Koh Samui Taxis

[Boater]

So the taxis are back to their old tricks again , 300 thb from chewang to big budda and 600 thb from chewang to lamai ! , I have seen countless tourists turn down taxis because of this gross over charging and even taxis drivers sit on the lazy <deleted> turning down buisness when the tourists tries to offer half the price ! As a samui resident I would love to use a taxi service like the do in bangkok , would certainly reduce the road accidents on samui as people wouldn't mind paying the bangkok taxi rates on a night out

So governer crusty , how are we going to fix this problem ?

My one idea would be to centralise the taxi and let them be run the same way as bkk , no ' pimped up ' taxis allowed , just bog standard , to keep the cost down . Install a lpg station in chewang for them to fill up and have a hot line ect available if they don't stick to the 35 thb start rule !

[PoorSucker]

Public bus every 30 min.

Every hour service after 2 AM.

Routes:

Lamai-Chaweng.

Chaweng-maenam.

Maenam-Nathon.

Chaweng-Banrak (via Choengmoen)

That makes a total of eight buses needed.

Charge 10 baht / sector.

[Boater]

Now that would be good poor sucker , similar to the night buses in london , and the daily bus service there ..

I would certainly use the service , cheaper then taking me car / bike out ..

[smokie36]

600 Baht Chaweng to Lamai??

This must be the via Nathon route.....!

[Boater]

Also to add u have a motor bike taxi stationed at every route that will take you 2km for 20 thb thus that would make my journey to lamai and back 60 thb max

[Boater]

This is at night time smokie36 ... Some even ask for more !

If someone was to operate a discount mini cab service in samui they would loaded , as well as probably dead , I do remember someone did set up a low cost taxi service before , what ever happened to them ?

Edited September 4, 2010 by Boater

[MSingh]

You can't & won't ever be able to do anything about it Mr Boater sadly..

Those people ( & i use that word loosely when talking about Samui Taxi Drivers ) don't really want to take anyone anywhere unless for ridiculous amounts of $$, like you said..

They would rather turn down business & pick Nits out of a fellow Taxi Drivers head that drive Tourists about in their Taxi's which doesn't really help this Thread but it's true....

[smokie36]

You can't & won't ever be able to do anything about it Mr Boater sadly..

Those people ( & i use that word loosely when talking about Samui Taxi Drivers ) don't really want to take anyone anywhere unless for ridiculous amounts of $$, like you said..

They would rather turn down business & pick Nits out of a fellow Taxi Drivers head that drive Tourists about in their Taxi's which doesn't really help this Thread but it's true....

Alright away-win doing a fine impression of a smug ex-smoker here I see. No doubt we can expect more and more....

[itishothere]

If someone was to operate a discount mini cab service in samui they would loaded , as well as probably dead , I do remember someone did set up a low cost taxi service before , what ever happened to them ?

Erm ..... they are probably dead?

Why are all the taxis the same?

Why do the drivers all have blue shirts?

Why are all the taxis highly polished?

Why do they all charge exactly the same fare?

Why do none of them use the meter?

Erm ..... is it because they are all controlled by the same entity?

And why does this entity not give a rats ar#e?

Erm .... is it because it is earning so much money from the daily rental of the taxis even tho' perhaps some of the drivers don't break even?

[Rooo]

They are Boutique Taxis, to compliment our Boutique Airline.

[Boater]

Haha good answer roo , but they don't offer 5 thb puff pastry and nescafe coffee in the taxi

[brd]

Problems arising are not only from taxis tricking customers not using meters, refusing the THB 50 surcharge for using meters the local very useful buses increase their prices, the ladies selling on the beach are increasing their prices making Koh Samui a pure rip off and coming from a pretending to be a Paradise that is often hel_l rather, all that are major deterrent adding jetskis, etc...etc.....other monkeys local businesses.

If you are not greedy of gains you are not going to be cheated...........

It is pity but Bali is not that better even if attracting numerous visitors.

No policing in nightclubs and bar girls not that friendly compared all to Bangkok city the Capital again Number one in Thailand.

Sadden by so much decadent events we avoid going simply to Koh Samui and its nearby islands....OVER !

[smokie36]

Oh dear....I have to say taxi pricces are unlikely to change.

Chaweng to Big Buddha 300 Baht at night is the normal price. I doubt ANYONE would be silly enough to pay 600 Baht to Lamai but you never know.....pick up a songtheaw outside of Chaweng/Lamai is dirt cheap.....try it in these areas and the prices are ridiculous.

Well prices are as much as the Thais can get simple as that!

EDIT: When I need a taxi I call the same driver each time no matter where and arrange a pick up...at least that way I get ripped off to the minimum.....there's no cheaper way for a pisshead like me I'm afraid.

