Phuket: Patong To Get B20 Tuk-tuk Service

[george]

Patong to get B20 tuk-tuk service

PATONG: -- A fleet of 24 tuk-tuks will ply a circular route through the streets of Patong for no more than 20 baht per passenger by the time the next high season arrives, Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office, announced today.

K. Teerayuth explained that the tuk-tuks will pass along the route every five to 10 minutes, though he added that many details of the plan have yet to be decided on – including the route itself and how the tuk-tuks will be decorated so they can be distinguished from those currently serving the resort town.

He added adding that the fares have yet to be set, but the maximum would be 20 baht.

“I intend to have finalized the routes before the end of this month, and the project should be ready for tourists to use in the coming high season,” he said.

K. Teerayuth explained that the service was being introduced in response to complaints from to urists about extortionate fares being charged by tuk-tuk drivers.

“Since I started working in Phuket in 1999, I have heard that one big problem in the tourism industry in Phuket is the high tuk-tuk fares,” he said.

“The current Governor, Udomsak Uswarangkura, and past Governors instructed me to find a solution to this problem.”

The drivers – and the tuk-tuks – will be recruited from the freelance tuk-tuks currently serving the Patong area, he said.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-24

Edited June 24, 2005 by george

[Sir Burr]

This'll be fun to watch. Tuk-tuk drivers beating the crap out of other tuk-tuk drivers.

Personally, I don't think they will be able to recruit any from the existing drivers. They all stick together.

Edited June 24, 2005 by Sir Burr

[pktkid]

This'll be fun to watch. Tuk-tuk drivers beating the crap out of other tuk-tuk drivers.

Personally, I don't think they will be able to recruit any from the existing drivers. They all stick together.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Going by the date of this report (2005-06-04) this is not "new" news, I dont recall seeing this article ?

Still, should be fun if it does happen !

[Baht Simpson]

What about the tuk-tuk drivers charging 200 baht to go to Karon/Kata and no alternative?

[george]

Link to today's original news article at Phuket Gazette:

http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=4373

[george]

Going by the date of this report (2005-06-04) this is not "new" news, I dont recall seeing this article ?      

Still, should be fun if it does happen !  

Typo in my script. The correct date is today 2005-06-24. Date corrected.

[joker]

Patong to get B20 tuk-tuk service

PATONG: -- A fleet of 24 tuk-tuks will ply a circular route through the streets of Patong for no more than 20 baht per passenger by the time the next high season arrives, Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office, announced today.

K. Teerayuth explained that the tuk-tuks will pass along the route every five to 10 minutes, though he added that many details of the plan have yet to be decided on – including the route itself and how the tuk-tuks will be decorated so they can be distinguished from those currently serving the resort town.

He added adding that the fares have yet to be set, but the maximum would be 20 baht.

“I intend to have finalized the routes before the end of this month, and the project should be ready for tourists to use in the coming high season,” he said.

K. Teerayuth explained that the service was being introduced in response to complaints from to urists about extortionate fares being charged by tuk-tuk drivers.

“Since I started working in Phuket in 1999, I have heard that one big problem in the tourism industry in Phuket is the high tuk-tuk fares,” he said.

“The current Governor, Udomsak Uswarangkura, and past Governors instructed me to find a solution to this problem.”

The drivers – and the tuk-tuks – will be recruited from the freelance tuk-tuks currently serving the Patong area, he said.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-24

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And now let's hope that something similar will happen in Pattaya!

6 months ago a 3 route bus service was supposed to begin but as of today,nothing

has materialized. Only the bus stops have been put up along the proposed routes

but it remains to be seen if the City Hall will push it through.

Tourists and residents have complained for years about the 700 or so Baht buses

in Pattaya and despite warnings and even a short lived free bus service, the Baht

bus maffia still have the monopoly.

Rip offs are the order of the day, some are amazingly rude and bad drivers for

a public transport service.

