Tuks Tuks No Good!

[ScubaBuddha]

Never had an issue with tuk tuk service in Phuket. Haggle w/price and normally they are pretty good lads if you get to know them.

The issue isn't really with the individual drivers. Many of them are good chaps, but many are not. Many of them are not happy with the way the co-op is managed and see it as unfair to the customer and damaging the reputation of Phuket and tourism, same as us. The problem is the tactics the co-op use to protect their monopoly, using violence, fear and intimidation, as already mentioned.

One thing I have never heard answered is "Why are taxi's and Tuk Tuks 5-10x the price in Phuket as Bangkok?" A short while back a representative of the co-op answered by saying "Everyone knows things are more expensive in Phuket, everyone knows it's 200B to start the engine of a Tuk Tuk." Not really an answer. The answer is simple, the solution is not.

And I didn't use the "M" word once.

[ScubaBuddha]

I'm pretty sure Harley was taking the piss as he knows that Brit did not negotiate anywhere close to 40 or 70 baht. Maybe Brit got them down from 500 to 400, but that's about it and really all tuk tuks quote the same price from the same tuk tuk queue. If any driver lowballed another driver, he'd get in trouble.

Actually 200bht from Patong to Kata, actually got the lad's mobile and used him all the time. And when I didnt use the lad - hopped on a mototaxi for 30bht.

Like I said not all are bad....there are some reasonable ones out there if you actually look.

And tourists are expected to spend this time to "look"?

30B Motosai Patong to Kata? Was this 1999? You can't even go anywhere in Patong to anywhere in Patong for that. You're prices need to be updated. On a couple of occasions a my Thai gf went from Patong to my house up the hill in south Kata with motosai at 3am and it was 300B each time. In July a tuk tuk from Kata Beach Resort tuk tuk stand to my house (empty) then to Old Phuket in Karon for 3 people at midnight was 400B. No negotiation. (~5 minute ride)

Edited October 24, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[LivinLOS]

30B Motosai Patong to Kata? Was this 1999? You can't even go anywhere in Patong to anywhere in Patong for that. You're prices need to be updated. On a couple of occasions a my Thai gf went from Patong to my house up the hill in south Kata with motosai at 3am and it was 300B each time.

Agreed 40 - 60 baht round patong and 100 plus to leave patong.. My wife had to pay 100 or 120 from Tong to just over the hill in Kathu.

but apparently having an effective working public transport system wouldnt change these prices according to some members.

And I didn't use the "M" word once.

The M word does become a bit out of place when its the mayor and his cronies, along with top police who benefit..

Edited October 24, 2010 by LivinLOS

[ScubaBuddha]

I think its a lot more the sporadic implementation of law.. Police work isnt police work as we think of it.. Its random fine collecting, mixed in with being paid to allow law breaking (bar openings, bar noise, nudity, prostitution, etc).. So theres no problem with a policeman standing there watching 3 up 14 year olds on an uninsured scooter with no license or helmets speeding off, as long as hes not in fine collecting mode on the 15th or 30th of the month. Sure it would save lives, but where the policemans upside in enforcing that law.

The same goes for all other rules, the tessabaan is not in the business of controlling building codes, hes in the business of being paid to tolerate the breaking of those codes, with the cost to break them depending on their severity and the 'juice' of the applicant.

When this is the basic fabric of society, things stop being about right and wrong, and start being about power and connections. And all rules be they traffic, building, or any other social construct become grey and opaque.

Then you have the rules that are allowed to be broken, because they are just poor Thais.. The cop who grew up being carted about 3 up helmetless on a scooter isnt likely to see much reason to stop the practice, no matter what the law says. Hence we have the ridiculous amount of road death, I was chatting with a nice Thai fella the other day and he said in his gang of mates 9 died in their teens on the roads !! 9 of his close circle.. 3 in one day !! Start thinking about the numbers and it just boggles the mind.

All we can do is drive defensively, own a safe vehicle and be fully insured (tho they often refuse to pay the blood money) cos they wont be changing in the near term, and it requires a radical change is the whole thinking and policing, a huge leap.

Spot on.

