Who Gets The 50 Bhat Taxi Surcharge From The Airport

Colabamumbai · June 24, 2010

Im sure it is not the airport authority. Does anyone really know?

NanLaew · June 24, 2010

Does anyone really care?

Colabamumbai · June 24, 2010

Does anyone really care?

I do and would like to know who ultimately receives this fee. Is the the Airport authority? Is it the Taxi company? Is it corrupt government officials? I don't pay this fee to arrive at the airport why should I pay it to leave the airport.

kuifje · June 24, 2010

Does anyone really care?

I do and would like to know who ultimately receives this fee. Is the the Airport authority? Is it the Taxi company? Is it corrupt government officials? I don't pay this fee to arrive at the airport why should I pay it to leave the airport.

If you don't want to pay the 50 baht, and you travel light and by yourself, just go to the departure level.

Jump in one of the arriving taxi's (after the guests got out of course), and go, all taxi have to leave in a hurry, so they take you.

Otherwise they have to drive around for the departure level, and wait maybe a long time before they get customers.

Did this at Don Muang airport and doing at Suvarnabhumi Airport .

I see a lot of people who are working at the airport also doing this.

I am not 100 % sure, but I think the drivers have to pay (less than 50 baht) to get the space for waiting. So they will earn a little bit extra from this 50 baht.

That other part of the amount will go for the parking space downstairs (so maybe it is the Airport Authority) and for the staff which is organising the taxi lines.

Many things are very well organised at Suwarnabhumi Airport, so probably also the taxi system.

Colabamumbai · June 25, 2010

Departure level good reply makes sense. Thanks. I will pass this on to those who complain to me about the fee.

Samuian · June 25, 2010

Departure level is the answer.... out and over....

lomatopo · June 26, 2010

Well the driver gets the 50 baht as you, the passenger, pay it if you take a taxi from one of the official taxi queues. The 50 baht is added to the meter reading. Now your question is, I think, did the driver have to pay to enter the taxi dispatch lot, where taxis queue and then are dispatched to the airport terminal, next to the bus terminal on the airport property? And the answer is yes, but I'm not sure how much they pay? Something less than 50 baht, I've heard, maybe 20 ~ 30 baht. I think AOT subcontracts the management and operation of the taxi dispatch lot to an independent company (which pays a fee to AOT). So the driver, a management company and AOT all split the 50 baht.

Re: departures level, sometime the police sweep this area - as drivers (official), the management company and AOT all lose money -, and keep passengers from getting in to a taxi. If the taxi queues are very long I will go up to level 4, but I have had to go back down several times due to the police. I once saw them pulling a foreigner out of taxi by force. I often see air crew, domiciled in Thailand, taking taxis on level 4.

Briggsy · June 26, 2010

Kamnan Po is rumoured to receive 15 Baht in the 50.

Colabamumbai · June 26, 2010

Yes rumors are that the taxi mafia receives this toll that is why I posted the question.

bangkokburning · June 27, 2010

It is a good idea for a tourist to use the queue. You'll get a slip with the destination written on it.

I have no objections, those guys sit around and wait for a fare. I am sure some of it goes to places youd rather it not.

I was caught out at DM one time. The cop let me go and did not hassle me, but it was clear I wasn't with the program and not do it again. It is for your safety and I have noticed in last year how many drivers try and take detours and hit traffic pockets to run up the bill. It was never like this yrs back.

If you want a pick up - it's B20 and does go to the driver is my belief.

747man · June 27, 2010

The Taxi Mafia,Of Course........Who Else ?????

StreetCowboy · June 27, 2010

The Taxi Mafia,Of Course........Who Else ?????

My understanding is that it goes to the driver, and is a measure to make sure that there are always taxis waiting at the airport; when there are more passengers departing than arriving, it encourages the drivers to sit idle, waiting for the times when there are more passengers arriving than departing.

The poor buggers have to wait long enough, without cheap charleys bypassing the system.

Maybe if you can't afford the 50 baht, you should be taking the bus - or not flying at all.

SC

dddave · June 27, 2010

The drivers do have to pay B50 to enter the taxi pool from where they are dispatched to various stands around the airport. I used to drive a taxi in Boston, USA and the same system was used at the airport there. The taxi pool at S-bhumi has a restaurant and shower facilities for the drivers.

