Phuket Tuk-Tuk Driver Gets Suspended Sentence For Attack On Tourist

[chrissables]

300 or 400 baht. They state from where to where....... does anyone know what the distance was and how much the fare should normally be????

However far it was with TEN people in the tuk tuk it was only 30 or 40 baht each, even for a short distance reasonable price.

But if you rent the tuk tuk for a price, to get you from A-B it should not matter how many people. I had a similar thing here in Pattaya years ago. I stopped a baht bus and asked the fare to my house, then when he saw me putting luggage in he wanted more! There are too many who are both greedy and stupid enought to think people don't remember these scams! 300 baht for 1km! Bus Pattaya to Bangkok 130 baht? you have to wonder!

[phl]

No they don't.

This is a blatant lie.

This has been pointed out, evidence posted and since deleted by a sympathetic mod.

Please tell us all where you can take 10 people 1km in a tuk tuk for 40 baht following the official published figures for tuk tuk rates in Phuket? If not stop posting up blatant lies.

You total kiss arse! I thought you were childish, this simply proves it. You deliberately hijack my posts and try to spin them into an argument, quote me out of context, post lies and then try to defend your behaviour by referencing TV rules that apparently permit you to misquote me and delete the context of the original reply.

Now you are sucking up to teacher?! What next, are you going to tell Mummy when you get home?! Have you no shame man?!

and for finale, let me present you the troll of year award

PS. Where did you get 40 baht from now?

I can tell you where you can have 10 people travel 1 km for 80 baht with an air con and some music, would you like that info?

Edited July 3, 2012 by phl

[steelepulse]

Yes, there are 7 Thai people in this tuk tuk with plenty of room to spare, and there is room for 2 more in the cab. 6 in the back is absolutely not a squeeze. 8 normal sized adults can fit on the benches comfortably. It gets crowded after that for sure, and sometimes people even ride standing on the back. Weight will start being an issue, but that's 11 people total. You can fit more than that if there are kids or small adults. That's taking it to the extreme, but it very clearly can be done. This guy was with his family so it's very possible some of the 10 were children. If you read comment I was replying to, it was "A tuk tuk is a 3 wheeler and accommodates 3 to 4 passengers max." Clearly many people posting here that have never been to Phuket don't know what a Phuket Tuk Tuk is.

Here are some more pictures to help you with your spacial acuity problems.

Every photo you have posted shows quite clearly that 10 passengers can't fit safely into the back of a tuk tuk! The most in any of the posted photos show 7...and these are blatantly crammed in!

Photo 1 - 6 tiny Thai girls and a Thai man, clearly using up both benches... we could possibly squeeze another girl and a dog in there at best!

Photo 2 - 6 possibly 7 very slim young farang! Clearly no more people are fitting in this tuk tuk and these are not average sized farang!

Photo 3 - Appears to be 6 more average sized farang, again no way 10 will fit in... another 4 people in the back of this one, really?!

Photo 4 - Appears to have 2 passengers in the back and a drunk farang showing off on back... not sure what this proves, farang trully can act stupidly on holiday? Certainly not that 10 people can fit into a tuk tuk...

Photo 5 - Again 2 or 3 passengers in the back with a guy hanging off the back...

Surely if you are trying to prove that 10 passengers fit comfortably into the back of a tuk tuk you would post photos showing this common feat of ... I suggest you can't because it isn't normal, it's taking the p!$$! I

'm quite sure you could fit 10 people in if you really tried but it would be unsafe, uncomfortable and certainly not a normal occurrence. I think an extra 100 baht is quite reasonable for attempting some sort of Guiness World record number of Egyptians in a tuk tuk experiment...

During the high season I sit in front of a tuk tuk station in Karon while having a cold beverage with mates. It's really not uncommon to see 3 couples and their kids (4-6) get in a tuk tuk, including buggies quite often. So I'm not sure what you're on about, but I witness this first hand on a daily basis during high season.

[NomadJoe]

The innacurracies in your post are so numerous I have to break it up into bits.

In Phuket prices are generally higher than the rest of Thailand, why? Because the cost of living is much higher here. Any given Tul Tuk driver will be paying 2/3 times more rent than the equivalent driver in Bangkok, increased food prices etc.

