Bangkok Traffic Police To Get Tough On Cabs

[vijer]

You make a valid point, up to a point. ;-)

But here we are discussing taxis, not the deficiencies of road construction and urban planning. Taxis contribute to traffic congestion, it seems widely agreed in this thread. There is a campaign to get them adhere to some minimum standards of behavior and improve traffic flow on existing roads. Discussions of urban planning are fascinating, but perhaps a little diversionary.

Actually no, I am spot on topic. Many posts complained about the traffic congestion being caused by the numerous taxis and by their driving habits. I am simply pointing out the reality. The roads are the cause of the traffic problems. Oh and the car companies are expecting to have something like a 12 percent increase in cars sales in Thailand this year. Nope gotta be the taxis causing the problem.

Respectfully - while the roads and infrastructure are the problem, the aspects you describe are not really contributors to the problem. On the high-way, yes its a nuisance - but it doesn't hinder traffic flow. I agree with the toll boothes - the auto-booths should be incentivised, but its a nuisance to top up and its no cheaper. But undualting roads, man holes, etc. cannot account for the fact it takes an hour to get from Nana to Asoke - and double that to travel 1km through Pratunam.

But I agree 100% that taxi's are not the issue. So there's 100,000 of them..... how many other road users are there? What about morons who park on the side of the road on busy main roads reducing the lanes from 3 to 2 ..... or 2 to 1.

Do you drive in Thailand? To say that the poor road conditions is not a major contributing factor to traffic congestion is ludicrous. Have you tried to drive 80 kmh over manhole covers spaced every 10 meters for 1000's of meters? It's not possible unless you have no concern for your vehicle or your own comfort. I drive several stretches of highway and tollway that have this problem and I drive very fast but will not over these sections.

[vijer]

Vijer, Nice to see you agree with your own opinion. That makes is conclusive, then. ;-)

Was it Confucius that said ... "When arguing with an idiot make sure he isn't doing the same."

[Fookhaht]

... when I use taxis I never have, and never have had, a problem....they will genuinely get you from A to B in the best way they know how, and always use the meter...

Have you used a Bangkok taxi....say....since 1965?

[whybother]

Do you drive in Thailand? To say that the poor road conditions is not a major contributing factor to traffic congestion is ludicrous. Have you tried to drive 80 kmh over manhole covers spaced every 10 meters for 1000's of meters? It's not possible unless you have no concern for your vehicle or your own comfort. I drive several stretches of highway and tollway that have this problem and I drive very fast but will not over these sections.

The difficulty with driving at 80km/h on most roads in Bangkok is the fact that the traffic is moving at 10km/h. You also don't usually get taxis trolling for fares on the tollways or the major roads that you can go 80-100km/h on.

[newjobs61]

any bodie ask about the be good to visitors and stop refuseing to take them or pick them up

they pick and choose where and when they want to take people to where they want to go

also wearing shoes and putting shirt tales away dont make a good cab

[Reasonableman]

Nice to see that someone still remembers what this thread is about, despite a number of attempts to hijack it. ;-)

[oops]

It's ok to complain about BKK Taxi drivers, but in my experience I think in general that they are not bad. Ok, I drive; but when I use taxis I never have, and never have had, a problem. They may not be trained, like black cabbies are, but they will genuinely get you from A to B in the best way they know how, and always use the meter - unless YOU are a prick, of course!

The police getting tough on cabs would be time better spent on police getting tough with motorcycle riders, and employing the laws that apply to them.

They only stop a few helmetless, car cutting and scratching, and road blocking cycle users when the lecky bills come in! As a driver, I find taxi's generally ok, and it's the <deleted> brainless and lawless motorcycle morons that need more policing - for their sakes plus mine!

-mel.

Well... from where I am standing (hidden) I thought that the motorcycle Taxis are the police......they're always first on the scene....They always know what happened and who's fault it is (Farrange) "( all be-it first at the scene but not an actual eye witness). They are always directing traffic even if they are doing it wrong. They in most cases double as criminal investigator and the best part of it they are acting Judges as they tend to finalize their decisions right there on the spot with only one side of the story and from only one person. So when those funny guys with the white T shirts and polised boots show up they walk directly to them ask a few questions...like.....( Hey! you watch the football game yesterday.?) What happened here? Who do you want to blame. I liked it when I had a problem at my home...the motorcycle taxis showed up on the scene with those white T-shirt guys in Tow. To make matters worse with the police watching the motorcyle guys started asking questions first. I just happy that the Motorcycle taxi stop is only 300km away or they might not of showed up. ....I mean the police.

[draftvader]

What about the 1 in 20 that is completely off their face on Yaabaa? My taxi driver at 08:30am today was so charged up he twitched up and down in his seat like he was riding a 2" dildo the whole 15 minutes. That and his continual "B.A. Baracus" style wheel twitching that had the car lurching left and right down tight sections of road with buses either side. When he suggested that my 4 month old daughter might vomit in his cab I have to admit to wishing she had.

No tip, no politeness from me.