In Chiang Mai there is a bus service starting, also with protests from the 'red'

baht buses but it will go ahead. And believe me, although it does happen sometimes,

they generally do not rip you off. Part of the reason here is that in downtown, there

are fixed routes @ BT.10 pp and the driver usually asks where you are going, so you are on the right route.

With Pattaya being alot smaller, most of the buses ride on Beach road and 2nd road.

(In fact, to get a baht bus on North Pattaya road or especially on 3rd road is a wonder)

On these roads, you just get in and pay when you get off. The fare is BT.5 pp

That is the official rate, laid down by law for everyone, including 'falang', yet many

drivers try to charge them Bt 10. (The sign in the bus, if not already scrubbed out, clearly says MAXIMUM Bt 10 in Pattaya)

But the worst sitution is when someone gets on near Dolphin roundabout to go to Royal Garden Resort, which is Bt.5/Bt10 normally but gets charged BT.100!!!

No, that is not an exageration, it really has happened and regulary still BT.50 for unknowing first time russian and chinese visitors happens.

Yes, we knew about Phuket before and we should not forget Koh Samui either.

Besides Tsunami's etc, more tourists will stop coming here if their first visit contains

these basic rip offs, let alone all the 'commission' rip-offs the tourguides subject many tourists too, especially chinese, which has recently been in the news again.

LOS ? Soon it may be LOR = Land of rip-offs!

[Rinrada]

Patong to get B20 tuk-tuk service

PATONG: -- A fleet of 24 tuk-tuks will ply a circular route through the streets of Patong for no more than 20 baht per passenger by the time the next high season arrives, Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office, announced today.

K. Teerayuth explained that the tuk-tuks will pass along the route every five to 10 minutes, though he added that many details of the plan have yet to be decided on – including the route itself and how the tuk-tuks will be decorated so they can be distinguished from those currently serving the resort town.

He added adding that the fares have yet to be set, but the maximum would be 20 baht.

“I intend to have finalized the routes before the end of this month, and the project should be ready for tourists to use in the coming high season,” he said.

K. Teerayuth explained that the service was being introduced in response to complaints from to urists about extortionate fares being charged by tuk-tuk drivers.

“Since I started working in Phuket in 1999, I have heard that one big problem in the tourism industry in Phuket is the high tuk-tuk fares,” he said.

“The current Governor, Udomsak Uswarangkura, and past Governors instructed me to find a solution to this problem.”

The drivers – and the tuk-tuks – will be recruited from the freelance tuk-tuks currently serving the Patong area, he said.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-24

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And now let's hope that something similar will happen in Pattaya!

6 months ago a 3 route bus service was supposed to begin but as of today,nothing

has materialized. Only the bus stops have been put up along the proposed routes

but it remains to be seen if the City Hall will push it through.

Tourists and residents have complained for years about the 700 or so Baht buses

in Pattaya and despite warnings and even a short lived free bus service, the Baht

bus maffia still have the monopoly.

Rip offs are the order of the day, some are amazingly rude and bad drivers for

a public transport service.

In Chiang Mai there is a bus service starting, also with protests from the 'red'

baht buses but it will go ahead. And believe me, although it does happen sometimes,

they generally do not rip you off. Part of the reason here is that in downtown, there

are fixed routes @ BT.10 pp and the driver usually asks where you are going, so you are on the right route.

With Pattaya being alot smaller, most of the buses ride on Beach road and 2nd road.

(In fact, to get a baht bus on North Pattaya road or especially on 3rd road is a wonder)

On these roads, you just get in and pay when you get off. The fare is BT.5 pp

That is the official rate, laid down by law for everyone, including 'falang', yet many

drivers try to charge them Bt 10. (The sign in the bus, if not already scrubbed out, clearly says MAXIMUM Bt 10 in Pattaya)

But the worst sitution is when someone gets on near Dolphin roundabout to go to Royal Garden Resort, which is Bt.5/Bt10 normally but gets charged BT.100!!!

No, that is not an exageration, it really has happened and regulary still BT.50 for unknowing first time russian and chinese visitors happens.

Yes, we knew about Phuket before and we should not forget Koh Samui either.