Firstly, food and rent costs here are 10, maybe 20% more than places outside Thailand, and just slightly more than Bangkok, not 5 to 10 times more expensive which is what the tuk tuks and taxi's charge. Secondly, the expensive transport is one of the major reasons why things are expensive here. You're getting the chicken confused with the egg.

They don't do the job for the love of driving drunken farang around Phuket's version of sin city, they do it to pay their bills and support their family.

And they do very well. They make about 50,000B a month in the high season and no less than 20,000B in the low season according to what one driver told me. The guys that don't rent but actually own their own tuk tuks, which are very few, make much more.

As for local people not having an affordable way to get around the island, that's complete tosh. Most use motorbikes - what comes cheaper than that?

Did you mean motorbike taxi's or they buy their own? Most are forced to buy a motorbike and most have scars to prove it, and the ER's and morgues here do brisk business because of it. Same goes for the tourists who are having to rent motorbikes if they want to avoid spending a fortune getting around. The roads in Phuket are not at all like the roads in the provences where 90% of the work force in Phuket comes from. They are far more dangerous. And how exactly is a 15,000B to 25,000B motorbike cheaper than a 10B Pattaya seangtaow, or a 20B tuk tuk ride in Bangkok, or even 40-80B taxi ride in Bangkok?

Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central. The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew, Taxis, Motorbike Taxis and cheaper than Patong Tuk Tuks...

"Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central." False. Tuk tuks operate over the entire island and their extortionate prices are fairly uniform. And they do not offer a dual-pricing system for Thai's. Thai's simply don't use them anwhere on the island.

"The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew," False. We have NO public songtaows here. Zero. We have baht buses that run from town to the beach until about 7pm. There are no baht buses connecting the beaches because the last time someone tried that, the tuk tuk mafia pulled the driver from his bus and beat him.

"The rest of Phuket is served by...Taxis," False. At least not by taxi's that are in any way affordable to the Thai's. There are un-metered airport taxi's which only deliver people from the airport to thier beach resort destination. The prices of these taxi's are 2 to 3 times the price of a Bangkok metered taxi, and they may ask for much, much more just in case you are stupid enough to pay it. Don't be surprised if the cost of your 20-30 minute taxi ride is more than your domestic flight. There are also metered taxi's at the airport but again they are only allowed to pick up customers at the airport. Thier prices are about 40% higher than Bangkok taxi's and thier aren't enough of them so customers are often required to wait several minutes for one to return. Both of these taxi's are not allowed to pick up customers outside the airport without risking violence from the tuktuk/taxi mafia, thus you are essentially paying for the round trip. The taxi's which are allowed to pickup outside the airport are members of the tuk tuk "co-op" (mafia) of the respective area they work. No meters, and prices are negotiated beforehand and priced same as the tuk tuks or more. These are not for Thai's either. If you don't know how far something is as most tourists don't, you will not know how much you should be paying. It's a system purely designed to be able to rip off tourists.

"The rest of Phuket is served by..."motorcycle taxi's" False. The tuk tuk mafia do not allow motosai taxis to operate in certain areas they control, all of Kata/Karon for example. They can only drop off customers from other areas. You will not find a single motosai taxi driver stationed anywhere in Kata/Karon, an area geographically much larger than Patong. And motosai taxi's don't come cheap either. A Thai friend of mine was charged 500B for a 25 minute motosai ride from Patong to Rawai a couple weeks ago. To answer your question, I can think of a few things things that are "cheaper than that."

You should come to Phuket sometime to see for yourself. It's a beautiful place. You clearly have never been here. Just don't use the tuk tuks.

[Ferangled]

Yes, there are 7 Thai people in this tuk tuk with plenty of room to spare, and there is room for 2 more in the cab. 6 in the back is absolutely not a squeeze. 8 normal sized adults can fit on the benches comfortably. It gets crowded after that for sure, and sometimes people even ride standing on the back. Weight will start being an issue, but that's 11 people total. You can fit more than that if there are kids or small adults. That's taking it to the extreme, but it very clearly can be done. This guy was with his family so it's very possible some of the 10 were children. If you read comment I was replying to, it was "A tuk tuk is a 3 wheeler and accommodates 3 to 4 passengers max." Clearly many people posting here that have never been to Phuket don't know what a Phuket Tuk Tuk is.