To balance things out the guy coming back was wonderful. Immediate stop, yes to my first request, meter on without questioning, direct route and he even made the pram safe on the front seat. Tip and a big thank you from me. My daughter is, after all, precious cargo and he treated us like such. Nice one.

[IsaanUSA]

If they want to help ease traffic matters they should reduce the number of taxis. There are an extimated 70,000 taxis in a city that only requires about half that number. Another thing would be for the taxi driver to accept all fares who flag them. I am fed up with the crap of taxi drivers telling me they do not or will not go where I want to go. Failure to accept a fare should result in hack licenxse revocation. Now, why won't this ever happen? The taxi mafia.

Let them go blow smoke up someone else's ass.

Seconded. What kind of crap taxi service refuses a fare? Have never seen this in any other country ever, it's ridiculous.

I guess you're not American

[hellodolly]

Of course official tickets and receipts will be issued...

Well with government credit cards they can afford the fines.

[hughben]

No mention of the dodgy meters that are more common now of course. They can't have tourists thinking such things occur can they.

[khunkeith]

If they want to help ease traffic matters they should reduce the number of taxis. There are an extimated 70,000 taxis in a city that only requires about half that number. Another thing would be for the taxi driver to accept all fares who flag them. I am fed up with the crap of taxi drivers telling me they do not or will not go where I want to go. Failure to accept a fare should result in hack licenxse revocation. Now, why won't this ever happen? The taxi mafia.

Let them go blow smoke up someone else's ass.

Seconded. What kind of crap taxi service refuses a fare? Have never seen this in any other country ever, it's ridiculous.

Been my experience in Bkk, that when a taxi driver doesnt want to take me somewhere, its for one of 2 reasons; the traffic is so bad between point a and point b, he doesnt want to sit in traffic, and run a high tab for us, or he is relatively new, and not familiar with the part of town you want to go to. It can also be for getting close to his meal break and is on his way to an eaterie, or his mia noi, or wife, or.......

Bottom line is I dont take it personal. If 3 in a row turn me down, then its a safe bet that its going to take too long to get there. They are doing us a favor under those circumstances. Next time youre turned down, ask them to take you to the sky train to make the bulk of the trip you want, then jump into another taxi to complete the trip. Wife and I make it a game; some days we will take a taxi part way, skytrain, then boat taxi, to get get from A to B. It doesnt cost any more money than a slow moving taxi stuck in rush hour traffic.

This is, by far, the best reply...including my own. Exactly! Yes! There is actually a sane reason for their behavior. By the way, how many of you readers have jumped in a cab, realized you were hopelessly stuck, handed the driver 40 baht and walked to sky train or taken a motor bike? Now the driver is stuck for all of rush hour, idling his motor, when he could have had a sweet fare to the airport, or just pulled over for dinner. Do you think he will fall for that crap again? He knows from experience that if you had a clue, you would not be taking a taxi to Siam..in the shadow of BTS....so says...no, I won't fall for that one again.

Once, I was in a taxi and stuck in a traffic jam and did not move for about 10 minutes. My hotel was in sight, about a block away, and the taxi driver told me "faster for you walk hotel". He stopped the meter and I gave him the fare and a nice tip and jumped out and retrieved my bag from the boot. As I walked to the hotel, the traffic never moved. The taxi remained stuck in it. But, it was his suggestion that I walk and not sit in the taxi. a good driver and he got a nice tip.

[khunkeith]

In my experience with taxis here in Thailand, I found that, once I learned some Thai, I no longer had any problems. To a tourist coming from the UK, the States or the EU and don't understand the costs, they willingly shell out 2000 THB for what would normally be a 300 THB meter fare. They are used to paying those high prices in their home countries. I remember taking a taxi from a hotel in Germany to the train station and the fare was 11 Euros for a 3 kilometer ride. During an overnight layover in London, I took a taxi from the hotel to Heathrow, about 2 miles, and the fare was 10 pounds. I have seen tourists willingly pay 2000 THB for a fare from Sukhumvit to the airport.

But, taxi drivers prey on tourists all over the world if they don't take time to research prices. Being a native of Washington DC, I know the area like the back of my hand. I have taken airport taxis when I returned home from business trips and the drivers were taking me a round about way. I would tell them to either turn off the meter or I would file a complaint to the hack bureau with their name and license. They would apologize and make up some lame story about not knowing the area. I would stick to my guns and tell them to either turn off the meter and take me to my destination or, I would file a complaint, up to them. a fare from the airport to my office (where I usually left my car) was about $50 (20 miles).

When I lived in Korea, the minimum fares would double at midnight. When I lived in Manila, drivers would often refuse to take you somewhere unless you agreed on a set fare before hand. In New York City, it's hard to find a driver that speaks fluent English. Sure there are problems in BKK with taxis but, it's the same in most big cities world wide. In Seattle, I got in a taxi where the driver was Indian or Pakistani and I don't think he knew the meaning of the word soap, shower or deodorant.

[Reasonableman]

Traffic flow improved for 1 or 2 days, no enforcement, no Miracle, business as usual.