No Meter Taxi At Meter Taxi Counter

[needforspeed]

After a long holiday in Europe with the family i arrived a Swampy last week.

My wife’s chauffeur was on a holiday so we had to take a Taxi, walked to the counter “meter Taxi”.

Told them where to go and told them that we had 3 big suitcases.

The average taxi isn’t suitable to take any passengers travelling from the airport as they don’t even have enough space for a handbag, toothbrush and 2 towels.

So the girl told us to take a station wagon great for me, 700 Bath see told me.

I explained to her that this was the meter taxi service and that I was more than happy to pay that, "no" was the answer before I even told my story.

Ok i told average taxi it will be, they didn’t want to give us a meter taxi as we had to many baggage.

So no meter Taxi at the meter taxi counter service,

I left and got a Taxi from the Airport limousine service more expensive but I felt better just walk away from there.

Another issue that they can’t organise on a proper way, having a meter taxi service not available for passengers carry 3 or more bags.

Welcome back in LOS I thought by myself.

[lopburi3]

The meter taxi is the normal taxi service and has the normal room (and will hold a great deal more than you indicate but normal trunk space is limited due to gas modifications). You asked for a larger service and you were clearly informed they did not have in the meter taxi queue but there were other people available (I would consider that a service). You could also use two taxi if not enough room. You chose to use a limo service. Don't see the problem other than your wife’s chauffeur on a holiday - perhaps you need to take that up with the wife?

[RabC]

I have one mid size samsonite suitcase and it will not fit into a Meter Taxi that has had the gas modification, to me not a suitable solution for meter taxis.

[PattayaParent]

The problem is the taxis have been converted to LPG and the gas tank takes up most of the boot.

There's times when using Mr. T I've had to specify I want a petrol driven vehicle if there's been a couple of medium size or larger bags.

I've usually manged to get cases in the front passenger seat or on the back seat with one passenger and the other in the front if it's not too far to go.

The other alternative is go to arrivals and wait until a bigger sized taxi meter drops off and use that.

[scorecard]

The problem is the taxis have been converted to LPG and the gas tank takes up most of the boot.

There's times when using Mr. T I've had to specify I want a petrol driven vehicle if there's been a couple of medium size or larger bags.

I've usually manged to get cases in the front passenger seat or on the back seat with one passenger and the other in the front if it's not too far to go.

The other alternative is go to arrivals and wait until a bigger sized taxi meter drops off and use that.

The whole taxi 'industry' leaves a lot to be desired in terms of customer focus / customer satisfaction.

Have you ever seen basic models used as taxis in Singapore or Hong Kong, or Tokyo (and hundreds of other cities)? No, by law/regulations they must be a special model with large boot space and large leg room. Surely that's the way it should be.

Not holding my breath for such regulations here in LOS.

[lopburi3]

Compare your Tokyo taxi charge (and most others) to the charge in Thailand and perhaps you will not be that enthused about using non Thai made 'special model' vehicles and find a way to adapt. I don't argue that larger models might be nice sometimes - and that is why limo service is a viable alternative for some. But for those who can and do use normal taxi service there is no reason to penalize them. Getting any taxi to make that extended run at meter price is a good deal for the consumer (most taxi money is made in the pickup basic charge so more short trips are preferred).

[moe666]

Lets see I get a big suitcase, duffle bag, and my carry on into the regular taxi, whats your problem. Picked up two friends at airport they both had 2 bags each the driver had a bungee cord to hold down the lid and keep bags in boot.

If its not one thing its another to complain about Thailand.

[PattayaParent]

Lets see I get a big suitcase, duffle bag, and my carry on into the regular taxi, whats your problem. Picked up two friends at airport they both had 2 bags each the driver had a bungee cord to hold down the lid and keep bags in boot.

If its not one thing its another to complain about Thailand.

I don't think the OPs complaint is really about the size of the taxi, but about the willingness of the 'service' to accomodate his needs to get suitcases into a standard meter taxi and instead charge him more for what might have been accomplished with a bungee cord instead.

[corkman]

Lets see I get a big suitcase, duffle bag, and my carry on into the regular taxi, whats your problem. Picked up two friends at airport they both had 2 bags each the driver had a bungee cord to hold down the lid and keep bags in boot.

If its not one thing its another to complain about Thailand.

Exactly!

Taxi's in Thailand by anyones standard are super cheap.

So you walk up to the counter, demand a "special" type of taxi, and expect it to be the same price ..... your dreaming!

Don't be such a tight arse!

You know, maybe you should complain at the airline counter too - economy seats are awefully small these days ..... complain to them and demand an upgrade to premium, for free, if not walk away ......

Its not often posts on this forum actually annoy me - this is one of them.

