Phuket Illegal Taxi Amnesty To End November 1

[webfact]

Phuket illegal taxi amnesty to end November 1

Phuket Gazette

Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada shows the stickers that must be displayed on all taxis whether or not they are legal or going through the licensing process. Photo: Atchaa Khamlo

PHUKET: -- All illegal taxis operating in Phuket must be “stickered” and in the process of becoming legal by November 1, said Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen has announced.

“There are still 2,882 illegal taxi cars in 186 taxi centers in Phuket. Only 150 have completed the [licensing] procedure and have been issued green plates,” V/Gov Chamroen told a meeting of officials at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday.

There will be a delay of about 180 days before all legal taxis are sporting green license plates, he added.

As the taxis go through the process of becoming legal, they must display stickers on both sides of the car bearing the taxi car number, the name of the owner in both English and Thai and the complaint number (1584), he explained.

“The name of the driver and the taxi fares will be displayed inside the taxi,” he said.

A land transportation committee from Bangkok is expected to arrive on Monday and examine all 186 taxi centers to ensure that the system is in place, said Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) chief Teerayut Prasertpol.

“If they find any of them using illegal taxi cars that are not currently in the process of being converted into legal taxis, they will issue the car owner with a warning. However, after November 1 any illegal taxi car owner and driver operating will face the law,” Mr Teerayut said.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...er-1-19209.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-10-19

[weescotsguy66]

Nothing can beat the Phuket Mafia it will never work

[Valentine]

Nothing can beat the Phuket Mafia it will never work

The mafia probably already control the issue of the stickers & collect an ongoing fee.

[Semper]

Nothing can beat the Phuket Mafia it will never work

What if all tourists avoided the place?

[NomadJoe]

The transport system choking this island to death is worse than I previously thought. The number of noticeable illegal "black" taxi's has exploded 10 fold since this campaign started. Previously you could not tell who was a taxi as they were all under the radar. Now that all black taxi's have to have the name of the driver on the door and the "1584" number on the side, it is shocking how many there are. Every other car on Phuket appears to be a black taxi. It is very, very rare to see proper green plates on any of these which means not only are they collecting the now official extortionate fare of 800-1000B for a ride that is 190B in a Bangkok metered taxi, but they also aren't paying tax on it! Even many of the "proper" ones with the "KT" (Karon Taxi Federation) or Patong Taxi Federation logo on the door aren't registered taxis (don't have green plates) and avoid registration and taxes by using white private car plates. Many of them aren't even registered in Phuket! And if you look at many of these taxi's, they are often beemers, high spec accords, fortuners, MU-7's etc. with expensive aftermarket rims and tires, brembo brakes, stereo systems etc., and many are brand now still on red plates or have no plates at all! I will have to take some pics and post them. With no education, one can work for the taxi mafia in Phuket and earn more money than professions which take years of study. A friends parents arrived last week and were charged 4000B for a trip from the airport to Kata!!! Another tourist told me yesterday they were charged 1800B!! These guys are criminals, plain and simple.

Edited October 19, 2012 by NomadJoe

[KarenBravo]

There is a shortage of the proper green plates. All the drivers that don't have them yet, are carrying the correct legal paperwork.

It says in one article that all taxis will have the correct plates within 180 days.

My own regular "illegal" taxi driver who has joined the scheme answered 10,000 when I asked him how many legal taxis are now on the roads here.

[steelepulse]

There is a shortage of the proper green plates. All the drivers that don't have them yet, are carrying the correct legal paperwork.

It says in one article that all taxis will have the correct plates within 180 days.

My own regular "illegal" taxi driver who has joined the scheme answered 10,000 when I asked him how many legal taxis are now on the roads here.

There goes 10,000 publicly available parking spots now being dominated by black taxis. I wonder if these black (soon to be green in 180 days) taxis have insurance that covers passengers in an accident up to an international acceptable level?

[LivinginKata]

Just the other day I remarked to my wife about all these cars with yellow stickers on the doors. So so many of them. Just read this article and all became clearer. Yes, just shows how many other taxis are on the roads.

[BabyJebus]

And all of them are crazy monsters behind the wheel. Everyday i see a few of these stickers almost killing many people. They do love to change to the oposite lane in small streets when theres 4-5 cars in front of them and oncoming traffic

[KarenBravo]

And all of them are crazy monsters behind the wheel. Everyday i see a few of these stickers almost killing many people. They do love to change to the oposite lane in small streets when theres 4-5 cars in front of them and oncoming traffic

No, not all of them. I wouldn't be using the same guy I've used for six years if I wasn't happy with his driving.

[NamKangMan]

There is a shortage of the proper green plates. All the drivers that don't have them yet, are carrying the correct legal paperwork.

