish them good luck and

hope it makes the situation better"

I wish they cold arganize something like the for the

tailors. If I hear "go' day mate" from an Indian or Pakistani

one more time .................

[ScubaBuddha]

I walked almost the entire length of Ratuthit Rd. tonight, and I would estimate that 70-80% of the available curb parking fro cars was taken up by the illegal white plated taxi's. Most of the rest was taken up by parked, sometimes illegally parked, tuk tuks waiting for a fair.

A regulated meter-system, (beginning at 35 Baht, like Bangkok), should be a priority.

Yes you are absolutely correct. And yesterday the local foreign consuls/ambassadors got together and complained to the governor, asking for the same thing.

The vehicles in the top picture don't look like tuk-tuks to me, they look more like the share-taxis they have in Pattaya and some areas of Bangkok. If so, I wonder if they are run like they are elsewhere. You pay ~20 Baht, they wait till they fill a truck with people going the same way, then they leave. If this is the case in Patong, I wonder if the problem is that tourists don't know how to use them, and are renting out the whole truck. I could understand the extortionate fees that I've heard about if that were the case. Then there just needs to be signs informing the tourists how to use them properly, like in the bus station at Pattaya.

Madmitch is correct. These are the little red daemons of the Phuket roads. These are the scourge of the island. They are not share-taxis. If you share, the price goes up steeply. Many drivers will try to double the fare. They are different looking than your original Bangkok tuk tuks, but operated the same, except at present you pay 5 to 10 times the rates you do in Bangkok or elsware.

Funny how they are trying something new

and people are so quick to put it down

Guess there is no "wish them good luck and

hope it makes the situation better"

Forgive our cynicism. It's only because we have heard these promises before. A realistic response is, "It would be great to see improvements, but we're not holding our breath."

Payboy is probably correct. This is likely a response the this weeks meetings between the governor and the foreign consuls/ambassadors where the #1 issue was the vastly overpriced tuk tuk/taxi system. In case you missed it, the foreign representatives suggested all tuk tuks and taxi's have meters and the fares should be a fraction, less than 25% in some cases, than they are now.

Hm, they have had a similar organization in Pattaya for years, didn't seem to help much here.

Are you sure Phil? But you have baht buses no? Your taxi/tuk tuk fares are a fraction of what they are in Phuket, no?

-------

I am repeating myself, but in addition to the things mentioned in the article, several things need to happen before tourists will stop being turned away by the terrible state of transportation on the island.

Firstly, this "Patong Taxi "Club"" needs to be a "Phuket Taxi Club" so that drivers are free to pick up passengers anywhere on the island without fear of being shot by a rival taxi/tuk tuk club, as is currently the situation. The current practice requires drivers to return to their home turf before picking up another fare, adding to the traffic problems and wasting gas and money.

There needs to be a drastic reduction in the number of tuk tuks in Phuket. As the Patong Police Chief said recently, "200 tuk tuks would be enough for the whole of Phuket" Actually, that number is probably a little low, but certainly 50% less than the 800-1000 currently in operation would be plenty. You could phase them out over 2 years.

Fares need to return to some semblance of sanity. Even slightly more than Bangkok taxi's should make most everyone happy. (Except of course the taxi mafia)

There must be an affordable alternative available in the form of baht buses running between all the beaches and popular tourist destinations. When implemented, the driver/owner of said bus should feel reasonably assured he will not be dragged from his bus and beaten by members or representatives of the tuk tuk/taxi club, as is now the practice. (Since the last guy was beat up, the permit for this line remains, not surprisingly, unfilled, for any brave souls out there)

Hotels and other businesses need to not be intimidated, be threatened with violence, and access blockaded whenever they want to impliment a reasonable trasport alternative to the extortionate tuk tuks/taxi's, as is the regular custom by the tuk tuk/taxi mafia.

None of this is likely to happen without intervention from the "big bosses" in Bangkok. The governor recently said, "I am waiting for direction from Bangkok." I am sure they are watching the situation closely. If it's shown that enough important/influential people are losing money from the tuk tuk mafia's shinanigans, maybe they will step in. My hope is they will and gut the transportation system top to bottom. Phuket's future as a tourist destination is at stake.

Edited February 12, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[DP25]

Rental cars parked along the beach road were also a major problem, he said.

Yes, a major problem for them, that problem being that tuk tuk drivers can't charge extortionist rates to people who rent their own cars.

[choppertony]

I normally stay in Karon, and I never use the rip off tuk tuks , I alway,s hire a mtorcycle , but you have to be aware of all these tuk tuks zooming all over the road , If I fancy a night in Patong I ride up and book into some digs for the night , then travel back to Karon in the morn.

There are far too many tuk tuks on Phuket , they each only need a couple of fairs a day and theyre making good dosh , The tuk tuks are the main cause of complaint with holiday makers , such a blatent rip off , It needs sorting , fast .

[mca]

It depends on how the media presents the story to the public. If the media do so positively, it will help.

" Reports are coming in of an elderly European tourist being admitted to hospital with serious injuries after accidentally being hit in the face 20 times by a Phuket Tuk Tuk driver's fist.