BTW - why mention "my wife's chaufer" ..... so what, we're meant to be impressed - it is irrelevent to the post other than to point out you obvisouly aren't a backpacker or stuck for cash - so if your too bloody "posh" to sit with a suitcase on your lap in a normal cab then just "splash out" and get the limo service - 700 baht never broke anyones bank.

[edwinchester]

It's a pita that the standard meter taxis have limited luggage room but the op does seem to have cut off his own nose turning down a viable alternative for 700 bht by wandering off to hire a much more expensive limo.

[corkman]

It's a pita that the standard meter taxis have limited luggage room but the op does seem to have cut off his own nose turning down a viable alternative for 700 bht by wandering off to hire a much more expensive limo.

I don't know if I speak for the majority, but if those gas tanks in the boot are what keeps taxi's cheap for day-to-day use, then I'm happy to suffer the occasional inconvenience at the airport.

Moreover - for me, it defies belief how people coming from Europe after a 12hr flight and have paid anywhere between 25,000 and 40,000 THB for an economy air fare EACH, will then complain about a couple of hundred baht extra for a bigger taxi / limo. Family of 4 to/from europe (flights alone) something in the region of 100,000 - 150,000 THB..... even 1000 for a limo / cab is less than 1%..... Whether you are on holiday, or resident in Thailand.....

[PattayaParent]

Lets see I get a big suitcase, duffle bag, and my carry on into the regular taxi, whats your problem. Picked up two friends at airport they both had 2 bags each the driver had a bungee cord to hold down the lid and keep bags in boot.

If its not one thing its another to complain about Thailand.

Exactly!

Taxi's in Thailand by anyones standard are super cheap.

So you walk up to the counter, demand a "special" type of taxi, and expect it to be the same price ..... your dreaming!

Don't be such a tight arse!

You know, maybe you should complain at the airline counter too - economy seats are awefully small these days ..... complain to them and demand an upgrade to premium, for free, if not walk away ......

Its not often posts on this forum actually annoy me - this is one of them.

BTW - why mention "my wife's chaufer" ..... so what, we're meant to be impressed - it is irrelevent to the post other than to point out you obvisouly aren't a backpacker or stuck for cash - so if your too bloody "posh" to sit with a suitcase on your lap in a normal cab then just "splash out" and get the limo service - 700 baht never broke anyones bank.

You can get either small or large size taxis with meters at the airport in Ha Noi and pay the fare on the meter, or the same set price, why should Thailand be a special case?

[CWMcMurray]

I faced a similar problem a few years back when I brought my mountain bike over with me on a flight.

The box is a bit bigger and will not fit in a normal size taxi. When I was in the meter taxi line, they tried to pull the same thing on me. If there were only normal size taxi in the queue I would have understood and have been willing to pay the extra for a "special car", but the fact is that there were quite a few larger taxis in the queue waiting for passengers.

In fact I had just seen a person a few places in front of me get into one of the bigger taxi and he was alone and only had 1 small bag, so it was clear that they were not holding these larger taxis off to the side for passengers with larger bags. They were just a part of the normal taxi queue and when they reached the front the next passenger just hopped in the larger taxi at no extra charge.

I pointed to 3 or 4 larger taxis in the queue a ways back and told the person behind the counter that my box could easily fit in any of those larger taxi and that I would simply stand off to the side and let others in line pass me until the next bigger taxi came up to the front.

The lady behind the desk was not happy, but at the end of the day she really had no choice but to accept.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

I am an expat living here in Thailand and a few times a year fly into BKK (Domestic) And all the meter taxis tell me a price 2 - 4 times the normal price. No one will do it for meter any more. Been told high gas prices knowing they us the low price LPG. I now use a privite driver who charges a fair price in line with what it should be, talks good English, Has a Volvo, and is helpful and thoughtful. Door to door even carries my bags 5 flights of stairs to my condo

[chuang]

Three "big suitcases" I doubt they can fit in...suggest you plan your holiday when your wife's chauffer is on duty..save you some baht...

[tw25rw]

BTW - why mention "my wife's chaufer" ..... so what, we're meant to be impressed - it is irrelevent to the post other than to point out you obvisouly aren't a backpacker or stuck for cash - so if your too bloody "posh" to sit with a suitcase on your lap in a normal cab then just "splash out" and get the limo service - 700 baht never broke anyones bank.

He was referring to himself.

[citizen33]

A few years ago at the airport (perhaps DM can't remember) you could just wait a bit longer in the queue until a larger taxi arrived and still pay on the meter. The desk has stopped that and for a while have been charging a fixed price for the bigger taxis. What I don't much like is that this is only roughly linked to distance. Thus a while ago I was charged 700bt to go to Bang Na and then another time, not much more to Sukhumvit. If you know a taxi driver who has a larger vehicle and keep his mobile number, you can usually save a couple of hundred.

