Asking "permission" From Taxi Drivers

[Donnie Brasco]

I really don't care if they are legally obliged by the terms of their licenses to take you where you want to go.

Who really wants to get into a taxi and make him go somewhere he has said he would prefer to stay out of ?

Wait and take another one for gawd's sake.

Bangkok taxis are about the world's cheapest.

This is just one more example of your basic silly TV reader tosspots who get into a snit because hey can't "enforce" the standards and practices from over 'ome, over 'ere. The wai things ah doon in the Youuu Kaaay.

Most taxis, even the drivers who can speak a little English can't understand the fractured pronunciations these idiots bring to Thai place names anyway.

[Donnie Brasco]

I'm not going to push her into a confrontation with a fellow Thai;

Firstly, why would you want to push anyone into a confrontation with anyone, irrespective of their nationality?

Secondly, you have your own, kinda 'these are the rules, I'm gonna make people stick to them' way of getting taxis, but your wife and plenty of other people (myself included) have their own way of doing things.

Why do you want to change her behaviour? What difference would it make? If you flag a taxi down, state your destination and you get "ไม่ไป" as the response, get another one.

Relax. This is small stuff. You could, if you wanted to, turn it into big 'I know I'm right and I'm gonna prove it' stuff, but where would it get you?

It might get you to where you're going slightly quicker, but it might also get you nowhere, fast.

Why pick a fight over taxis? Hardly worth it really. Attempting to modify other people's behaviour is, in my opinion, rarely successful, contentious, argumentative, annoying, and slightly egotistical.

Many things are cultural differences, some things are just differences in the way individuals behave.

I think this is the latter.

"White-Man's-Burden-itis"

[Donnie Brasco]

Has anyone found a diplomatic way of bridging this gap between driver & the Thai wife/gf?

As "the man" in Thailand interacting with such people is your job, not hers.

You speak with the driver, she stands quietly in the background.

She shouldn't be speaking with the driver when out with you, and she knows it.

She owns you in all your foreigner glory and she wants this taxi driver to know it.

[robblok]

I really don't care if they are legally obliged by the terms of their licenses to take you where you want to go.

Who really wants to get into a taxi and make him go somewhere he has said he would prefer to stay out of ?

Wait and take another one for gawd's sake.

Bangkok taxis are about the world's cheapest.

This is just one more example of your basic silly TV reader tosspots who get into a snit because hey can't "enforce" the standards and practices from over 'ome, over 'ere. The wai things ah doon in the Youuu Kaaay.

Most taxis, even the drivers who can speak a little English can't understand the fractured pronunciations these idiots bring to Thai place names anyway.

Do you read the newspapers.. talk with normal Thais living in BKK

They recently started enforcing it and opened a center for complaint and a thai app for them. So its about Thais enforcing Thai things.

Now a bit later there was a group of taxi drivers who voved to take everyone everywhere because they hated their bad name.

So its a Thai thing just read the articles posted here.

[richard_smith237]

TIT is your answer! THIS IS THAILAND. Get used to it or leave!

Typical attitude of someone who has been here way too long.

No... Its the typical attitude of someone who lacks the skill to articulate something intelligent....

[soundman]

Troll card removed. Board members are entitled to their opinions.

[Donnie Brasco]

Reading your account of the way you treated a probably 45kg shop assistant and and reffering it to a ' battle '. ( how childish ) and then seeing you were a great military hero and manager I personally think you are an out and out bully and hope one day a taxi driver gives you a slap.

Loved it, Mr. Buffalo ;-)

I just *loved* it :-)

[Newguy70]

TIT is your answer! THIS IS THAILAND. Get used to it or leave!

Typical attitude of someone who has been here way too long.

No... Its the typical attitude of someone who lacks the skill to articulate something intelligent....

And your addressing? Edited April 26, 2013 by Newguy70

[bermondburi]

I'm from London & we always advise the driver where we want to go before getting in. Alot of them wont go a certain route because it is not cost effective for them. Asking a driver if they will take you is good manners, they are under no obligation to do so.

but actually they are , if the light is on it is illegal for them to refuse the fare .