[BangTaoBoy]

London boring???..... :lol:

Have another read mate. I said where I'm from, which is about 30 miles outside of London, and every other boring town like it. I didn't say London was boring did I.

[BangTaoBoy]

And group / gang muggings at 366% rise isnt enough for you ???

I do give examples.. Then you say that 'my mates' are lies.. I then prove them.. And then the subject gets changed.

So I take it you don t believe the other forum member who had a gun pulled on him then ?? Or the other forum member whose car got trashed ?? Or the knife incident I posted details off ??

Another quality post by 'LivinLOS'. I specifically asked for no statistics and no stories from other people on other forums, and you go and give me exactly that. Great work mate!

So as I expected, in a 4 page thread about how bad tuk tuks are, not one person can give me a recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally. Wow what a terrible burden on our every day lives they are!

I make my decisions based on my own personal experiences. It's a sad day when you're all getting your knickers in a twist due to over exaggerated, nonsense that doesn't even affect you personally.

[ilyelol]

And group / gang muggings at 366% rise isnt enough for you ???

I do give examples.. Then you say that 'my mates' are lies.. I then prove them.. And then the subject gets changed.

So I take it you don t believe the other forum member who had a gun pulled on him then ?? Or the other forum member whose car got trashed ?? Or the knife incident I posted details off ??

Another quality post by 'LivinLOS'. I specifically asked for no statistics and no stories from other people on other forums, and you go and give me exactly that. Great work mate!

So as I expected, in a 4 page thread about how bad tuk tuks are, not one person can give me a recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally. Wow what a terrible burden on our every day lives they are!

I make my decisions based on my own personal experiences. It's a sad day when you're all getting your knickers in a twist due to over exaggerated, nonsense that doesn't even affect you personally.

So you bareback 3 hookers without a condom, you dont get AIDS.

AIDS' a myth?

You sound like a real creationist christian

Edited October 24, 2010 by ilyelol

[tartempion]

Easy: In Pattaya I take a songteaw (bahtbus) In Phuke-it I rent a motorbike

[iSabai]

And group / gang muggings at 366% rise isnt enough for you ???

I do give examples.. Then you say that 'my mates' are lies.. I then prove them.. And then the subject gets changed.

So I take it you don t believe the other forum member who had a gun pulled on him then ?? Or the other forum member whose car got trashed ?? Or the knife incident I posted details off ??

Another quality post by 'LivinLOS'. I specifically asked for no statistics and no stories from other people on other forums, and you go and give me exactly that. Great work mate!

So as I expected, in a 4 page thread about how bad tuk tuks are, not one person can give me a recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally. Wow what a terrible burden on our every day lives they are!

I make my decisions based on my own personal experiences. It's a sad day when you're all getting your knickers in a twist due to over exaggerated, nonsense that doesn't even affect you personally.

Not only "recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally", but I really have to wonder just how many of the most vociferous of the anti-tuk tuk posters here have actually even personally made use of their services, at least recently.

I think it's more the case of habitual whingeing becoming a full time hobby for some folks here.

[steelepulse]

>>not one person can give me a recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally.

I'm pretty sure that no one who is on this forum and lives here uses the things, but most tourists do and where do the tuk tuks get their income from.............tourists.

I've got a great 2nd hand example for you. Remember back a few months ago where an older French couple got beat up in Kata and an arm was broken after being hit by an object in a tuk tuk drivers hand? That was my friend's parents and they were so scared that they got off the island and decided not pursue the issue. I don't think that crazy driver has ever been prosecuted. My friend was too scared to go public with his identity as he works with the public, but the story was real.

[BangTaoBoy]

Not only "recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally", but I really have to wonder just how many of the most vociferous of the anti-tuk tuk posters here have actually even personally made use of their services, at least recently.

I think it's more the case of habitual whingeing becoming a full time hobby for some folks here.

Touché.

[BangTaoBoy]

>>not one person can give me a recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally.

I'm pretty sure that no one who is on this forum and lives here uses the things, but most tourists do and where do the tuk tuks get their income from.............tourists.

