Bangkok Taxis Among The Best In The World

[george]

Bangkok taxis among the best

Bangkok's taxi service has been voted 6th best in the world, according to a survey by Hotel.com.

The survey was conducted from July 31 to Aug 20, and among 4,821 respondents from 23 countries. The cabs were judged on seven categories; cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and availability.

London's iconic black cabs were rated the best (and most expensive) in the world for the 4th consecutive year, followed by taxis in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Berlin, Helsinki, Dublin and Madrid.

The survey also found that taxis were the second-most popular mode of transportation after the bus when travelling from an airport to a hotel.

Safety is the biggest concern for travellers, followed by value for money, knowledge of area, quality of driving, availability, cleanliness and friendliness.

-- Agencies 2011-09-05

[pkspeaker]

I have to agree, especially for the money the BKK taxi's are pretty dam_n good, i'm using them more and more now that the BTS trains has become permanently fked up.

[chiang mai]

Somebody's been smoking that wacky backy stuff to come up with that sort of answer, it said best not cheapest for goodness sake.

[supaprik]

I have been in taxi's all over the world and to rate BKK in the top has to be joke, seriously these supposed surveys are bordering on ridiculous, cheap cost effect yes, clean hmmmm some are, polite/courteous not if the driver is young and from issan ( as a rule,there are exceptions to this one )

but the real issue is safety or lack there of, IMO BKK taxi's are as dangerous as many of the world worst places...150klm on the motor ways, 100klm in small soi's and down Sukhumvit etc etc etc,poor maintenance and really poor driving skills but having said that much better than taxi mottos or tuk tuk's

[JacChang]

I would think it got that high a score because of convenience and the cheap cost. Walk anywhere, any street, wait a while, a taxi pops out.

1) Driving skills, most taxis i've been in step on the gas like crazy and stomp on the brake pedal, causing jerky movements and you almost would want to puke.

2) Poorly maintained vechiles, either the suspension keeps popping, wheel bearing vibrates, etc. The good thing is, thai taxis change to new ones pretty often, so that's good. About 30% are brand new?

3) Friendliness, yes most are, if you decided to talk to them.

[soundman]

The cabs were judged on seven categories; cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and availability.

Cleanliness: Some are very clean, others are a pigsty. I once found part of a prosthetic leg in the back of one.

Value: Good - if they take you where you want to go by the more correct route.

Quality of driving: Debatable, I think most would agree that near death experiences causes by highly eratic driving are not un-common being driven around in a BKK taxi, however, many drivers get you from A to B without much fuss.

Knowledge of the area: Luck of the draw, and sometimes destination dependent. (Some drivers only specialize in certain ares)

Friendliness: On the whole pretty good.

Safety: See Quality of driving.

Availability: Overall better than most other countries I have used a taxi. (Even in the countryside.....)

[CNF55]

It probably depends on what value they put on these catagories.

I do agree on high marks for value for money and availability - but other than that I rate them pretty low or maybe just average - and that includes friendliness.

[AbdulJabaar01]

Some are good and the drivers are nice and pleasant (depending on the area of Bangkok). Some taxis are very bad and the drivers are some of the worst (esp. around the tourist areas, Silom, MBK, Sukhumvit, and etc.)

[Nikki1611]

The only thing i like about taxis in Bkk is that it's cheap and colourful! Drivers are still choosy about destinations and all they know is "300 baht" whenever i tell them my destination no matter how near it is.

I think Singapore has the best taxi in SEAsia and it does come with the price which includes peak period and midnight charges and it's clean, safe and you can complain to the authorities if they turned you down and not want to drive you to the destination. You dont need to tell them your destination before you enter coz their duty is to drive you unless they put up signs like 'ON-CALL" or "BUSY".

[doggie888888]

Congratulations BKK taxis. Meanwhile, down the road in Pattaya......

[DP25]

I've taken hundreds of Bangkok taxis and they are the best in the world in my opinion. Phuket taxis on the other hand are the worst in the world.