[isawasnake]

Question: is there an official position on whether or not you are required to pay the taxi fare if the driver does not take you to your destination.... and kinda tells you to get out.

[isawasnake]

I'm from London & we always advise the driver where we want to go before getting in. Alot of them wont go a certain route because it is not cost effective for them. Asking a driver if they will take you is good manners, they are under no obligation to do so.

but actually they are , if the light is on it is illegal for them to refuse the fare .

This is one of those "laws" that nobody follows or enforces though. So why do we always bring it up? There are many "laws" that fall in this category, in all countries.... j-walking......

In short, this is just a "law" to increase tourist confidence, but effectively, it is not a law at all. So why do we bother to cite it over and over.

[CaptHaddock]

In New York City, where it has long been the rule that a taxi driver has to take you anywhere in the city, I am very aggressive in demanding such service. Of course, in New York City aggression itself is a long-standing local custom. Here in Bangkok I ask before entering the cab for several reasons: the rule change is recent and not fully accepted by the cabbies and it's a way of reducing the chance of encountering one of the psychopath drivers of whom I have heard so much. I must say that in my experience so far, the taxi drivers here have been way more polite than they ever were in NYC.

[whistleblower]

Sorry, I agree with your wife. There are tens of thousands of taxis in this city, why force someone to go somewhere they don't want to go. All the farang I hear constantly moaning about taxi problems in Thailand all do it like you do. Just barge in to someone's taxi and start treating them like a servant rather than a partner. It's just considered rude here, regardless if the law says they have to take all customers, and if you act rude to them they will do the same in return. It also marks you out as a newbie and they are more likely to try taxi scams on you, as long term farang usually don't do this. Besides being polite it is for your own benefit to ask first

1. Force someone to go where they don't want to go? - They are a taxi service, taxi's take you where YOU want to go. That is there job.

2. Treating them like a servant? - For the purpose of the journey you are hiring them, not the other way round. I don't treat any taxi driver or service employee as a partner in any country. You are hiring them not going into business with them. Does treating them like a partner mean the taxi driver has to go 50/50 on the fare?

3. It is considered rude here? - Utter <deleted>. The Thais have a knack/tradition of walking all over people they think are lesser mortals to them.

4. Regardless if its the law? - So you have gone native? You have the same don't give a shit attitude to the law as the Thais?

5. Marks you out as a newbie/taxi scams? - So until you have done time as a newbie and getting ripped off by taxis you don't deserve decent treatment?

6. Long term farangs don't do this? - I have been here 15 years. And I do it! The sooner these mafia taxis realize there is a law that they have to take all fares, the better. Let them get away with it and Bangkok will soon have the problem Phuket is having. Oh and by the way I think long termers here no longer refer to themselves as FARANG.

7. The only time I have seen 10's of thousands of taxis is on weekends along Sukhumvit road around the tourist spots where these gentle, docile, polite farmers from Isaan will charge you 5 times the going rate to get to where you want to go.

The reason we have jet ski scams, taxi scams, gem scams, taxi mafia in Phuket, corrupt police etc is that a lot of people put up with it and come out with that classic line 'T.I.T'.

If more tourists/expats complained, more outside media highlighted it and more Embassies supported their citizens, then somethings MIGHT change!

So by berating fellow expats and making excuses for Thai's, you are not part of the solution, YOU are part of the problem!!

[Stradavarius37]

Just relax dude - you'll live longer

[fotog]

"failure to do so is a reportable offense."

Reportable to whom? Drivers going through red lights, failing to stop at cross-walks, failing to yield the right of way, motorcycles using side walks / foot paths to circumvent 15 second cross-walks, and so forth. Who do you think really cares? The police?

"Has anyone found a diplomatic way of bridging this gap between driver & the Thai wife/gf?"

Yes, just let the driver not use the meter; they like that.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Several bickering/flame posts removed.

[corkythecat]

I was taking a sick THAI baby back from Bangkok Christian, and got in a taxi near Patpong. The journey was about 1-2 km North.