I've got a great 2nd hand example for you. Remember back a few months ago where an older French couple got beat up in Kata and an arm was broken after being hit by an object in a tuk tuk drivers hand? That was my friend's parents and they were so scared that they got off the island and decided not pursue the issue. I don't think that crazy driver has ever been prosecuted. My friend was too scared to go public with his identity as he works with the public, but the story was real.

Exactly the point I've made thirty times. They are for tourists, and although I can't confess to ever having done a survey, I'm positive the vast majority of tourists use them without any major issues, and that includes paying the prices.

I wouldn't be so critical if tourists came on here complaining about them, and saying they needed to change and wouldn't come back because of them, but they don't, and they don't vote with their feet either, because they come back in their millions year after year.

I'll repeat what I said before. A huge amount of people can afford cars, Thai and Farang. Of those that can't, the vast majority can afford bikes. Tourists either hire cars or bikes or they are happy to use Tuk tuks, because for them they are convenient, always there when you need one, and on their holiday budget, cheap as chips.

So who does this leave that can't survive without a bus running between the beaches? Next to nobody, that's who.

As for your second point, again you're highlighting everything I've been saying. I asked for stories that weren't either second hand or one of the two well known cases of the last six months. The example you gave is of course, both of the above.

What it boils down to, is people are arguing solely on the principal. Yes we all know in an ideal world they wouldn't have that monopoly, and the police wouldn't eat free in restaurants, and customs wouldn't hold our imports to ransom and so on and so on, but that's the way things roll in this part of the world, and that's that.

My point is, there are enough things to moan about in life already, so doing it about something that doesn't even affect you, just simply to be part of the band wagon that is currently fashionable, is a bit sad and unnecessary if you ask me. Which of course nobody did.

[LivinLOS]

And group / gang muggings at 366% rise isnt enough for you ???

I do give examples.. Then you say that 'my mates' are lies.. I then prove them.. And then the subject gets changed.

So I take it you don t believe the other forum member who had a gun pulled on him then ?? Or the other forum member whose car got trashed ?? Or the knife incident I posted details off ??

Another quality post by 'LivinLOS'. I specifically asked for no statistics and no stories from other people on other forums, and you go and give me exactly that. Great work mate!

No I didnt.. They were people from THIS forum.. Not OTHER forums.. 'Other forum member' meaning another member of THIS forum.

See when they tell you and or post.. they are liars too ?? Everyones a liar who doesnt agree with your bang tao view ??

Edited October 24, 2010 by LivinLOS

[LivinLOS]

>>not one person can give me a recent example of something bad that a tuk tuk driver has done to them personally.

I'm pretty sure that no one who is on this forum and lives here uses the things, but most tourists do and where do the tuk tuks get their income from.............tourists.

I've got a great 2nd hand example for you. Remember back a few months ago where an older French couple got beat up in Kata and an arm was broken after being hit by an object in a tuk tuk drivers hand? That was my friend's parents and they were so scared that they got off the island and decided not pursue the issue. I don't think that crazy driver has ever been prosecuted. My friend was too scared to go public with his identity as he works with the public, but the story was real.

Lair.. Prove it.. Pics or it didnt happen.. Oh you have pics ?? Then its just a one off isolated incident, they probably deserved it..

Anyway, they clearly specified something that happened to you, if it happens to your family or close friend, well thats not you is it ??

[BangTaoBoy]

No I didnt.. They were people from THIS forum.. Not OTHER forums.. 'Other forum member' meaning another member of THIS forum.

See when they tell you and or post.. they are liars too ?? Everyones a liar who doesnt agree with your bang tao view ??

Is that the best argument you can muster up. When I highlighted 'my mates' I was referring to your friends on other forums you constantly quote. When I highlighted the other stuff about 'other forum members', I was referring to second hand information. Remember, I asked for examples that were neither of those things, and you didn't have any, instead trying to catch me out on my wording. Poor show mate.

For this thread to have proved my opinions inaccurate, there should have been umpteen posts in quick succession all about the bad things that have happened recently to posters of this thread at the hand of tuk tuks, and as we all know that weren't forth coming were they.

I enjoy threads like these, and I'm normally happy to argue my point indefinitely, simply because I believe I'm right, not just for the sake of it. On this occasion however, I think I'm done. Everybody has proved quite conclusively that they aren't personally affected by tuk tuks in the slightest, and the issue is a non issue. If that last post is your strongest argument then I think we should leave it there. For a couple of months anyway, we'll do it all again soon I'm sure.