I'll be willing to bet that you guys who advocate taking the cabs from departures are the first to bitch when there is a problem.

The drivers who pay the fee and wait their turn are playing by the rules and I've never had one refuse to use the meter. They should be supported.

BecTero1 · June 28, 2010

You lose that bet when I give the taxi driver a 50 Baht tip when he/she picks me up at the departure level

stub · June 28, 2010

The drivers do have to pay B50 to enter the taxi pool from where they are dispatched to various stands around the airport. I used to drive a taxi in Boston, USA and the same system was used at the airport there. The taxi pool at S-bhumi has a restaurant and shower facilities for the drivers.

I'll be willing to bet that you guys who advocate taking the cabs from departures are the first to bitch when there is a problem.

The drivers who pay the fee and wait their turn are playing by the rules and I've never had one refuse to use the meter. They should be supported.

Myself and others I know have given up on taking cabs from the departures queue - pissed off drivers who try the flat fee gag and rigged meters. I still recommend it to people new to Bangkok though. But if you know minimal Thai and how to spot a decent taxi from a no-have-meter-rustbucket arrivals is the way to go. There isn't even anything dodgy about it - it isn't illegal to pick up passengers at arrivals, and in fact probably illegal to refuse a fare. Just get one dropping someone off to avoid someone 'heavy' or who bribed the guards to not move them on. You get the taxi of your choice with a driver feeling really lucky he didn't have to go through the queue.

But my main reason for avoiding the official queues is I hate the idea of supporting a system designed to drive traffic to the AOT car monopoly at the expense of the hard working drivers. At least public outrage was enough that the original plan of making you get a bus to the public taxi rank was scrapped, so it could have been worse.

The way the rules where written, drivers are supposed to get the fee to compensate for waiting in the queues. But the 'fee' charged to drivers is the work around is just part of the endemic corruption at the airport. I too am interested in how much the fee is. The customer only pays 50 baht a pop, but multiply that by the number of customers you end up with big money - way more than is justified in running showers and paying for the girl who scribbles on your ticket. I endorse the concept but the implementation is flawed and the management corrupt and I don't want to have a part in it.

Nuff Said · June 30, 2010

A few weeks ago I took a taxi from Don Muang station to the departures level at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The driver and I were unloading my luggage when someone jumped into the back of the taxi without even speaking to the driver; someone who obviously knew the game! No complaints from me about the driver, and it was the fare shown on the meter.

wpcoe · July 1, 2010

Myself and others I know have given up on taking cabs from the departures queue - pissed off drivers who try the flat fee gag and rigged meters. I still recommend it to people new to Bangkok though. But if you know minimal Thai and how to spot a decent taxi from a no-have-meter-rustbucket arrivals is the way to go. There isn't even anything dodgy about it - it isn't illegal to pick up passengers at arrivals, and in fact probably illegal to refuse a fare. Just get one dropping someone off to avoid someone 'heavy' or who bribed the guards to not move them on. You get the taxi of your choice with a driver feeling really lucky he didn't have to go through the queue.

Did you reverse "departures" and "arrivals" in that paragraph? Seems rather confusing as written...

F4UCorsair · July 1, 2010

In Australia it's a charge levied by the airport authorities. It equates to rental on facilities (parking space) so that the taxi can conduct business. In Melbourne the airport authority has built quite a large complex, parking area, restaurant/cafeteria, toilets, etc., for drivers waiting for a pickup from the airport.

The charge goes to the upkeep of those facilities, and probably a couple of referees to keep them apart when the fight about whose fare it was!

stub · July 1, 2010

Myself and others I know have given up on taking cabs from the departures queue - pissed off drivers who try the flat fee gag and rigged meters. I still recommend it to people new to Bangkok though. But if you know minimal Thai and how to spot a decent taxi from a no-have-meter-rustbucket arrivals is the way to go. There isn't even anything dodgy about it - it isn't illegal to pick up passengers at arrivals, and in fact probably illegal to refuse a fare. Just get one dropping someone off to avoid someone 'heavy' or who bribed the guards to not move them on. You get the taxi of your choice with a driver feeling really lucky he didn't have to go through the queue.

