Phuket Campaign For Standard Tuk-Tuk Fares Sparks Colorful Comments

[webfact]

Phuket Campaign for standard tuk-tuk fares sparks colorful comments

List of fares currently charged by tuk-tuks and Taxi KT group.

PHUKET: -- TUK-tuk drivers in Kata and Karon are stepping up their campaign to have members operating in their areas certified as "safe" and in compliance with a schedule of standard fares.

Certificates, to be issued annually, are meant to assure tourists that they will be treated politely and not overcharged for their ride, said Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat at a meeting last week.

According to Teerayut Prasertphol, chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office, the criteria for certificates will focus on the condition of the vehicles and the "condition" of the drivers, meaning whether they are polite and dressed appropriately, and in compliance with the rule that standard fares be displayed clearly at each tuk-tuk rank.

Mr Prasertphol says that he hopes the system will encourage all commercial passenger vehicles in Phuket to become registered, even the cars of "black plate" taxi drivers working illegally.

Most of the problems stem from tourists negotiating a fare with the driver and then being asked to pay more than what was agreed when they reach the destination, Chief Teerayut says.

He adds that the new standard fares will differ according to the type of vehicle providing the service, but that the new fares will be used consistently by all tuk-tuk and taxi drivers participating in the campaign.

Also at the meeting was Ponthep Charmkhao, the colorful president of the 'Tuk-tuk and Taxi Kata-Karon KT' group. Asked about complaints that his drivers were demanding that resorts pay a "service fee" for them to pick up guests, he said that the drivers were "suffering".

"We are okay if hotel guests buy package tours and the tour agents provide the transportation by picking up the guests at the hotels, but sometimes a hotel guest will ask our drivers in front of the hotel how much it would cost to go to a certain tourist destination. The guest is then undecided and goes back into the hotel.

"Later, that guest asks a hotel employee to help him and the employee calls a tour agent to get a vehicle to pick him up. We do not like this type of incident.

"Why don’t the hotel staff contact our drivers parked right in front of their hotel?" he asked.

"We don’t want hotel staff to call the tour companies. The staff get a commission for making a phone call and our drivers do not have a monthly salary like they do. We are asking for cooperation from hotel staff to stop that," he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article10920.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-09-03

[Yaroon]

What has changed?

[LivinginKata]

So Kata to Promthep is more expensive than going to Phuket Town. Funny as that's a shorter distance. At least it's a bargain from Karon at the same price from Kata, yet it's 200 baht from Karon to Kata. Ssshhhh - glad I have my own transport.

[stevenl]

So 200 Baht from Karon Beach Resort to let's say Kata Villa?

This is nothing new, just done to appease the protesters. I would prefer lower prices, but the prices are not the problem.

Edited September 3, 2011 by stevenl

[apalink_thailand]

And now to read between the lines:

"We are okay if hotel guests buy package tours and the tour agents provide the transportation by picking up the guests at the hotels, but sometimes a hotel guest will ask our drivers in front of the hotel how much it would cost to go to a certain tourist destination.

(Which means: the tourist doesnt like the hefty price) The guest is then undecided and goes back into the hotel (after he saw the tire iron on the front seat).

"Later, that guest asks a hotel employee to help him and the employee calls a tour agent to get a vehicle to pick him up. We do not like this type of incident.

(Which means: we would much rather that the hotel staff play along *wink wink* and help us to rip off the stupid tourist)

"Why don’t the hotel staff contact our drivers parked right in front of their hotel?" he asked.

(an offer you can't refuse)

"We don’t want hotel staff to call the tour companies. The staff get a commission for making a phone call and our drivers do not have a monthly salary like they do. We are asking for cooperation from hotel staff to stop that," he added.

Yes, please help us poor tuk-tuk drivers to rip off tourists. Isn't that the whole purpose of letting them come to Thailand?

[apalink_thailand]

According to my calculations, I get the following:

Distance from Kata to Karon Beach (center to center): 2.6km (on googlemaps)

The Tuk-Tuk website claims that a Tuk-Tuk does 10-15 km/L. (http://www.thailandtuktuk.net/thailand-tuktuk-engine.htm)

Price of 1 L of LPG: 11 baht a litre (http://pttweb2.pttplc.com/webngv/en/kw_df.aspx)

Cost of LPG/km: 0.733 Bht/km or 1.91 Baht for a 2.6km trip

Therefore:

The drivers are make 197.4 baht per 1-way trip. Lets assume that they are making 10 trips like this per day. They are making 2,000 Baht/day which is just over 8 times the minimum daily rate. That is a HUGE profit margin.

Please tell me, how is it possible that at rates like this, these guys aren't stinking rich? Oh wait, they have to give a huge chunk away to the bosses. Who are these bosses? How much of that 2,000 baht a day goes up the chain? This is the big question. After making this calculation, I am less inclined now to blame the drivers if in fact their are shadow bosses.

