Phuket In Crisis: Taxis Take Tourism To The Brink

[Lite Beer]

Phuket in crisis: Taxis take tourism to the brink

PHUKET TRANSPORT: What has enabled the 'Pearl of the Andaman' to offer spectacles like this?

PHUKET: Despite a great deal of press coverage and international diplomatic pressure, altercations between foreign tourists and tuk-tuk drivers are increasing, both in frequency and severity. In one of the latest attacks, a German tourist in Patong was beaten close to death by a pack of gangsters who remain at large.

And a week ago today a Thai tour van driver was brutally beaten with an iron bar by six taxi thugs in Kamala who claim sole ownership of access rights to the Cape Sienna resort and all of its guests. That event and the subsequent smashing of the van's windshield was witnessed by a horrified tour group already seated in the vehicle.

As is standard in almost all of the beatings by taxi and tuk-tuk drivers over the past several months, the attackers have not been arrested. But in the Kamala case, at least, the police say they have asked the attackers to call in at the station for a discussion as soon as possible, thereby signalling the urgency the enforcers attach to rectification of the crime.

Given this trend and the laxity so obvious in police 'efforts' to terminate it, growing numbers of Phuket residents and hospitality business owners are showing symptoms of despair, surmising that it's only a matter of time before an attack goes beyond the delivery of crippling injuries and results in murder.

Forum comments and letters to the Phuket Gazette confirm widespread concern about the taxi cartels and speculate on the impact of their drivers' attacks and the increasing use of road, port and resort blockades to fight turf wars.

They see the beatings and blockades as attacks not only against tourists and competing cartel groups, but also against the image and thus the substance of the island's economy, with tourism being the first domino to fall.

And they express disgust with the drivers' apparent immunity to justice.

At the recent quarterly meeting of Phuket’s honorary consuls with the Phuket Governor and other local leaders, the tactics used by the various transport syndicates once again became the most heated topic of discussion.

As pointed out – repeatedly – by German Honorary Consul Dirk Naumann, the current and continuing absence of safe and credible public transport in Phuket could easily spell the death of tourism.

That tuk-tuk and taxi drivers collude in their areas of influence is no longer a matter of debate. According to one diagnostician, there are three key indicators of collusion:

1. Uniform Prices: In Kata-Karon, syndicate leaders view the proposed posting of fixed “pricing guidelines” (read: self-set minimum fares) as a “step forward”.

2. Penalties for Turf Violation: The savage attack on an entrepreneur who attempted to start a bus service between Kata and Karon a decade ago, and the beating of the van driver in Kamala last week, define the beginning and current state of the violence.

3. Information Exchange: Checker games and whiskey drinking aren’t all that goes on in those little salas in front of all the resorts.

As there is not a single significant resort on Phuket that isn’t effectively held hostage by the cartels, one can only appeal to the police and other local authorities to abandon whatever relationships have enabled the current cartel model for public transport, and to help Phuket reclaim its once proud and coveted position as a great place to visit and live.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/_n10953

-- Phuket Gazette 2011-09-11

[ScubaBuddha]

It's a tragedy that has gone on so long at such a beautiful place. Unfortunately I'm afraid it will take involvement of the central government to shake Phuket loose form the jaws of a very entrenched and corrupt system.

The problem will not be solved until officials:

1) Make an honest effort to eliminate the illegal "black taxi's".

2) Meters are installed in the remaining legal tuk tuks/taxi's, and with reasonable rates.

3) A fleet of songteaws and baht buses is allowed to ply the common routes just like every other resort/tourist area in Thailand, and this includes the infamous Kata/Karon-Patong route. (It was this route where the last songtow driver was pulled from his truck and beaten. Over 10 years later that contract remains available if anyone is brave enough.) The service needs to run during all hours, not only until 5pm as it is now.

Once the residents and visitors of Phuket are given the option of reasonably priced transport, the problem solves itself. It won't be easy getting there. Things will get worse before they get better. There will be more blockades, more violence from the tuk tuk mafia members as the few wealthy tuk tuk fleet owners and their underlings whom currently profiteer from the extortionate prices and monopolistic practices of the tuk tuk mafia are going to see a huge reduction to their cash flow, as will the pockets of the local officials and police who are on their payroll. But it simply must happen for Phuket to be able to move forward as an international vacation destination. I think it will happen eventually, but when is the question. Let's hope for the sake of the tourists, businesses, and Phuket people (tuk tuk/taxi drivers are largely not from Phuket) who rely on a healthy tourism industry, these changes happen soon. We don't need any more tourists or locals hospitalized.

SB

:jap:

Edited September 11, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[hellokitty2010]

Next weekends trip to Phuket cancelled, Bangkok sounds safer

[ashbee]

I lived in Phuket over 10 years ago and this was a huge problem even back then. Ultimately, until the government is willing to provide incentives to private industry to jumpstart local employment they can't really do anything. After all, what viable alternatives exist?

You're probably thinking work right? Phuket is full of hotels and other ancillary business related to the tourism industry. SURELY the tuk tuk boys could find a paycheck in an more honest manner. Therein lies the problem. Because the local authorities have turned a blind eye to these corrupt practices the locals no longer view them as corrupt. To them it is completely legitimate since they don't see the economic trickle down they think they deserve (read: the whole pot).

Corruption is a funny thing.

[Boater]

RIP in Phuket........ a few people have destoryed your image.........