Here are some more pictures to help you with your spacial acuity problems.

Every photo you have posted shows quite clearly that 10 passengers can't fit safely into the back of a tuk tuk! The most in any of the posted photos show 7...and these are blatantly crammed in!

Photo 1 - 6 tiny Thai girls and a Thai man, clearly using up both benches... we could possibly squeeze another girl and a dog in there at best!

Photo 2 - 6 possibly 7 very slim young farang! Clearly no more people are fitting in this tuk tuk and these are not average sized farang!

Photo 3 - Appears to be 6 more average sized farang, again no way 10 will fit in... another 4 people in the back of this one, really?!

Photo 4 - Appears to have 2 passengers in the back and a drunk farang showing off on back... not sure what this proves, farang trully can act stupidly on holiday? Certainly not that 10 people can fit into a tuk tuk...

Photo 5 - Again 2 or 3 passengers in the back with a guy hanging off the back...

Surely if you are trying to prove that 10 passengers fit comfortably into the back of a tuk tuk you would post photos showing this common feat of ... I suggest you can't because it isn't normal, it's taking the p!$$! I

'm quite sure you could fit 10 people in if you really tried but it would be unsafe, uncomfortable and certainly not a normal occurrence. I think an extra 100 baht is quite reasonable for attempting some sort of Guiness World record number of Egyptians in a tuk tuk experiment...

During the high season I sit in front of a tuk tuk station in Karon while having a cold beverage with mates. It's really not uncommon to see 3 couples and their kids (4-6) get in a tuk tuk, including buggies quite often. So I'm not sure what you're on about, but I witness this first hand on a daily basis during high season.

Are these couples pygmies? Would love to see a photo of 6 adults + 6 children + buggies in a normal tuk tuk.

While I don't sit in front of the tuk tuk station in Karon regularly I have been living here a long time and don't commonly see 10 people riding in the back of tuk tuks. I'm sure it's possible but wouldn't begrudge a driver an extra 10 baht per passenger for overloading his vehicle...

[NomadJoe]

Not quite sure how you'd get 10 in a tuk tuk anyway unless they were all aged under 10. Even then it would be a squeeze. I'd doubt that a tuk tuk is licensed to carry that many either.

You guys with these comments are just taking the piss now right? Read through the thread please. Explained ad nauseam.

[Ferangled]

Phl I thought we had covered this already. It's basic maths. 400 baht (the fare in this case) divided by 10 (you claim that this represents 10x the going rate) equals 40 baht.... fairly obvious really, as is the fact that you are lying/ exaggerating.

[NomadJoe]

Surely if you are trying to prove that 10 passengers fit comfortably into the back of a tuk tuk you would post photos showing this common feat of ... I suggest you can't because it isn't normal, it's taking the p!$$! I

'm quite sure you could fit 10 people in if you really tried but it would be unsafe, uncomfortable and certainly not a normal occurrence. I think an extra 100 baht is quite reasonable for attempting some sort of Guiness World record number of Egyptians in a tuk tuk experiment...

Surely your reading comprehension can't be that bad. I'm not trying to be a dick here but I made it very clear that I wasn't talking about "comfortably" nor "10 in the back of a tuk tuk" nor anything about "safely." I specifically said it's common for a person or people to sit in the cab with the driver as well as hang off the back. The pictures clearly show you can fit 4x4 full sized adults in the back of a tuk tuk. That is 10 or 11 full sized people. Not normal but not unheard of.

Edited July 3, 2012 by NomadJoe

[phl]

Phl I thought we had covered this already. It's basic maths. 400 baht (the fare in this case) divided by 10 (you claim that this represents 10x the going rate) equals 40 baht.... fairly obvious really, as is the fact that you are lying/ exaggerating.

Erggg, you said its 50 baht for 2 km right? yes

they wanted to travel 1 km, so it should be 25 baht right? yes

you stated that they put a sign in the car or on the car that its extra 10 baht for each person right? yes

putting a sign on the car makes it official and law in your opinion right? yes

so lets take your version, 25baht+100=125, he was charged 400 right? yes

if he was alone, he would have been charged 300 right? yes

the rate is 25 for 1 km right? yes

so what is 25 out of 300? how much is the over charging? 12 times right? yes

But for the argument sake lets assume driver was in a good mood and charged only 200, that would still make it 8 times the rate, right? YES

[Ferangled]

The innacurracies in your post are so numerous I have to break it up into bits.

Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central. The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew, Taxis, Motorbike Taxis and cheaper than Patong Tuk Tuks...

"Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central." False. Tuk tuks operate over the entire island and their extortionate prices are fairly uniform. And they do not offer a dual-pricing system for Thai's. Thai's simply don't use them anwhere on the island.

"The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew," False. We have NO public songtaows here. Zero. We have baht buses that run from town to the beach until about 7pm. There are no baht buses connecting the beaches because the last time someone tried that, the tuk tuk mafia pulled the driver from his bus and beat him.

"The rest of Phuket is served by...Taxis," False. At least not by taxi's that are in any way affordable to the Thai's. There are un-metered airport taxi's which only deliver people from the airport to thier beach resort destination. The prices of these taxi's are 2 to 3 times the price of a Bangkok metered taxi, and they may ask for much, much more just in case you are stupid enough to pay it. Don't be surprised if the cost of your 20-30 minute taxi ride is more than your domestic flight. There are also metered taxi's at the airport but again they are only allowed to pick up customers at the airport. Thier prices are about 40% higher than Bangkok taxi's and thier aren't enough of them so customers are often required to wait several minutes for one to return. Both of these taxi's are not allowed to pick up customers outside the airport without risking violence from the tuktuk/taxi mafia, thus you are essentially paying for the round trip. The taxi's which are allowed to pickup outside the airport are members of the tuk tuk "co-op" (mafia) of the respective area they work. No meters, and prices are negotiated beforehand and priced same as the tuk tuks or more. These are not for Thai's either. If you don't know how far something is as most tourists don't, you will not know how much you should be paying. It's a system purely designed to be able to rip off tourists.

"The rest of Phuket is served by..."motorcycle taxi's" False. The tuk tuk mafia do not allow motosai taxis to operate in certain areas they control, all of Kata/Karon for example. They can only drop off customers from other areas. You will not find a single motosai taxi driver stationed anywhere in Kata/Karon, an area geographically much larger than Patong. And motosai taxi's don't come cheap either. A Thai friend of mine was charged 500B for a 25 minute motosai ride from Patong to Rawai a couple weeks ago. To answer your question, I can think of a few things things that are "cheaper than that."

You should come to Phuket sometime to see for yourself. It's a beautiful place. You clearly have never been here. Just don't use the tuk tuks.

Your post really made me smile. All these "False"... err... well yes actually you are right but... comments! Hilarious stuff! As for the Thai's being forced to buy their own motorbikes etc... comical truly comical! Don't let reality stand in the way of your ranting!!!

"Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central." False. Err actually they do, and as I pointed out they operate the rest of the island too but at less charge to Patong. You go on to confirm what I said!

"The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew," False. Err actually we do have them here! Perhaps you should talk to my staff that travel to our office from Phuket town and back daily on one!

"The rest of Phuket is served by...Taxis," False. Err then you go on to say that actually yes we do have taxis here!

"The rest of Phuket is served by..."motorcycle taxi's" False. Then again you go onto concede that yes actually we do also have motorbike taxis!

I treat Thais with respect, talk to them in their own language and find I get much more favourable rates than tourists with a bad attitude. Same goes pretty much everywhere I've lived and worked.

Way to rant! I live in Phuket, have down for years by the way, just not in Patong

[BarryM]

My main holiday last year was to N Iraq. I felt far safer there and enjoyed a far more genuine welcome that thailand

There's not been a single bombing in KAR Iraq since 2005. Unlike Thailand

Much more tourist friendly than Thailand in every way, mountains, clean lakes, friendly locals.

aside from a few road side bombs, its all safe and open

I think my next holiday i will take my family to Afghanistan, i hear beaches are just superb

[LivinginKata]

If this bickering and trading insults continues then suspensions will be awarded. Final public warning.

[Ferangled]

Phl I thought we had covered this already. It's basic maths. 400 baht (the fare in this case) divided by 10 (you claim that this represents 10x the going rate) equals 40 baht.... fairly obvious really, as is the fact that you are lying/ exaggerating.