Edited September 3, 2011 by apalink_thailand

[LivinginKata]

According to my calculations, I get the following:

Distance from Kata to Karon Beach (center to center): 2.6km (on googlemaps)

The Tuk-Tuk website claims that a Tuk-Tuk does 10-15 km/L. (http://www.thailandtuktuk.net/thailand-tuktuk-engine.htm)

Price of 1 L of LPG: 11 baht a litre (http://pttweb2.pttplc.com/webngv/en/kw_df.aspx)

Cost of LPG/km: 0.733 Bht/km or 1.91 Baht for a 2.6km trip

Therefore:

The drivers are make 197.4 baht per 1-way trip. Lets assume that they are making 10 trips like this per day. They are making 2,000 Baht/day which is just over 8 times the minimum daily rate. That is a HUGE profit margin.

Please tell me, how is it possible that at rates like this, these guys aren't stinking rich? Oh wait, they have to give a huge chunk away to the bosses. Who are these bosses? How much of that 2,000 baht a day goes up the chain? This is the big question. After making this calculation, I am less inclined now to blame the drivers if in fact their are shadow bosses.

Quite right, it is 2.6 Km from Karon Circle to Kata centre.

You forget that most Tuk Tuk are not driver owners. Most of them pay 800 baht/day to rent the Tuk Tuk + fuel + wear/repair. And they seem to sit about all day waiting for that 'big' hire fare, and they are not interesting in moving/waking up for only 200 baht.

[stevenl]

According to my calculations, I get the following:

Distance from Kata to Karon Beach (center to center): 2.6km (on googlemaps)

The Tuk-Tuk website claims that a Tuk-Tuk does 10-15 km/L. (http://www.thailandtuktuk.net/thailand-tuktuk-engine.htm)

Price of 1 L of LPG: 11 baht a litre (http://pttweb2.pttplc.com/webngv/en/kw_df.aspx)

Cost of LPG/km: 0.733 Bht/km or 1.91 Baht for a 2.6km trip

Therefore:

The drivers are make 197.4 baht per 1-way trip. Lets assume that they are making 10 trips like this per day. They are making 2,000 Baht/day which is just over 8 times the minimum daily rate. That is a HUGE profit margin.

Please tell me, how is it possible that at rates like this, these guys aren't stinking rich? Oh wait, they have to give a huge chunk away to the bosses. Who are these bosses? How much of that 2,000 baht a day goes up the chain? This is the big question. After making this calculation, I am less inclined now to blame the drivers if in fact their are shadow bosses.

Quite right, it is 2.6 Km from Karon Circle to Kata centre.

You forget that most Tuk Tuk are not driver owners. Most of them pay 800 baht/day to rent the Tuk Tuk + fuel + wear/repair. And they seem to sit about all day waiting for that 'big' hire fare, and they are not interesting in moving/waking up for only 200 baht.

Plus they don't run on LPG, plus the mentioned website is for Bangkok tuktuk's, etc. Lots of flawas in the reasoning here.

[TheWalkingMan]

According to my calculations, I get the following:

Distance from Kata to Karon Beach (center to center): 2.6km (on googlemaps)

The Tuk-Tuk website claims that a Tuk-Tuk does 10-15 km/L. (http://www.thailandtuktuk.net/thailand-tuktuk-engine.htm)

Price of 1 L of LPG: 11 baht a litre (http://pttweb2.pttplc.com/webngv/en/kw_df.aspx)

Cost of LPG/km: 0.733 Bht/km or 1.91 Baht for a 2.6km trip

Therefore:

The drivers are make 197.4 baht per 1-way trip. Lets assume that they are making 10 trips like this per day. They are making 2,000 Baht/day which is just over 8 times the minimum daily rate. That is a HUGE profit margin.

Please tell me, how is it possible that at rates like this, these guys aren't stinking rich? Oh wait, they have to give a huge chunk away to the bosses. Who are these bosses? How much of that 2,000 baht a day goes up the chain? This is the big question. After making this calculation, I am less inclined now to blame the drivers if in fact their are shadow bosses.

Quite right, it is 2.6 Km from Karon Circle to Kata centre.

You forget that most Tuk Tuk are not driver owners. Most of them pay 800 baht/day to rent the Tuk Tuk + fuel + wear/repair. And they seem to sit about all day waiting for that 'big' hire fare, and they are not interesting in moving/waking up for only 200 baht.

Plus they don't run on LPG, plus the mentioned website is for Bangkok tuktuk's, etc. Lots of flawas in the reasoning here.

Do you have better numbers? I would be surprised if his calculations are significantly off and even if the actual costs are 40 baht round trip, that is still a huge profit margin.