The taxi driver refused, I got out to take a pic of number plate, and he dumped the baby on the sidewalk. It was stall setting up time and even the locals shouted at him.

I was hyperventilating ( a novel and very distressing experience). as I carried the baby to the Police Box on Surawong, the policeman was apparently sympathetic and made a few phone calls. I had all the details of the taxi. I was also given a 'phone number.

The outcome, Nothing !.

[fotog]

Anyone remember this story?

Bangkok taxi drivers lend a beating hand

http://www.thephuketnews.com/bangkok-taxi-drivers-lend-a-beating-hand-31274.php

[whistleblower]

I was taking a sick THAI baby back from Bangkok Christian, and got in a taxi near Patpong. The journey was about 1-2 km North.

The taxi driver refused, I got out to take a pic of number plate, and he dumped the baby on the sidewalk. It was stall setting up time and even the locals shouted at him.

I was hyperventilating ( a novel and very distressing experience). as I carried the baby to the Police Box on Surawong, the policeman was apparently sympathetic and made a few phone calls. I had all the details of the taxi. I was also given a 'phone number.

The outcome, Nothing !.

Whilst I sympathise with your experience, its unfortunate that in this country life is cheap. Cruel heartless bastards that only care about something if they have bought it!!

I hope the baby didn't suffer because of your unfortunate experience.

[dr_lucas]

I think this rule about drivers being compelled to take you, no matter your destination, has gotten blown out of proportion. It may be technically true, but it is also illegal to have anal sex with your wife in parts of the US. Effectively, this is NOT a law. I think foreigners just need to forget it; they will all be better off. I gear this line of complaint far too often.

Actually taxi drivers are legally obliged to take you anywhere as long as they are on duty (red light turned on).

Failing to do so can and should be reported to the police, department of transportation and other agencies via their phone lines and Twitter (there is even a smartphone app for that) and will supposedly follow

- a 1,000 Bahts fine

- confiscation of the driver's taxi driving license, for 15 days.

- 20 points cut from the license

Full details: http://www.manacomputers.com/taxi-report-1197/

[lomatopo]

This is a popular topic, which many find challenging:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/606612-gallant-bangkok-taxi-driver-says-hell-take-anybody-anywhere/?view=findpost&p=5953943&hl=%2Btaxi+%2Bask+%2Bdestination

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/603495-taxis-do-you-ask-or-command-your-destination/?view=findpost&p=5923440&hl=%2Btaxi+%2Bask+%2Bdestination

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/581983-get-in-the-taxi-first-then-tell-them-where-to-go/?view=findpost&p=5644638&hl=%2Btaxi+%2Bask+%2Bdestination

The local custom seems to be to wave the taxi down form the curb, open the rear door, say hello and state your destination along with any other special requests (tollway), then wait for the driver to accept.

I have no problems following this local custom, and do not find it overly vexing. Most shift changes happen at 04:00 and 16:00 so getting a taxi around those times can be challenging. Also I prefer not to wait in the NGV (or whatever propellant may be bottled up in the boot) if the driver does not have enough to get to my destination - and knows there may not be a station on the way.

I've seen two serious accidents where foreigners have jumped out of taxis on the street side yelling loudly about something (fare, or denied passage?) and then wiped out a passing motorcyclist.

Edited May 6, 2013 by lomatopo

[luckyluke]

dr_lucas,

maybe in theory .

As mention before, in Pattaya, no taxi will take you if he doesn't want and no taxi will put his meter on, the police or any other agency will just hang up if you call them for that matter.

[Razzler1973]

I really don't care if they are legally obliged by the terms of their licenses to take you where you want to go.

Who really wants to get into a taxi and make him go somewhere he has said he would prefer to stay out of ?

Wait and take another one for gawd's sake.

Bangkok taxis are about the world's cheapest.

This is just one more example of your basic silly TV reader tosspots who get into a snit because hey can't "enforce" the standards and practices from over 'ome, over 'ere. The wai things ah doon in the Youuu Kaaay.