Boonlert Kwaiboon, 48, said " It's weird. I was assisting the gentleman in alighting from the tuk tuk due to his advanced age when he slipped and struck my fist repeatedly. I hope he's ok "

Mr Boonlert is Phuket's self proclaimed "Good Samaritan" for tourists and seeks to improve the image of Phuket after what he claims is "inaccurate" news reporting. Last week after dropping of another fare he challenged the passengers, a honeymooning couple from Sweden, to a friendly game of baseball using a bat that he keeps by the side of his seat. The game only ended when the groom was rushed to the emergency department in an ambulance suffering from multiple fractures and severe concussion.

Edited February 12, 2010 by mca

[tartempion]

I avoid the whole of Phuke-it because of these @@@@@

It's a shame because we now have a direct Air Asia not expensive flight Udon Thani-Phuket.

For the first time in 10 years we flew to Phuke-it last month to immediately transfer to the pier and head to kho Phi Phi.

We had a great time at kho Phi Phi by the way.

I still consider to travel back there someday and rent a motorbike, but it is not high on my list of places to visit and I'd rather spit at tuck tuck drivers, so much I love them

[Meridian007]

How is it in the areas off the island? Any better? Are Phang Nga, Trang, and Ranong better possible destinations? Or should we stick with non-Andaman destinations like Koh Tao, Samui, and Phangan?

I've lived here for 3.5 years, and I've never been further down the western coast than Prachuap. I've heard both good and bad stories over the years, but mainly bad stories when it comes to Phuket, so I haven't bothered going. I usually go to Koh Chang or the area around there when I want an island, Cha Am when I just want a beach (the swimming isn't great there).

I figure that if I travel that far down the coast, I don't want to bother being treated like crap like the worst areas of Pattaya. Most Thais I know in Bangkok don't bother with Phuket anymore, (in the same way that they don't bother with central Pattaya), so I think it's wise to follow their lead.

The police chiefs and the governors are going to have to grow a pair and do something pretty drastic if they don't want their meal ticket going somewhere else. I hope they can succeed.

(I think a lot of fault lies with the tour companies as well, they keep selling Phuket as this idyllic deserted island paradise to uninformed foreigners. This gives the mafia in Phuket the idea that they can treat their customers like crap, because there will always be a new load. I wonder how long it will continue to work?)

[steelepulse]

Somehow I overlooked in the article that they would install meters and lower prices to bring them in line with the rest of the world, not too mention BKK. I wonder where that part of the article went?

[richieudon]

A regulated meter-system, (beginning at 35 Baht, like Bangkok), should be a priority. The vehicles in the top picture don't look like tuk-tuks to me, they look more like the share-taxis they have in Pattaya and some areas of Bangkok. If so, I wonder if they are run like they are elsewhere. You pay ~20 Baht, they wait till they fill a truck with people going the same way, then they leave.

If this is the case in Patong, I wonder if the problem is that tourists don't know how to use them, and are renting out the whole truck. I could understand the extortionate fees that I've heard about if that were the case. Then there just needs to be signs informing the tourists how to use them properly, like in the bus station at Pattaya.

Please read the several hundred posts on Phuket tuktuks that have been posted this year and you will realise that your thoughts could not be further from the reality.

These are single hire tuktuk taxis that look very different from their cousins in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand.

....and the minimum fare (for 100 metres) is 150 baht.....

[Gary A]

If some of you remember, Bangkok Tuk Tuks were much more expensive than air conditioned taxis. Each fare was negotiated and rip offs were very common. The metered taxis killed the over priced Tuk Tuk game.

Phuket simply needs metered taxis to eliminate all the other rip offs. Until that happens, it will not get any better. Competition is the answer.

[shawndoc]

Maybe the head of the police (or some other pu-yai) needs to make a new group of metered taxis to counter the current mafia.

They're already getting a cut of the current action. Why would they want to jeopardize that?

[geriatrickid]

How is it in the areas off the island? Any better? Are Phang Nga, Trang, and Ranong better possible destinations? Or should we stick with non-Andaman destinations like Koh Tao, Samui, and Phangan?

You know, you can get by without a tuktuk. Because I stay in central Patong, I am able to walk to wherever I need to go. My Thai friends are puzzled by my attitude, but maybe that's why I am where I am and they are where they are in life. Transport from the airport is by metered taxi and when I need to go to the airport I have the staff arrange an airport "limo". When I need to leave Patong, I mooch a lift or take a motorcycle taxi, no problems. When I used to stay in Karon, it was the same deal. One can have a nice holiday without spending it on the clogged roads. If it's a 1 off trip into Patong from Surin or Kamala, the extra 200 baht is nothing to worry about. There is an art to picking a driver and there is a way to handle even the most psychotic of drivers so they behave.

In respect to Samui, I know this will read like I just got in from the land of the hicks, but the koh samui airport is amazing. It's like a 4* resort. Open, airy, modern, uncrowded, pleasant and it has clean working washrooms. It's one heck of a welcome to a tourist destination. Phuket's airport is 3rd world in comparison. I know the samuians will say the place has its own problems, but again, depending on where you stay, there is no need for the tuk tuk worries.

I am biased I suppose. Parking, and traffic are 2 things I try to avoid, so if I can walk it, even in the rain or hot weather I'll do it. The best way to avoid a problem with these thugs is to use their service as little as possible.

[sinplyred]

The main object will be a minimum charge, i.e price fixing