[LivinLOS]

Ha so you demand people post in the morning.. And when there isnt the 'flood of posts' you require to satisfy your standard by the evening you declare the case closed.. That this obviously proves your point, and decide to retire from the debate.

Theres post after post.. From expats.. From Thais.. On this and many other forums. If you wish to bury your head in the sand and deny those posts as being valid, thats your choice, but they are there. Look at the comments on any tuktuk news item PG or PW.. You say it only effects tourist, and expats should simply make other arrangements, and theres no tourist complaints (on a predominately expat forum) but if you bothered to look where tourists post, theres 10's sometimes 100's of them, often saying they wont return because of it.

[BangTaoBoy]

Ha so you demand people post in the morning.. And when there isnt the 'flood of posts' you require to satisfy your standard by the evening you declare the case closed.. That this obviously proves your point, and decide to retire from the debate.

Theres post after post.. From expats.. From Thais.. On this and many other forums. If you wish to bury your head in the sand and deny those posts as being valid, thats your choice, but they are there. Look at the comments on any tuktuk news item PG or PW.. You say it only effects tourist, and expats should simply make other arrangements, and theres no tourist complaints (on a predominately expat forum) but if you bothered to look where tourists post, theres 10's sometimes 100's of them, often saying they wont return because of it.

O.K fair enough. I'll check back in a couple of days and see all the accounts of wrong doing people have posted. Hopefully not all of them will be made up.

10's and 100's of posts in a forum, well in that case Phuket will probably go bust by Christmas!! Is that really how you live your life, according to who's saying what in some forums??

Anyway obviously I don't visit as many forums as you, that would be sad, so I can't comment on any of those. I instead was concentrating on this thread and asking for replies to the people I was having a debate with right here and now on this thread. It was them I was disagreeing with, nobody else.

You said I haven't given people enough time to reply with their stories of woe, yet you've been back 3 or 4 times but you still haven't given me anything personal to go on (and yes by personal I mean you, not your mum, not your friend of a mate who you know from another forum, but YOU) That's all I need to know mate for me to be happy with my judgment of you and your opinions. When they're based on your own experiences and not every other man and his dog from every other forum in existence, then maybe I'll take them a bit more seriously.

[LivinLOS]

When living in Patong I would often get taken to the bottom of Sun hill and the prices would change, any discussion that the price agreed had not been delivered upon was greeted with threats (one time a wooden club). As I posted this happened maybe as much as 30 plus percent of the time when leaving town with guests back to my villa (only time I used tuktuks, for the guests). It became expected. This is the exact same spot where Drews mate had a knife pulled on him for the precise same scam and destination. Must have happened 4 or 5 times to me (I hardly ever used them) over a couple of years and possibly more to my housemate who used them more when drinking.

He had more balls than me and would agree to the new price, drive to the top and then chuck them the initial price.. Wouldnt be unusual to hear 'come on then you bastard' at 4am as they squared off.. Just what I needed when it was my car parked in driveway.

I only report this again cos you seem to demand it.. But using them was a constant battle, never being sure if I would get to the destination (and it wasnt much of an option to walk, bunch of girls, in high heels, and a 300m steep hill ??) or if there would be price rises or conflict. Not a one off, but a regular occurrence. Its about the only time I need them (when drinking) and so many of the same thing just hammered home to avoid them at all costs.

[LivinLOS]

Ohh and the one that cut me up in traffic and started waving a small bat around.. Having a road rage meltdown when he was the one that was driving badly... Theres that time too.

[Valentine]

Lest we forget the many people who travel by public transport. They are denied the right to travel by bus between the beaches or around the beach resort areas. The people using this transport generally cannot afford tuk tuks & they suffer great inconvenience waiting for an irregular bus service & for example if they want to go from Patong to Karon they need to go to Phuket Town first. So the claim that it is mainly tourists who are affected by tuk tuks is plainly ludicrous.