[IADR]

I had a similar problem coming back from Aus. Was travelling with the wife and we bought loads of baby things as it was a lot cheaper to do so and better quality in Aus. Arrive at taxi stand with 2 suitcases and 2 massive boxes. Taxi girl said 'no metre' to which I laughed at and insisted that the guy took us on the metre. It was a big taxi and they tried it on saying that big taxis demanded big fare.

At this point, being tired and just wanting to get home, I said no problem, I will go get the Tourist Police and they can sort it out. Funnily enough, the problem disappeared and driver decided he could do it on the metre after all.

They know they are not allowed to accept a fare off the metre, so once threatening them with the police, they quickly decide to do the right thing!

[needforspeed]

Lets see I get a big suitcase, duffle bag, and my carry on into the regular taxi, whats your problem. Picked up two friends at airport they both had 2 bags each the driver had a bungee cord to hold down the lid and keep bags in boot.

If its not one thing its another to complain about Thailand.

Exactly!

Taxi's in Thailand by anyones standard are super cheap.

So you walk up to the counter, demand a "special" type of taxi, and expect it to be the same price ..... your dreaming!

Don't be such a tight arse!

You know, maybe you should complain at the airline counter too - economy seats are awefully small these days ..... complain to them and demand an upgrade to premium, for free, if not walk away ......

Its not often posts on this forum actually annoy me - this is one of them.

BTW - why mention "my wife's chaufer" ..... so what, we're meant to be impressed - it is irrelevent to the post other than to point out you obvisouly aren't a backpacker or stuck for cash - so if your too bloody "posh" to sit with a suitcase on your lap in a normal cab then just "splash out" and get the limo service - 700 baht never broke anyones bank.

Your totally wrong on this accept that Taxi fares are very cheap and i would mind to increase the fairs.

I did not demand a special taxi and isn’t about the money, It’s all about costumer service.

I just needed as most other people arriving at the airport a taxi can fulfil the needs, transportation from airport to home, hotel or other location.

They all know that most travellers can’t use the most taxi’s waiting at the airport that isn’t really costumer friendly If you advertise to have a meter taxi service at the airport.

And huge problems with illegal overrated taxi services at the airport.

Just to let you know we travelled business class, had some comments on that as well.

Will leave that for another time.

If it was so annoying for you don’t reply why spending your precious time on thinks like this.

Thanks,

NFS

[wpcoe]

I did not demand a special taxi and isn’t about the money, It’s all about costumer service.

IMHO, one needs to choose the battles one wants to fight, and this was one I honestly don't see as worth it. The bottom line is a one-time payment of B700 after you just spent hard-earned cash on two business class seats from Europe, no? On principle, you chose to take an even more expensive limo from inside the airport? I just don't quite identify with that thinking. I would have swallowed my pride and paid the B700. What did you gain by not doing so, besides bragging rights in an anonymous online forum?

They all know that most travellers can’t use the most taxi’s waiting at the airport that isn’t really costumer friendly If you advertise to have a meter taxi service at the airport.

So, how many *other* passengers in the queues while you were there did not have their transportation needs filled by a meter taxi? "Most" of them?

I can understand you were miffed with the situation at the taxi queue, and came online here to vent, but to continue to bluster over the situation seems a little trivial, no? My (unsolicited) advice is to just let it go. It's just "one of those" TiT experiences. And, an inexpensive one that that.

[KevinB]

I work as an International Consultant and am in and out of the airport on a regular basis - the meter taxi service over the last 3 or 4 years has been truly GREAT - normal fare plus Thb 50 is the rule and my experience is that the rules are observed. and it is organised and very rarely do you have to wait too long.

The gas tank is a problem (but it was there when you left and will be there when you get back) - so carry a couple of bungees clipped round your luggage and use the boot / trunk half open (get a good suitcase) - or chuck your luggage n the front seat. I've seen a pile load of luggage and three passengers go in a taxi - No problem.

At least the taxis have meters and they are registered - their registration number is on a small metal tag on the inside of the back door. As someone said "Stop complaining" - try a taxi in Nampula or Bomako or Cairo or Athens or Mexico City - and then tell me you aren't happy to be back at good old Swampy.

And if you have a big family and lots of luggage - do as advised - get two taxis and take the one behind and say - like the movies "Follow that cab"

And if cost is not problem - get a limo - or better still you can arrange a Mini bus for you, the kids, the wife without her driver - and all your luggage for a lot less than it will to take a cab from Heathrow or Charles de Gaulle.

Travel well