Erggg, you said its 50 baht for 2 km right? yes

they wanted to travel 1 km, so it should be 25 baht right? yes

you stated that they put a sign in the car or on the car that its extra 10 baht for each person right? yes

putting a sign on the car makes it official and law in your opinion right? yes

so lets take your version, 25baht+100=125, he was charged 400 right? yes

if he was alone, he would have been charged 300 right? yes

the rate is 25 for 1 km right? yes

so what is 25 out of 300? how much is the over charging? 12 times right? yes

But for the argument sake lets assume driver was in a good mood and charged only 200, that would still make it 8 times the rate, right? YES

You are clearly clutching at straws now... you dismiss the actual rate divided by 10 why?!

2 km, minimum fare. Go back and read the tariff list, don't just make stuff up!

He wasn't alone was he? What is the point in you adjusting the number of passengers and fare to suit your story?! It's childish and pointless. Do you ever visit reality?

[KarenBravo]

Read a lot of crap on here from people who obviously don't live in Phuket.

Here is a factual summary:-

Tuk-tuks DO charge by the person.

Yes, you can "squeeze" 10 people in a tuk-tuk.

The ONLY public transport that is affordable for ordinary Thais is the Baht buses, but, they all go to Phuket Town from the beaches. If you have three hours to spare, you can go from one beach to another, but, you MUST go through Phuket Town.

Tuk-tuks in Phuket Town are considerably cheaper than anywhere else on the island, so, you do see a few locals using them, but since the free pink buses came into service, not so many.

Tuk-tuks are all over the island. Not just Patong.

Tuk-tuk drivers have no control over the prices that they charge. The prices are fixed by the mafia. It's just like a Union.

The only other affordable transport that locals use are motorbike taxis and the Thais complain about the price.

NO, the tuk-tuk problem can never be fixed by officials in Phuket, only Bangkok stands a chance and they better bring in the Army to enforce it.

Edited July 3, 2012 by KarenBravo

[LivinginKata]

Closing topic for a couple of hours until members cool down

[LivinginKata]

Timeout over. Now let's keep the discussion civil, thank you.

[Payboy]

Some of them are not very well-educated

As opposed to the Phd qualifications of most others.

[CantSpell]

Patong mayor made ma new regulation a few months ago that the maximum Tuk-tuk fair inside Patong can not be over 200 THB so the driver took the p*ss from the start.

Even though 6 people might justify the 100 THB extra...

Egyptian asking for 6 and trying to put 10 people at fault as well; not surprised about this kind of behavior coming from Egyptian tourists thought...

Anyway, for posters that asked, below is a pic of typical Phuket tuk-tuk (Yellow or red color)

[LivinginKata]

No, minimum fare is 200 baht. Maximum fare is what the driver/pax negotiates.

[CantSpell]

pretty sure I remember "Can not exceed 200 THB" within limits of Patong city but might recheck.

[NamKangMan]

This situation is killing Phuket tourism.

Unfortunately, it's not.

Well, it's pushing inexperienced riders onto motorbikes and we all know the amount of road fatalities here. I would be interested to find out the fatal accident stats in Phuket, as comparded to Pattaya, who have the baht bus, per capita. I think you will find Phuket is higher.

So, when I say it's killing tourism, I mean it is actually killing tourist, not to mention locals and expats. I'm sure these fatal road statisitcs would decrease if there were baht buses and metered taxis here.

RIP to all those who have died, allbeit indirectly. at the hands of the Phuket transport cartel.

[LivinginKata]

pretty sure I remember "Can not exceed 200 THB" within limits of Patong city but might recheck.

Yes, this topic http://www.thaivisa....-tuk-tuk-fares/

"The maximum fares for taxi rides within Patong will be 200 baht for up to four passengers and a maximum extra charge of 50 baht per passenger exceeding four, as reported by the Phuket Gazette last month."

However this was soon 'interpreted' as 200 baht minimum fare by the drivers. As there was no minimum fare listed in the guidelines.

[steelepulse]

pretty sure I remember "Can not exceed 200 THB" within limits of Patong city but might recheck.

Yes, this topic http://www.thaivisa....-tuk-tuk-fares/

"The maximum fares for taxi rides within Patong will be 200 baht for up to four passengers and a maximum extra charge of 50 baht per passenger exceeding four, as reported by the Phuket Gazette last month."