Besides Tsunami's etc, more tourists will stop coming here if their first visit contains

these basic rip offs, let alone all the 'commission' rip-offs the tourguides subject many tourists too, especially chinese, which has recently been in the news again.

LOS ? Soon it may be LOR = Land of rip-offs!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

and as we know once a place/country gets that for a reputation just like poo ...IT STICKS ....

still optimistic however.....and as usual its only down to a very small minority

[sneef]

I remember when i came to Phuket in 99... it was 100 from Patong to Kamala Bay... if you were getting ripped off.... and 60 if you were right on the money.

NOW its 600 baht!

###### all Tuk Tuk drivers to ###### i say!

Sneef

[Khun Larry]

Patong to get B20 tuk-tuk service

PATONG: -- A fleet of 24 tuk-tuks will ply a circular route through the streets of Patong for no more than 20 baht per passenger by the time the next high season arrives, Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office, announced today.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-24

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How much for Farangs?

[SiriusBlack1]

The tuk-tuk drivers will probably find they make more money than ever before. Right now they'd rather sit on their asses at curbside all day long, calling out to tourists and getting no business, than provide a decent service at a reasonable cost. I hope this plan works out, and I hope they extend it to Koh Samui where things are just as bad if not worse.

[raro]

And now let's hope that something similar will happen in Pattaya!

6 months ago a 3 route bus service was supposed to begin but as of today,nothing

has materialized. Only the bus stops have been put up along the proposed routes

but it remains to be seen if the City Hall will push it through.

Tourists and residents have complained for years about the 700 or so Baht buses

in Pattaya and despite warnings and even a short lived free bus service, the Baht

bus maffia still have the monopoly.

Rip offs are the order of the day, some are amazingly rude and bad drivers for

a public transport service.

In Chiang Mai there is a bus service starting, also with protests from the 'red'

baht buses but it will go ahead. And believe me, although it does happen sometimes,

they generally do not rip you off. Part of the reason here is that in downtown, there

are fixed routes @ BT.10 pp and the driver usually asks where you are going, so you are on the right route.

With Pattaya being alot smaller, most of the buses ride on Beach road and 2nd road.

(In fact, to get a baht bus on North Pattaya road or especially on 3rd road is a wonder)

On these roads, you just get in and pay when you get off. The fare is BT.5 pp

That is the official rate, laid down by law for everyone, including 'falang', yet many

drivers try to charge them Bt 10. (The sign in the bus, if not already scrubbed out, clearly says MAXIMUM Bt 10 in Pattaya)

But the worst sitution is when someone gets on near Dolphin roundabout to go to Royal Garden Resort, which is Bt.5/Bt10 normally but gets charged BT.100!!!

No, that is not an exageration, it really has happened and regulary still BT.50 for unknowing first time russian and chinese visitors happens.

Yes, we knew about Phuket before and we should not forget Koh Samui either.

Besides Tsunami's etc, more tourists will stop coming here if their first visit contains

these basic rip offs, let alone all the 'commission' rip-offs the tourguides subject many tourists too, especially chinese, which has recently been in the news again.

LOS ? Soon it may be LOR = Land of rip-offs!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There are always two needed for a rip-off. Try this: have a 5 Baht coin ready when you get off the Tuk-Tuk, give it to the driver and go. Worst thing that ever happened to me - we were 4 people and I paid with a 20 Baht bill - the driver came running behind us into that restaurant we went in and I made it clear (in Thai) that I know the official fare of 5 baht and that he can try his rip-offs with someone else. Everybody in the restaurant looking at him, he blushed and ran off.

[RDN]

I fear there will be blood on the streets. Or no one will dare to be a 20 baht tuk-tuk driver.

[Pattaya_Fox]

Patong to get B20 tuk-tuk service

PATONG: -- A fleet of 24 tuk-tuks will ply a circular route through the streets of Patong for no more than 20 baht per passenger by the time the next high season arrives, Teerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer at Phuket Provincial Transportation Office, announced today.