[pomchop]

Have to agree that all things considered BKK taxis typically offer a very good service at a very good price. I have rarely had any problems with them. I think if you make sure to say "meter" before you get in and then make some attempt to be friendly you'll have few if any problems. Sure there are bigger/fancier/more english speaking taxis in a lot of cities and they typically will charge you well and good for the "privledge" of them driving you somewhere.

Be glad you don't have to deal with the Phuket tuk tuk mafia.

[RedNIvar]

I would have to agree that they are among the best based on the value for money. Safety subjective, depends on the driver and his mood swings. However I think their rating would probably drop a whole lot if this survey was done during heavy rain. This is when they start to demand for more money and can be annoying.

[WilliaminBKK]

I would agree BKK taxis are amongst the best, SIN is also on my favourites list, HKG they are expensive and often hard to get on the street. The worst MNL and CGK.

[kurnell]

If they agree to take you where you want to go, if they have not been up all night and are falling asleep at the wheel, if the radio isn't blaring isaan music and if there isn't 8hrs worth of fermented somtam floating in the car, then yes, I agree that Bangkok taxis are among the best in the world.

[angiud]

I find Bkk taxis very good and the drivers are friendly: my wife starts to speak with them so I can be quiet for an half an hour of trip

[SantiSuk]

Being an ex-Londoner I'm surprised they come out no1.

London's black cabs score heavily on knowledge, courtesy, safety and cleanliness (there cannot be a more heavily regulated taxi service in the world), but oh my the cost. Can be 250 baht per kilometre these days (more in the evening) and most normal Londoners can't afford them. I would argue that they are a service for business people, tourists who know no better and those caught short - not really a taxi service for the people.

Bangkok's service (warts and all) is a much more valuable service to its community in my view.

Edited to add: I would guess that a woman would have a different perspective. London's black cabs are very safe for ladies late at nights, whereas many other cities like BKK are notoriously dodgy.

Edited September 6, 2011 by SantiSuk

[keeniau96]

I very much agree with the posters who wrote that BKK taxis are very good and HKT mafiamobiles are horrors.

[richard_smith237]

The cabs were judged on seven categories;

Cleanliness: Mostly agree.

Value: Agree. BKK taxies are excellent value.

Quality of driving: Generally shocking.

Knowledge of the area: Generally shocking, perhaps 20% will know my destination when heading out of the obvious central areas.

Friendliness: Fair enough, most are very friendly.. "You know David Beckham, Wayne Rooney... You have Thai wife? You want sexy lady?"

Safety: I've never known the driver to pose a risk to personal safety other than by driving like a nutter!.

Availability: Generally excellent.... If you are going their direction outside of times of busy traffic.

6th best in the world.. If price is dominant factor then fair enough. However, Silverbird in Jakarta IMO is much better and Blue Bird are on an even par with BKK taxi's.

Malaysia isn't up there which I agree with.

I agree with Singapore and HL being up there, although its quite difficult to get a cab at certain times of the day.

[eTiMaGo]

When you get lucky and end up in a newish car, with a driver who's not either a wannabe racer or amped up on god knows what, sure, BKK taxis are pretty good... But it's a roll of the dice!

[eTiMaGo]

oh and where do Phuket's tuk-tuks rank?

[Familyonthemove]

A good Bangkok taxi can be the best in the World ... especially if you consider price. London Taxis are so expensive it would be cheaper to buy a car and dump if at your destination.

A bad Bangkok Taxi can be as bad as anywhere in the World.

The trick is to be choosy when hailing a taxi. There's so many, you can wait for a newish model Altis (avoid the really old ones or the ones with extra big spoilers on the boot and running lights underneath).

Normally the old knackered taxis have old knackered drivers (who smoke) and the customized taxis have boy-racer drivers, so wait for a standard looking new Altis before sticking your hand out.

[maxme]

Best? I think that's up to interpretation. Having lived in Bkk, I found it to be sort of a crapshoot.

It depends on location, the hour of the day etc etc.

Sounds more like a ploy to boost confidence in these mobile scammers