However this was soon 'interpreted' as 200 baht minimum fare by the drivers. As there was no minimum fare listed in the guidelines.

Remember in years past the tuk tuks were supposed to have the prices posted inside of their vehicles? That almost lasted a month before all posted prices disappeared. Groundhog Day all over, just calling it a different crackdown.

[Ferangled]

pretty sure I remember "Can not exceed 200 THB" within limits of Patong city but might recheck.

Yes, this topic http://www.thaivisa....-tuk-tuk-fares/

"The maximum fares for taxi rides within Patong will be 200 baht for up to four passengers and a maximum extra charge of 50 baht per passenger exceeding four, as reported by the Phuket Gazette last month."

However this was soon 'interpreted' as 200 baht minimum fare by the drivers. As there was no minimum fare listed in the guidelines.

With that in mind the agreed fare of 300 baht for 6 people is in keeping with the guidelines.

400 baht for 10 represents a 100 baht saving on what he could have legitimately requested, again keeping in line with the fares laid out by the local Government...

[Tchooptip]

I have personally witnessed or observed (i.e. with my own two eyes) far more instances of tourists being rude, disrespectful, and generally inconsiderate and/or condescending towards Thais, then I've ever seen Thais act that way towards tourists or farangs in general. (Those instances do not include any tuk tuk incidents, as I've never actually witnessed any.)

But whether it be at a bar, a restaurant, a shop or 7-Eleven, a street vendor or souvenir stall, I'm often embarrassed at how some farangs, without any provocation, turn aggressive towards and mistreat and verbally abuse Thais. That is not to excuse using violence to resolve such problems, but it does explain how frustration can lead up to and often intensify these kinds of incidents.

Some of the tourists coming here of late, are just not very nice, and not very understanding of the culture and language differences, and that often contributes to these problems getting out of hand. And too many are not patient or tolerant enough to try and resolve their differences in a good natured way. Jai yen yen!

Yes Sir I totally agree with you!

[Tchooptip]

Any idea where this picture was shot? Egypt could be a good explanation of the misunderstanding!

[LivinginKata]

With that in mind the agreed fare of 300 baht for 6 people is in keeping with the guidelines.

400 baht for 10 represents a 100 baht saving on what he could have legitimately requested, again keeping in line with the fares laid out by the local Government...

Correct, but the issue here is the driver's assault on a potential passenger. As I read the story the Tuk Tuk had not moved anywhere. The driver noticed the extra 4 pax and upped the price. Fair enough. If the pax did not want to pay then tell them to get off. Striking the pax was wrong, and against the law. I suspect language difficulties and egos caused this assault. The bigger issue is that this sort of behaviour gets reported far too often.

[Ferangled]

With that in mind the agreed fare of 300 baht for 6 people is in keeping with the guidelines.

400 baht for 10 represents a 100 baht saving on what he could have legitimately requested, again keeping in line with the fares laid out by the local Government...

Correct, but the issue here is the driver's assault on a potential passenger. As I read the story the Tuk Tuk had not moved anywhere. The driver noticed the extra 4 pax and upped the price. Fair enough. If the pax did not want to pay then tell them to get off. Striking the pax was wrong, and against the law. I suspect language difficulties and egos caused this assault. The bigger issue is that this sort of behaviour gets reported far too often.

Understood and totally agree, it shouldn't have come to violence but I see responsibility for this incident on both sides here.

If the Egyptian didn't want to pay the princely sum of £8 to transport 10 people back to his hotel perhaps he should have simply left and tried to find a larger vehicle or perhaps walked. Anyone travelling to a foreign country should do some research before going and the Thai response to confrontation and issues with "face" are well known.

I tend to have sympathy for cabbies/ tuk tuk drivers in these situations, having two uncles working as London cabbies. One was stabbed and left for dead by drunken, argumentative punters and is lucky to be alive today. Both now work with weapons in the cab and if put into a situation with an aggressive punter refusing to pay a fare or exit the cab they will use them, quite rightly. I dare say if this Egyptian tried similar tactics with either of them he would have ended up a lot worse for ware.

On the one side you have an argumentative tourist taking the p!$$, on the other someone doing a job to provide for his family. One can simply walk away and get on with his holiday, or cough up £2, the other has to put up with drunken, argumentative idiots on a daily basis just to earn a crust.