K. Teerayuth explained that the tuk-tuks will pass along the route every five to 10 minutes, though he added that many details of the plan have yet to be decided on – including the route itself and how the tuk-tuks will be decorated so they can be distinguished from those currently serving the resort town.

He added adding that the fares have yet to be set, but the maximum would be 20 baht.

“I intend to have finalized the routes before the end of this month, and the project should be ready for tourists to use in the coming high season,” he said.

K. Teerayuth explained that the service was being introduced in response to complaints from to urists about extortionate fares being charged by tuk-tuk drivers.

“Since I started working in Phuket in 1999, I have heard that one big problem in the tourism industry in Phuket is the high tuk-tuk fares,” he said.

“The current Governor, Udomsak Uswarangkura, and past Governors instructed me to find a solution to this problem.”

The drivers – and the tuk-tuks – will be recruited from the freelance tuk-tuks currently serving the Patong area, he said.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-06-24

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And now let's hope that something similar will happen in Pattaya!

6 months ago a 3 route bus service was supposed to begin but as of today,nothing

has materialized. Only the bus stops have been put up along the proposed routes

but it remains to be seen if the City Hall will push it through.

Tourists and residents have complained for years about the 700 or so Baht buses

in Pattaya and despite warnings and even a short lived free bus service, the Baht

bus maffia still have the monopoly.

Rip offs are the order of the day, some are amazingly rude and bad drivers for

a public transport service.

In Chiang Mai there is a bus service starting, also with protests from the 'red'

baht buses but it will go ahead. And believe me, although it does happen sometimes,

they generally do not rip you off. Part of the reason here is that in downtown, there

are fixed routes @ BT.10 pp and the driver usually asks where you are going, so you are on the right route.

With Pattaya being alot smaller, most of the buses ride on Beach road and 2nd road.

(In fact, to get a baht bus on North Pattaya road or especially on 3rd road is a wonder)

On these roads, you just get in and pay when you get off. The fare is BT.5 pp

That is the official rate, laid down by law for everyone, including 'falang', yet many

drivers try to charge them Bt 10. (The sign in the bus, if not already scrubbed out, clearly says MAXIMUM Bt 10 in Pattaya)

But the worst sitution is when someone gets on near Dolphin roundabout to go to Royal Garden Resort, which is Bt.5/Bt10 normally but gets charged BT.100!!!

No, that is not an exageration, it really has happened and regulary still BT.50 for unknowing first time russian and chinese visitors happens.

Yes, we knew about Phuket before and we should not forget Koh Samui either.

Besides Tsunami's etc, more tourists will stop coming here if their first visit contains

these basic rip offs, let alone all the 'commission' rip-offs the tourguides subject many tourists too, especially chinese, which has recently been in the news again.

LOS ? Soon it may be LOR = Land of rip-offs!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you hail a moving baht bus at the Dolphin roundabout and your destination is on the baht bus circuit be it the Royal garden plaza or anywhere else on the circuit the official fare is 5 baht, although many farang pay 10 baht.

If you take a baht bus which is parked up at the side of the road as they do at the beginning of Beach Road opposite the Dusit Resort and outside supermarkets, then you are hiring that bus for your private use and you should negotiate the fare with the driver.

You see many baht buses parked on 2nd road at the rear of Mike`s shopping mall virtually begging to take you to your destination....ignore these people because they will charge you whatever they wish.... Instead hail a passing baht bus and the normal fair as previosly mentioned is what you should pay.

[redwood13]

Am I correct that in Patong "tuk-tuk" is a generic word for a mini-van and not the same as the Bangkok "tuk-tuk" - AKA samlor??

-redwood

[RamdomChances]

Am I correct that in Patong "tuk-tuk" is a generic word for a mini-van and not the same as the Bangkok "tuk-tuk" -  AKA samlor??

-redwood

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes

[mnoorsapl]

I fear there will be blood on the streets. Or no one will dare to be a 20 baht tuk-tuk driver.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

think so too. The tuk tuk mafia will not be happy.