Did you reverse "departures" and "arrivals" in that paragraph? Seems rather confusing as written...

Yes. It seems if I don't know if I'm coming or going.

Colabamumbai · July 1, 2010

It is a good idea for a tourist to use the queue. You'll get a slip with the destination written on it.

I have no objections, those guys sit around and wait for a fare. I am sure some of it goes to places youd rather it not.

I was caught out at DM one time. The cop let me go and did not hassle me, but it was clear I wasn't with the program and not do it again. It is for your safety and I have noticed in last year how many drivers try and take detours and hit traffic pockets to run up the bill. It was never like this yrs back.

If you want a pick up - it's B20 and does go to the driver is my belief.

If you call a cab on the phone from the dispatcher, I think it is dispatch that gets the fee, for giving the driver your location and business etc. That is why many drivers will give you their cell phone numbers so you can call them direct without the fee.

Sometimes when I arrive at the bus terminal in Korat and need a cab to the house, if the cab at the terminal will not take me for a flat Bhat 150. he will call another driver who will come and get me for the set price. The house is about ten minutes out of town.

Colabamumbai · July 1, 2010

The drivers do have to pay B50 to enter the taxi pool from where they are dispatched to various stands around the airport. I used to drive a taxi in Boston, USA and the same system was used at the airport there. The taxi pool at S-bhumi has a restaurant and shower facilities for the drivers.

I'll be willing to bet that you guys who advocate taking the cabs from departures are the first to bitch when there is a problem.

The drivers who pay the fee and wait their turn are playing by the rules and I've never had one refuse to use the meter. They should be supported.

Myself and others I know have given up on taking cabs from the departures queue - pissed off drivers who try the flat fee gag and rigged meters. I still recommend it to people new to Bangkok though. But if you know minimal Thai and how to spot a decent taxi from a no-have-meter-rustbucket arrivals is the way to go. There isn't even anything dodgy about it - it isn't illegal to pick up passengers at arrivals, and in fact probably illegal to refuse a fare. Just get one dropping someone off to avoid someone 'heavy' or who bribed the guards to not move them on. You get the taxi of your choice with a driver feeling really lucky he didn't have to go through the queue.

But my main reason for avoiding the official queues is I hate the idea of supporting a system designed to drive traffic to the AOT car monopoly at the expense of the hard working drivers. At least public outrage was enough that the original plan of making you get a bus to the public taxi rank was scrapped, so it could have been worse.

The way the rules where written, drivers are supposed to get the fee to compensate for waiting in the queues. But the 'fee' charged to drivers is the work around is just part of the endemic corruption at the airport. I too am interested in how much the fee is. The customer only pays 50 baht a pop, but multiply that by the number of customers you end up with big money - way more than is justified in running showers and paying for the girl who scribbles on your ticket. I endorse the concept but the implementation is flawed and the management corrupt and I don't want to have a part in it.

Totally agree with your comments. When the skytrain firgures out how to take on and unload luggage, it may be a good idea. It is running free now without stops from Phaya Thai BTS mornings and afternoons, just for the public to try it. Just ask for a ticket at the Phaya Thai BTS station. At this point they are not accepting luggage, it is a free trial, they say it takes 20 minutes, to the airport.

Colabamumbai · July 1, 2010

The Taxi Mafia,Of Course........Who Else ?????

My understanding is that it goes to the driver, and is a measure to make sure that there are always taxis waiting at the airport; when there are more passengers departing than arriving, it encourages the drivers to sit idle, waiting for the times when there are more passengers arriving than departing.

The poor buggers have to wait long enough, without cheap charleys bypassing the system.

Maybe if you can't afford the 50 baht, you should be taking the bus - or not flying at all.

SC

Yes or maybe the taxi drivers should be out hustling for fares instead of sitting on their asses. If you have passed Don Muang airport lately you will see 100 taxis parked there. Then They whine that you only want to go a short distance and they have waited there for 2 hours. Lazy buggers should get off their asses and drive around looking for business, as I would If I were a Taxi driver. Attitude determines altitude.

spongeman · July 4, 2010

Its a good service. Saves the not turning meter on crap etc etc. Worried about 50B ? Holiday in Blackpool.

buddy · July 20, 2010