Edited September 4, 2010 by smokie36

[starcandle]

I get regular promotional holiday emails from a holiday company and to my joy of all joys (I'm looking to bring family over) I see a great offer on holidays in thailand including Samui

for 639 pounds sterling ,, well yipee I click the link, then it all go's west, yes there are holidays inc hotel and breakfast, but the 639 ones are in Phuket, if you want the same brand hotel in Samui it's 999, times that for a family of 4. then when the tired tourist get here dick turpin err sorry I mean some charming polite gentleman taxi driver bends his potontial fares over and shafts them for a 50 baht fare with a 500 baht bill, and they don't even use lubricant, not to mention the stare when you do not tip.

[crusty]

Public bus every 30 min.

Every hour service after 2 AM.

Routes:

Lamai-Chaweng.

Chaweng-maenam.

Maenam-Nathon.

Chaweng-Banrak (via Choengmoen)

That makes a total of eight buses needed.

Charge 10 baht / sector.

Wow if only we could, but first all parking on the beach roads would have to be banned. Poorsucker you now also carry the Minister of Transport portfolio and macaroniman to enforce the parking ban.

[screamingeagle]

The taxis on this island are contolled by the local mafia (as are the jet skis etc.). Each taxi has to pay 500 Bht a day to them. So the taxi drivers are extorted by the mafia and they take the same attitude towards customers.... It will never change. But since the downturn in tourist numbers, there seems too be less taxis around.

[parallaxtech]

What about all the regular cars blocking the Tesco front parking lot that exit out the entrance road at high speed and harass everyone coming out of Tesco? They have no taxi shirts and their vehicles are all makes and they shout "taxi" to everyone and then follow them down the road if they refuse. I see only a sticker "Samui Dragon" on the back window, which much be the local mafia. I'm sure that the Taxi Mafia would not be happy with them unless they were part of the same group. You would think that Tesco management would tell them to get off their property or pay rent. And, by the way, don't you need taxi licenses with proper taxis and uniformed drivers?

[MSingh]

You can't & won't ever be able to do anything about it Mr Boater sadly..

Those people ( & i use that word loosely when talking about Samui Taxi Drivers ) don't really want to take anyone anywhere unless for ridiculous amounts of $$, like you said..

They would rather turn down business & pick Nits out of a fellow Taxi Drivers head that drive Tourists about in their Taxi's which doesn't really help this Thread but it's true....

Alright away-win doing a fine impression of a smug ex-smoker here I see. No doubt we can expect more and more....

I think i get the jist of that..

What are you saying then Smokie, because i don't live there now i should take a back seat & say that the place is the best in the World instead ??

I think you'll find when i lived there that i had the same tone of Posts & comments ( if not worse as i lived there then ) & above all, what i write IS TRUE !!!

How's the UK anyway Smokie, you ever think about coming to Samui full time or.........................

[smokie36]

You can't & won't ever be able to do anything about it Mr Boater sadly..

Those people ( & i use that word loosely when talking about Samui Taxi Drivers ) don't really want to take anyone anywhere unless for ridiculous amounts of $$, like you said..

They would rather turn down business & pick Nits out of a fellow Taxi Drivers head that drive Tourists about in their Taxi's which doesn't really help this Thread but it's true....

Alright away-win doing a fine impression of a smug ex-smoker here I see. No doubt we can expect more and more....

I think i get the jist of that..

What are you saying then Smokie, because i don't live there now i should take a back seat & say that the place is the best in the World instead ??

I think you'll find when i lived there that i had the same tone of Posts & comments ( if not worse as i lived there then ) & above all, what i write IS TRUE !!!

How's the UK anyway Smokie, you ever think about coming to Samui full time or.........................

Samui full time? Nah I might move to Cambodia full time and flit between the two......carry on though singhy I realise its lonely up there....and yes your original post was spot on as usual.....

[maccaroni man]

You can't & won't ever be able to do anything about it Mr Boater sadly..

Those people ( & i use that word loosely when talking about Samui Taxi Drivers ) don't really want to take anyone anywhere unless for ridiculous amounts of $$, like you said..

They would rather turn down business & pick Nits out of a fellow Taxi Drivers head that drive Tourists about in their Taxi's which doesn't really help this Thread but it's true....

Alright away-win doing a fine impression of a smug ex-smoker here I see. No doubt we can expect more and more....

I think i get the jist of that..

What are you saying then Smokie, because i don't live there now i should take a back seat & say that the place is the best in the World instead ??

I think you'll find when i lived there that i had the same tone of Posts & comments ( if not worse as i lived there then ) & above all, what i write IS TRUE !!!

How's the UK anyway Smokie, you ever think about coming to Samui full time or.........................

well you know how the old saying goes; "where ever you go, there you are" having said this i would not want to find myslef in a town with the oldest working girls on record, no taxies, and about as livley as watching paint dry

[smokie36]

You can't & won't ever be able to do anything about it Mr Boater sadly..

Those people ( & i use that word loosely when talking about Samui Taxi Drivers ) don't really want to take anyone anywhere unless for ridiculous amounts of $$, like you said..