TheWalkingMan

Edited September 3, 2011 by TheWalkingMan

[stevenl]

According to my calculations, I get the following:

Distance from Kata to Karon Beach (center to center): 2.6km (on googlemaps)

The Tuk-Tuk website claims that a Tuk-Tuk does 10-15 km/L. (http://www.thailandtuktuk.net/thailand-tuktuk-engine.htm)

Price of 1 L of LPG: 11 baht a litre (http://pttweb2.pttplc.com/webngv/en/kw_df.aspx)

Cost of LPG/km: 0.733 Bht/km or 1.91 Baht for a 2.6km trip

Therefore:

The drivers are make 197.4 baht per 1-way trip. Lets assume that they are making 10 trips like this per day. They are making 2,000 Baht/day which is just over 8 times the minimum daily rate. That is a HUGE profit margin.

Please tell me, how is it possible that at rates like this, these guys aren't stinking rich? Oh wait, they have to give a huge chunk away to the bosses. Who are these bosses? How much of that 2,000 baht a day goes up the chain? This is the big question. After making this calculation, I am less inclined now to blame the drivers if in fact their are shadow bosses.

Quite right, it is 2.6 Km from Karon Circle to Kata centre.

You forget that most Tuk Tuk are not driver owners. Most of them pay 800 baht/day to rent the Tuk Tuk + fuel + wear/repair. And they seem to sit about all day waiting for that 'big' hire fare, and they are not interesting in moving/waking up for only 200 baht.

Plus they don't run on LPG, plus the mentioned website is for Bangkok tuktuk's, etc. Lots of flawas in the reasoning here.

Do you have better numbers? I would be surprised if his calculations are significantly off and even if the actual costs are 40 baht round trip, that is still a huge profit margin.

TheWalkingMan

I see what they are doing and don't need better numbers. They'd wish they made that much. True, some/most don't work really hard and I agree with the conclusion that the problem is not the tuktuks or the drivers but the big bosses.

[LivinLOS]

What has changed?

Now they have a sign to point to to demand 600b for a 20 min ride.

[LivinLOS]

According to my calculations, I get the following:

Distance from Kata to Karon Beach (center to center): 2.6km (on googlemaps)

The Tuk-Tuk website claims that a Tuk-Tuk does 10-15 km/L. (http://www.thailandtuktuk.net/thailand-tuktuk-engine.htm)

Price of 1 L of LPG: 11 baht a litre (http://pttweb2.pttplc.com/webngv/en/kw_df.aspx)

Cost of LPG/km: 0.733 Bht/km or 1.91 Baht for a 2.6km trip

Therefore:

The drivers are make 197.4 baht per 1-way trip. Lets assume that they are making 10 trips like this per day. They are making 2,000 Baht/day which is just over 8 times the minimum daily rate. That is a HUGE profit margin.

Please tell me, how is it possible that at rates like this, these guys aren't stinking rich? Oh wait, they have to give a huge chunk away to the bosses. Who are these bosses? How much of that 2,000 baht a day goes up the chain? This is the big question. After making this calculation, I am less inclined now to blame the drivers if in fact their are shadow bosses.

Quite right, it is 2.6 Km from Karon Circle to Kata centre.

You forget that most Tuk Tuk are not driver owners. Most of them pay 800 baht/day to rent the Tuk Tuk + fuel + wear/repair. And they seem to sit about all day waiting for that 'big' hire fare, and they are not interesting in moving/waking up for only 200 baht.

Plus they don't run on LPG, plus the mentioned website is for Bangkok tuktuk's, etc. Lots of flawas in the reasoning here.

Do you have better numbers? I would be surprised if his calculations are significantly off and even if the actual costs are 40 baht round trip, that is still a huge profit margin.

TheWalkingMan

What the numbers miss out is the 25 - 30k a month lease of the tuktuk from a senior cop.. The 10k a month payment he must make to the 'federation' that represents him and buys police acquiescence.. So with fuel and machine wear and tear, hes probably 45k or more in the hole each month... or 1500 per day.

Its not the drivers who benefit from this system nearly as much as the online opinion would have you believe.. Its the towns power players. However the fact they pay so much in graft entitles them to be law breakers. And once you start by allowing some violent thuggery and law breaking, its a slippery slope that attracts cowboys who want to act like thugs and be part of a 'gang'.. And then you end up with outward symptoms like Patongs aggression. The root cause is the people at the top of the pyramid not the many at the base.

Take away the power of violence, allow competing services and free market forces, and the job becomes unappealing and unattractive enough that there will only be the number the market will bear. But then Pain / Prab / and senior people must lose out.... And thats not happening !! They didnt pay for all those votes for nothing.

Edited September 4, 2011 by LivinLOS

[LivinLOS]

I would prefer lower prices, but the prices are not the problem.

Long been my point.. Prices are one symptom of the problem.. But the problem is cartels, enforced through mob rule and violence.

Take away the lawlessness and the problem self heals.. But how to take away that edge, now its become entrenched, is a very difficult issue.

[steelepulse]

>>But then Pain / Prab / and senior people must lose out.... And thats not happening !! They didnt pay for all those votes for nothing.

For those that don't know, the above is the main problem and why it will be difficult if not impossible to change. Who wants to lose out on at least 6 million a month in passive income?