I appreciate that others see the situation differently and I think many perspectives are being clouded by the spate of tuk tuk incidents in the past.

[NomadJoe]

The innacurracies in your post are so numerous I have to break it up into bits.

Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central. The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew, Taxis, Motorbike Taxis and cheaper than Patong Tuk Tuks...

"Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central." False. Tuk tuks operate over the entire island and their extortionate prices are fairly uniform. And they do not offer a dual-pricing system for Thai's. Thai's simply don't use them anwhere on the island.

"The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew," False. We have NO public songtaows here. Zero. We have baht buses that run from town to the beach until about 7pm. There are no baht buses connecting the beaches because the last time someone tried that, the tuk tuk mafia pulled the driver from his bus and beat him.

"The rest of Phuket is served by...Taxis," False. At least not by taxi's that are in any way affordable to the Thai's. There are un-metered airport taxi's which only deliver people from the airport to thier beach resort destination. The prices of these taxi's are 2 to 3 times the price of a Bangkok metered taxi, and they may ask for much, much more just in case you are stupid enough to pay it. Don't be surprised if the cost of your 20-30 minute taxi ride is more than your domestic flight. There are also metered taxi's at the airport but again they are only allowed to pick up customers at the airport. Thier prices are about 40% higher than Bangkok taxi's and thier aren't enough of them so customers are often required to wait several minutes for one to return. Both of these taxi's are not allowed to pick up customers outside the airport without risking violence from the tuktuk/taxi mafia, thus you are essentially paying for the round trip. The taxi's which are allowed to pickup outside the airport are members of the tuk tuk "co-op" (mafia) of the respective area they work. No meters, and prices are negotiated beforehand and priced same as the tuk tuks or more. These are not for Thai's either. If you don't know how far something is as most tourists don't, you will not know how much you should be paying. It's a system purely designed to be able to rip off tourists.

"The rest of Phuket is served by..."motorcycle taxi's" False. The tuk tuk mafia do not allow motosai taxis to operate in certain areas they control, all of Kata/Karon for example. They can only drop off customers from other areas. You will not find a single motosai taxi driver stationed anywhere in Kata/Karon, an area geographically much larger than Patong. And motosai taxi's don't come cheap either. A Thai friend of mine was charged 500B for a 25 minute motosai ride from Patong to Rawai a couple weeks ago. To answer your question, I can think of a few things things that are "cheaper than that."

You should come to Phuket sometime to see for yourself. It's a beautiful place. You clearly have never been here. Just don't use the tuk tuks.

Your post really made me smile. All these "False"... err... well yes actually you are right but... comments! Hilarious stuff! As for the Thai's being forced to buy their own motorbikes etc... comical truly comical! Don't let reality stand in the way of your ranting!!!

"Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central." False. Err actually they do, and as I pointed out they operate the rest of the island too but at less charge to Patong. You go on to confirm what I said!

"The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew," False. Err actually we do have them here! Perhaps you should talk to my staff that travel to our office from Phuket town and back daily on one!

"The rest of Phuket is served by...Taxis," False. Err then you go on to say that actually yes we do have taxis here!

"The rest of Phuket is served by..."motorcycle taxi's" False. Then again you go onto concede that yes actually we do also have motorbike taxis!

I treat Thais with respect, talk to them in their own language and find I get much more favourable rates than tourists with a bad attitude. Same goes pretty much everywhere I've lived and worked.

Way to rant! I live in Phuket, have down for years by the way, just not in Patong

I am also amused at your inability to comprehend what I wrote or follow the discussion. Readers of at least average intelligence will understand that my "False" statements were in direct response to your claim that the expensive Patong tuk tuks are only in Patong, and your suggestion that "the rest of Phuket" has affordable alternatives which you list as motorcycle taxi's, songteaws, taxi's, and cheaper than Patong tuk tuks..

As for local people not having an affordable way to get around the island, that's complete tosh. Most use motorbikes - what comes cheaper than that? Tuk Tuks operate in Patong, tourist central. The rest of Phuket is served by Songthaew, Taxis, Motorbike Taxis and cheaper than Patong Tuk Tuks...