They would rather turn down business & pick Nits out of a fellow Taxi Drivers head that drive Tourists about in their Taxi's which doesn't really help this Thread but it's true....

Alright away-win doing a fine impression of a smug ex-smoker here I see. No doubt we can expect more and more....

I think i get the jist of that..

What are you saying then Smokie, because i don't live there now i should take a back seat & say that the place is the best in the World instead ??

I think you'll find when i lived there that i had the same tone of Posts & comments ( if not worse as i lived there then ) & above all, what i write IS TRUE !!!

How's the UK anyway Smokie, you ever think about coming to Samui full time or.........................

well you know how the old saying goes; "where ever you go, there you are" having said this i would not want to find myslef in a town with the oldest working girls on record, no taxies, and about as livley as watching paint dry

Nah this dump in Surrey beats anywhere in Thailand. Believe me. Now excuse me while I check out flights....

[BigC]

i am with u on this 1. the taxi inn surat airport wanted 500 baht to drive us 5 kms. These people are just plan greedy. it is discusting. cheaper to buy your own car or motor bike.

Also had a problem with the thai bus in surat. my thai girl friend went to book the ticket for the v.i.p bus. she called me to tell me that we were on a v.i.p bus so i cam e round the corner. i sore the look on the ticket lady's face even my GF noticed it. It said FORANG. for some reason we were not alloud on the V.I.P bus and it was now full and we had to suffer it on a cheap small cramped bus for the same price.

conclusion..... discusted..... greedy people will end up with nothing one day.

[Boater]

Where did you get the bus to and from bigC ?

[Mr lamai]

Traveling by air? Ask Thaivisa gurus :whistling: Traveling by road?!? Learn from the locals or ask the bargirl next to you :jap:

Cheers Mr Lamai

Edited September 5, 2010 by Mr lamai

[robsamui]

A couple of years back the police here attempted to do something about the blatant disregard of the yellow taxis for the law of Thailand - even the BIB must have been getting egg on face because of it...

... and all the taxis went on strike for about a week.

At which point hotels were complaining that guests couldn't get taxis anymore ...

So the thoughtful and reasonable taxi drivers agreed to use their meters ... as long as there were NO official meter checks like on the mainland (I wonder why ...) and as long as they could charge a surcharge of 35 baht (was it 35??) on top of this.

But I haven't seen this for a while now and all the overcharging greedy grabbing opportunists have now gone back to the " ... it's 500 baht and if you don't like it you can go back to your own country" line of reasoning again.

Wild West or what!

BY THE WAY, THERE IS A PUBLIC BUS! There is one. Small yellow one. It runs contunually around the island, with no timetable, stopping here and there for no apparent reason whilst the drives goes off and does whatever for 10 minutes or so.

R

[H2oDunc]

600 Baht Chaweng to Lamai??

This must be the via Nathon route.....!

Smokie, I used to regularly see people get charged 600 baht to go from the airport to the Seatran pier in Bangrak Maybe just over a KM.

I remember the first time I went to Chumphon by train. I came out and asked a motorbike taxi for a certain hotel and asked how much. 100 baht came the answer. OK. I got on the back and we drove down to the highway down into town round a few blocks and pulled up outside the hotel. Not bad considering the distance thinks I. It was only having a walk about the next day I found the hotel was a 2 minute walk from the station You got to love em though

[Tropicalevo]

Just saw this article about NYC taxis

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8020946/Dozens-of-NYC-taxi-drivers-accused-of-charging-double-fare.html

ONLY DOUBLE! Those super rich Americans do not know how lucky they are. That would be a luxury here

[smokie36]

Ok how about 400 Baht from Fisherman's Village to Bangrak?

Or my songtheuw journey from Big Buddha pier to Siam Commercial Bank outside the village. Only a Thai lady and myself on board at the same time....both get off at SCB.....Thai lady pays her 20 Baht....I offer the same.....

Mexican standoff....give me 50 Baht.

Unbelievable arrogance and blatant racism.

Forget Bangkok Airways this is the sort of thing driving people away from Samui.

[Tropicalevo]

Ok how about 400 Baht from Fisherman's Village to Bangrak?

Or my songtheuw journey from Big Buddha pier to Siam Commercial Bank outside the village. Only a Thai lady and myself on board at the same time....both get off at SCB.....Thai lady pays her 20 Baht....I offer the same.....

Mexican standoff....give me 50 Baht.

Unbelievable arrogance and blatant racism.

Forget Bangkok Airways this is the sort of thing driving people away from Samui.

You are so right Smokie. My next door neighbor was asked for 600 baht from the airport to Plai Laem (near Big Buddha) so he called me for a lift. (Hmm should have charged him 300 baht!)

On the song theuw trick - I give them the correct money (or slightly more if I do not have the exact change) and then walk away having suggested that they can call the police if they think that I am cheating them. Works so far.

[Rooo]

Don't they have a printed price list?I thought they had one attached in the back.