It says in one article that all taxis will have the correct plates within 180 days.

My own regular "illegal" taxi driver who has joined the scheme answered 10,000 when I asked him how many legal taxis are now on the roads here.

10,000 taxis and no free market with competition in operation. You have to hand it to the "influential people" - they've created a nice little earner with this one.

Your transport costs for your holiday can be more than your accommodation, and in some cases, your journey from the airport to your hotel, can be more than the cost of your domestic flight to the island.

Apparently, Phuket is a "World Class Tourist Destination." They certainly have "World Class" corruption here, that's for sure.

Edited October 19, 2012 by NamKangMan

[jeroentak]

So now we know which taxis to avoid. The ones with the sticker on the door.

As well as the Tuk Tuk of course. Only use meter taxi !!! Phuket airport- Patong

500 bath that is including about 50-80 bath tip. I use them all the time and pick me

up at home when I need to go to the airport. They are normally nice guys and their

driving is oke.

[Methane]

Nothing can beat the Phuket Mafia it will never work

What if all tourists avoided the place?

They should--it's an absolute dump!

[Chads]

Nothing can beat the Phuket Mafia it will never work

What if all tourists avoided the place?

Which they wouldn't.

[noob7]

Nothing can beat the Phuket Mafia it will never work

And they finding other options, anyway.

Funny story, an hour ago:

I drove behind a silver Camry 2.0 G, today. Pro driver, for sure! I passed, like the land traffic act is telling, the right lane blockers in the left lane, the pro driver used the oncoming right lane for it!

But back to the funny part:

The Camry had sticker on the side, green license plate, but: The plate was a bit different, to most of the other plates, I've seen. The numbers looked odd, the green painted, Plus no stamp on the plate.

Is topped at a 7/11, to buy some things. On the road again, I had a kind of a dejavue:

I got passed from a silver Camry 2.0 G, via the oncoming traffics right lane. Ok, as usual, but:

Same stickers on the side, green plate, and the same letters/numbers on it.

So same car, when did he turn? He was right in front of me, when I stopped for the 7/11.

But:

This plate looked like it should look, not painted,all numbers fine. And it got the stamp in the right bottom corner.

How many illegal taxis are to expect on Phuket? I thought once, I had the same thing spottet at 2 Tuk Tuk's, but wasn't 100% sure.

But today, 100%, djingdjing!

Edited October 20, 2012 by noob7

[asiawatcher]

The transport system choking this island to death is worse than I previously thought. The number of noticeable illegal "black" taxi's has exploded 10 fold since this campaign started. Previously you could not tell who was a taxi as they were all under the radar. Now that all black taxi's have to have the name of the driver on the door and the "1584" number on the side, it is shocking how many there are. Every other car on Phuket appears to be a black taxi. It is very, very rare to see proper green plates on any of these which means not only are they collecting the now official extortionate fare of 800-1000B for a ride that is 190B in a Bangkok metered taxi, but they also aren't paying tax on it! Even many of the "proper" ones with the "KT" (Karon Taxi Federation) or Patong Taxi Federation logo on the door aren't registered taxis (don't have green plates) and avoid registration and taxes by using white private car plates. Many of them aren't even registered in Phuket! And if you look at many of these taxi's, they are often beemers, high spec accords, fortuners, MU-7's etc. with expensive aftermarket rims and tires, brembo brakes, stereo systems etc., and many are brand now still on red plates or have no plates at all! I will have to take some pics and post them. With no education, one can work for the taxi mafia in Phuket and earn more money than professions which take years of study. A friends parents arrived last week and were charged 4000B for a trip from the airport to Kata!!! Another tourist told me yesterday they were charged 1800B!! These guys are criminals, plain and simple.

Phuket is a cesspool of scum buckets from the armchair mafia on the beaches, jet skis in the water, taxi drivers, and so on. How do you warn the public a metered ride and a green plate is essential. No red plates, no meters and stupid prices. If you sat outside the airport with a banner on your car (they must be doing a roaring trade in creating these counterfeit stickers too), to warn people that only a green plate and a meter guarantees you honesty, the mafia would beat you up or even shoot you without fear of reprisal. Speaking of which, if you are local and don't join in the scam you also are subjected to fatal threats. And as always the B.i.B. stand by and let it happen.

I don't have any answers as corruption in this country is just impossible to fully fathom.