As I explained quite clearly, you are wrong on either one or both of your points (availablilty and affordability) for each mode of transport you mentioned as each of these options you list are either not affordable, or not even available in other parts of Phuket counter to what you claim.

In fact, Kata/Karon tuk tuks are actually more expensive than Patongs. Anyone that has had to travel between Kata/Karon and Patong on a tuk tuk knows this. According to what one tuk tuk driver told me, this is due to the better orgainized Kata/Karon "co-op". . (It also explains why Kata/Karon has no motorcycle taxis.)

Phuket tuk tuks maybe slightly cheaper, but are still out of reach for most Thai's. When I tried to get a tuk tuk from Phuket Town inter-provencial bus station to the Phuket Town local bus (baht bus) station across town I was flat refused. The only option was 500B all the way to Kata. A distance that would have been 100B in an air-conditioned Bangkok taxi. Another BM just told me that when he uses a tuk tuk to trasport items from town to Chalong if he can't fit it all on his motorbike then he uses a tuk tuk. Cost is 350 baht for a trip that would be 70B in an air-conditioned Bangkok taxi.

As for your staff, they are either using privat;y hired song teaws or local baht buses. just about every hotel or resort of any size has to have it's own fleet of song teaws in order for their staff to get to and from work. "Song teaw" means "two rows" and refers to the two rows of benches in the back. Baht buses typically have a row running down the middle, but some also have just two. Song teaws are what Pattaya and Krabi have constantly circling around and between the beach destinations. A ride on which costs 20B or so, and usually "lady not pay" We do not have this song teaw system. If I am not mistaken, even the baht bus prices are up to 50B now. And again, there is no baht bus running between the beach areas directly due violent mafia action.

Any reasoably intelligent reader would also understand what I was saying with the photo's I posted. Most people can count, too. In one you can clearly see that 8 average to large size people can fit in the back of one. In another you see people riding on the back which is not uncommon when you have a lot of people in one tuk tuk. Add one or two more in the cab there is 10 or 11. And that's full sized people. With kids or smaller women more is possible. I'm sorry you can't seem to put the logical peieces together like everyone else, but when I Googled "10 large Egyptions in one tuk tuk." nothing came up.

Locals needing to buy their own bikes is not comical in the least. It's tragic. It is an established fact repeated by the media on many occasions. This not only resaults in additional traffic but also resaults in an increase in injuries and fatalities. All due to the fact that these poor people have no, or very little, alternatives.

Edited July 3, 2012 by NomadJoe

[Nigel1500]

10 more happy tourists. Keep up the good work.

Sorry, I don't agree. The deal was 6 tourists for 300bt. That's 50bt per tourist.

The tuk-tuk driver can count to 10, so can I.

He only wanted an extra 100bt for the other 4 tourists. That's a great discount. The Egyptian should have been ecstatic.

But no, the 10 rich tourists had to try and scam the tuk-tuk driver, didn't they!

For what? 100bt .... that's three freakin' dollars .... for heaven's sake!

Was it worth it for $3? They've probably spent $15,000 between the 10 of them for this holiday ... and they're making a fuss over $3.

I am THOROUGHLY SICK AND TIRED of this sort of attitude from foreigners towards Thai workers.

Wake up .... the lot of you!

I'm usually charged 70-100bt. I always tip a tuk-tuk driver a 20. I always tip a taxi driver a 50. For a buck or two, we both walk away with a smile.

We all tip in the US, UK, or Australia ... but when we get to Bangkok, rich tourists suddenly turn into misers, scrouges, and whingers.

Where is that tuk-tuk driver? I'll pay his fine - for the moral wrong - and shout him and his family dinner for standing up for himself!

3 cheers

i did not realize taxi's charge per person, NOT for the distance

I never said they did !!! .... Taxi's charge per km ... a tuk-tuk is a different form of transport. It doesn't have a meter. The fare is negotiated. The driver can factor in the distance, number of passengers, ease of journey, time of day, etc. The point is, it is a negotiated deal. The tourist broke the contract the instant he tried to pile extra people on board.

This is the problem some tourists and foreigners have. They try to change the rules or apply western values to Thai society ... and then blame the Thai when things go awry.

If you want to pay by the km then get in a taxi and pay the metered fare.

If you want to negotiate with a tuk-tuk driver then at least honour the deal that is struck.