The people who run the tuk tuks should not fear competition as there will always be a place for them as long as they control the numbers which operate at any given time. With an efficient & fair roster system in place they could be used as baht buses sometimes & go back in the rank at other times which should ensure a steady income stream for all.

[schlog]

Hope the tuktuk door will not hit the dreaming bangtaoboy one day too hard.

Like the 2 girls 4 month ago, were raped by a tuktuk driver on their way from patong back to bangtao.

No it was not in the news. Yes nothing happened to the driver till today. This incident is also a fact and it was horrible seeing one of the girls the day after this happened.

Not all tuktuk drivers are mad but be prepared.

[KarenBravo]

Didn't the Consuls and the TAT say that the most common complaint heard from tourists are about tuk-tuk charges and drivers behaviour?

There was an article in the PG about it.

Edited October 25, 2010 by KarenBravo

[LivinLOS]

Didn't the Consuls and the TAT say that the most common complaint heard from tourists are about tuk-tuk charges and drivers behaviour?

There was an article in the PG about it.

Its all fabricated KB.. One or two people online..

[madmitch]

A number of expats would use the tuktuks more if they were cheaper and especially if they operated in a baht bus type system.

They are not purely for tourists. Tuktuks outside the tourist districts in Bangkok for example are quite reasonably priced, they don't take you to gem shops and they are extensively used by locals. It could be the same in Phuket without the greed and corruption.

I reluctantly use them to return home after a rare night out in Patong (no other option) but always take a local taxi to go. The Karon/Kata crowd are possibly worse than the Patong mob.

It's not uncommon to get an extra charge from that agreed upon as I live at the south end of Karon, despite telling the drivers that at first. It's not worth arguing, but the worst example was the extra 100 baht demanded very aggressively as a friend was dropped at a hotel on the way. No additional distance, just a stop of about 10 seconds. And that's what people remember.

Karen Bravo, good comment and absolutely correct.

[stevenl]

I don't believe there would be a local market for public buses between the beaches, except around bar closing time maybe. So very limited use for that IMO.

I do believe quite a few tourists would like to travel more between the beaches at least once or twice during their vacation, so more options there would be very welcome IMO. The tuktuks could be an excellent option for that, if their prices were more reasonable. I do think the main reason for complaints about tuktuks are their prices, but I also believe these complaints are more fueled by the media than by actual experiences.

But they are expensive, plus they are irritating by honking, blocking the road, etc. I think this is more important to most people than their prices, which is also why the irritating timeshare touts are more discussed and more hated than tuktuks on tourist forums.

Most tourists don't mind forking out some money, they just don't like the hassle.

From personal experience: on occasion (twice a year) I use them, find them expensive but have no problems: they do what was agreed on for the agreed price.

[Wellington]

A number of expats would use the tuktuks more if they were cheaper and especially if they operated in a baht bus type system.

They are not purely for tourists. Tuktuks outside the tourist districts in Bangkok for example are quite reasonably priced, they don't take you to gem shops and they are extensively used by locals. It could be the same in Phuket without the greed and corruption.

I reluctantly use them to return home after a rare night out in Patong (no other option) but always take a local taxi to go. The Karon/Kata crowd are possibly worse than the Patong mob.

It's not uncommon to get an extra charge from that agreed upon as I live at the south end of Karon, despite telling the drivers that at first. It's not worth arguing, but the worst example was the extra 100 baht demanded very aggressively as a friend was dropped at a hotel on the way. No additional distance, just a stop of about 10 seconds. And that's what people remember.

Karen Bravo, good comment and absolutely correct.

Last eight posts are getting back on point

The dictator seems to be quiet for a while!

[ilyelol]

+1 i would use tuktuks if they were cheap.

Hate going to the beach with my car.

Bangtaoboy does not even life in thailand, i wonder why you keep arguing with him. He's just a old lonely guy trying to find something to do in his sparetime while he saves money in the UK for his next honey

[LivinLOS]

I don't believe there would be a local market for public buses between the beaches,

I do believe quite a few tourists would like to travel more between the beaches at least once or twice during their vacation, so more options there would be very welcome IMO.

Erm ???