[noob7]

The transport system choking this island to death is worse than I previously thought. The number of noticeable illegal "black" taxi's has exploded 10 fold since this campaign started. Previously you could not tell who was a taxi as they were all under the radar. Now that all black taxi's have to have the name of the driver on the door and the "1584" number on the side, it is shocking how many there are. Every other car on Phuket appears to be a black taxi. It is very, very rare to see proper green plates on any of these which means not only are they collecting the now official extortionate fare of 800-1000B for a ride that is 190B in a Bangkok metered taxi, but they also aren't paying tax on it! Even many of the "proper" ones with the "KT" (Karon Taxi Federation) or Patong Taxi Federation logo on the door aren't registered taxis (don't have green plates) and avoid registration and taxes by using white private car plates. Many of them aren't even registered in Phuket! And if you look at many of these taxi's, they are often beemers, high spec accords, fortuners, MU-7's etc. with expensive aftermarket rims and tires, brembo brakes, stereo systems etc., and many are brand now still on red plates or have no plates at all! I will have to take some pics and post them. With no education, one can work for the taxi mafia in Phuket and earn more money than professions which take years of study. A friends parents arrived last week and were charged 4000B for a trip from the airport to Kata!!! Another tourist told me yesterday they were charged 1800B!! These guys are criminals, plain and simple.

Phuket is a cesspool of scum buckets from the armchair mafia on the beaches, jet skis in the water, taxi drivers, and so on. How do you warn the public a metered ride and a green plate is essential. No red plates, no meters and stupid prices. If you sat outside the airport with a banner on your car (they must be doing a roaring trade in creating these counterfeit stickers too), to warn people that only a green plate and a meter guarantees you honesty, the mafia would beat you up or even shoot you without fear of reprisal. Speaking of which, if you are local and don't join in the scam you also are subjected to fatal threats. And as always the B.i.B. stand by and let it happen.

I don't have any answers as corruption in this country is just impossible to fully fathom.

Meter taxis are on yellow plates!

[madmitch]

Confused.

Another news source states that the deadline has been extended until the end of February.

[kagan]

I love these articles and comments, proves my point that Phuket is a hell hole

[NomadJoe]

The transport system choking this island to death is worse than I previously thought. The number of noticeable illegal "black" taxi's has exploded 10 fold since this campaign started. Previously you could not tell who was a taxi as they were all under the radar. Now that all black taxi's have to have the name of the driver on the door and the "1584" number on the side, it is shocking how many there are. Every other car on Phuket appears to be a black taxi. It is very, very rare to see proper green plates on any of these which means not only are they collecting the now official extortionate fare of 800-1000B for a ride that is 190B in a Bangkok metered taxi, but they also aren't paying tax on it! Even many of the "proper" ones with the "KT" (Karon Taxi Federation) or Patong Taxi Federation logo on the door aren't registered taxis (don't have green plates) and avoid registration and taxes by using white private car plates. Many of them aren't even registered in Phuket! And if you look at many of these taxi's, they are often beemers, high spec accords, fortuners, MU-7's etc. with expensive aftermarket rims and tires, brembo brakes, stereo systems etc., and many are brand now still on red plates or have no plates at all! I will have to take some pics and post them. With no education, one can work for the taxi mafia in Phuket and earn more money than professions which take years of study. A friends parents arrived last week and were charged 4000B for a trip from the airport to Kata!!! Another tourist told me yesterday they were charged 1800B!! These guys are criminals, plain and simple.

Phuket is a cesspool of scum buckets from the armchair mafia on the beaches, jet skis in the water, taxi drivers, and so on. How do you warn the public a metered ride and a green plate is essential. No red plates, no meters and stupid prices. If you sat outside the airport with a banner on your car (they must be doing a roaring trade in creating these counterfeit stickers too), to warn people that only a green plate and a meter guarantees you honesty, the mafia would beat you up or even shoot you without fear of reprisal. Speaking of which, if you are local and don't join in the scam you also are subjected to fatal threats. And as always the B.i.B. stand by and let it happen.

I don't have any answers as corruption in this country is just impossible to fully fathom.

Meter taxis are on yellow plates!

Yes they are a different category As I recall it's something to do with them being under the "public transport" umbrella and not just private companies like the "limo" service. Tuktuks are yellow as well.

[NomadJoe]

I love these articles and comments, proves my point that Phuket is a hell hole

Actually Phuket is a fantastic place with a few problems like anywhere else, the biggest of which is the lack of public transport. Patong, well that is a different story. But Patong is a very very small part of Phuket.

[Chads]

I love these articles and comments, proves my point that Phuket is a hell hole

Actually Phuket is a fantastic place with a few problems like anywhere else, the biggest of which is the lack of public transport. Patong, well that is a different story. But Patong is a very very small part of Phuket.

Totally agree. Patong is where the main problems are. Where I live in Phuket Town, it's really enjoyable and as good as other great places to live in Thailand.