But they are expensive, plus they are irritating by honking, blocking the road, etc. I think this is more important to most people than their prices

For me its far less the absolute fact of their pricing, more the way the price feeds a system which gives them power to be law breakers. Take that away and the price fixes itself. Its much more the blocked parking, the implicit threats, the damage of vehicles, the denial of other services, the changed deals after the journey starts, the shitty / snide comments made to female companions, etc etc etc.

Its the way that when one group can act this way, it feeds a whole system, where jetskis can be standover rackets, where any scam ends up being tolerated as part of the separate the tourist (or resident expat) from their money by fair means or foul. They are merely a symptom of the greater real problem but a very visible and easy to identify one.

[stevenl]

I don't believe there would be a local market for public buses between the beaches,

I do believe quite a few tourists would like to travel more between the beaches at least once or twice during their vacation, so more options there would be very welcome IMO.

Erm ???

Sorry, with 'local market' I meant non-tourist market, so local Thais and expats.

[BangTaoBoy]

When living in Patong I would often get taken to the bottom of Sun hill and the prices would change, any discussion that the price agreed had not been delivered upon was greeted with threats (one time a wooden club). As I posted this happened maybe as much as 30 plus percent of the time when leaving town with guests back to my villa (only time I used tuktuks, for the guests). It became expected. This is the exact same spot where Drews mate had a knife pulled on him for the precise same scam and destination. Must have happened 4 or 5 times to me (I hardly ever used them) over a couple of years and possibly more to my housemate who used them more when drinking.

He had more balls than me and would agree to the new price, drive to the top and then chuck them the initial price.. Wouldnt be unusual to hear 'come on then you bastard' at 4am as they squared off.. Just what I needed when it was my car parked in driveway.

I only report this again cos you seem to demand it.. But using them was a constant battle, never being sure if I would get to the destination (and it wasnt much of an option to walk, bunch of girls, in high heels, and a 300m steep hill ??) or if there would be price rises or conflict. Not a one off, but a regular occurrence. Its about the only time I need them (when drinking) and so many of the same thing just hammered home to avoid them at all costs.

That's what I'm talking about when I say the different ways you can go about things and the different results you will achieve.

You had a problem getting to the top of Sun Hill numerous times, too many times to count it would seem, and not once did you think about being a bit smarter and doing things differently.

The first couple of times it happened to me I would simply change my tactics. I would agree the price to the bottom of the hill. When we got there I would then ask the driver if he fancied taking me to the top for a further 100 baht. He of course would accept, he would be a fool to turn down 100 baht for 30 seconds of work. The end result, I get to the top of the hill, part company with the driver on good terms, and all it's cost me is 100 baht more (when you lived there that was probably about £1.60) Baring in mind on a proper night out you would have probably spent 3,4, maybe 10 thousand baht, so are you trying to tell me an extra 100 baht to save any arguments and any long walks up big hills isn't worth it?

After the first few times you had the problem, if you weren't so arrogant and obnoxious (your mate standing in the street shouting ' come on then yer bastard', at 4am tells me quite a bit about his charecter before he even got in the tuk tuk) you would have realised the rate you were agreeing outside the club is the price to the bottom of the hill, regardless of what the driver says, you then budget further to get yourself to the top. The fact that you know what the end result will be before the tuk tuk even sets off yet you still just let things ride tells me that you have no interest in avoiding the confrontation at all. You know the drivers say they will take you to the top when they don't mean it, but instead of learning from that and moving on, you let things develop until it all kicks off again

At the end of the day, me, you and your friends could go to the same club, drink the same amount, leave at the same time, get the same tuk tuk back to the same house, yet while I'm tucked up in bed, have being dropped at my door and not woken any of my neighbours up, you are at the bottom of the hill fighting with the driver, and your mate (due to his big balls according to you) is at the top of the hill shouting 'Come on yer bastard' to the driver. That's why you and I have different outlooks on things, because we do things in a different way. If you're happy with your end results then fair enough but it doesn't sound like you are to me.

So to summerise, your biggest issue with tuk tuks comes from one main problem of getting to the top of sun hill. If you couldn't resolve that issue then it's no wonder you're not happy.

This time I am well and truely out. I have given people the chance to explain to me, exactly what their personal problems are with tuk tuks, and they have failed misserably. My argument still stands.