Most taxis, even the drivers who can speak a little English can't understand the fractured pronunciations these idiots bring to Thai place names anyway.

While your sweeping generalisations are fun, taxis refusing to take customers is not strictly a farang issue, they flatly refuse Thais as well that aren't going 'far enough' or in traffic or in the rain

[richard_smith237]

I really don't care if they are legally obliged by the terms of their licenses to take you where you want to go.

Who really wants to get into a taxi and make him go somewhere he has said he would prefer to stay out of ?

Wait and take another one for gawd's sake.

Bangkok taxis are about the world's cheapest.

This is just one more example of your basic silly TV reader tosspots who get into a snit because hey can't "enforce" the standards and practices from over 'ome, over 'ere. The wai things ah doon in the Youuu Kaaay.

Most taxis, even the drivers who can speak a little English can't understand the fractured pronunciations these idiots bring to Thai place names anyway.

While your sweeping generalisations are fun, taxis refusing to take customers is not strictly a farang issue, they flatly refuse Thais as well that aren't going 'far enough' or in traffic or in the rain

And the Thai's are equally irritated by such practices... In fact, the Thai's in general are more irritated by this issue than the Westerners as the Taxi's are sometimes avoiding Thai customers in favour of Western Customers who are know to tip more (according to some Thai forums my Wife reads).

I too wish not to go in a taxi who's driver doesn't wish to take me. However, if this happens 4-5 times in a row it becomes very irritating.

And while I understand the many reasons why a taxi driver may not wish to take me; i.e. end of shift, not enough fuel and no station on the way or near the area, the fact of the matter is that the rejections occur far too often for this to be a genuine reason.

The majority of reason is that the taxi is trying is luck for a more profitable / convenient fare.

Sukhumvit Soi 11 is terrible for taxi's saying rejecting a fare, as such the traffic is backed up and it takes 30mins to simply exit the soi due to taxi's hanging on for a favourable fare.

Is it a big deal - No? but it's irritating...

Edited May 7, 2013 by richard_smith237

[richard_smith237]

Bridging the Gap between Thai Wife and Taxi driver...

A few years ago I came the realisation (although my Wife didn't agree) that the Taxi drivers at night (2am etc) are less polite and in some cases more despicable than those who work in the day time.

With such realisation I also noticed that when I spoke to the driver things went more smoothly, however, when my Wife spoke to the driver they were sometimes a little rude thinking I don't understand etc..

So, I made a rule - At night, I deal with the taxi driver.. Man to Man so to speak, the night drivers appeared to respond better to this.

And, if we took a taxi in the day time, my Wife stated our destination to the taxi driver.

Various resins for this exist: But perhaps the 'less polite' drivers working at night time respond better to a men, and see weakness in a Woman asking for transit while a man stands by mute. I suspect this sometimes subtle shift of attitude to be subconscious, nevertheless, at times a taxi driver responds negatively to Women at night, whereas they respond more positively to a man stating his destination firmly, but politely...

So.. Bridging the Gap between taxi driver and Wife ? Don't bridge the gap.. Step over the Gap and deal with the driver directly.

This all comes down to basic human interaction. People judge each other within seconds of meeting, albeit subconsciously.

With a decent taxi driver there really is never any issue and many taxi drivers are gentlemen.

A 'non-decent' taxi driver is more likely to fein subservience and not become an a-hole with someone who gives off confidence and strength.

[Razzler1973]

I bet those Thai forums are fun, does she hide the farang comments from you but just look at you sideways after threads like 'how to get them to do what you want' and stuff like that

As I mentioned earlier, we have a complaints type central taxi depot here in Dubai and we have the same issues about not wanting to take passengers will I call that number up and report their taxi number and they get fined 200 AED (2K baht)

I see someone mentioned above you have a similar thing in BKK now, although not sure if they'll actually get fined, here, they do get fined. I have no qualms about using it either. I don't want to report but I live where I live or I want to go where I want to go and it's not up to cabbies to tell me they don't fancy it

What next, bus drivers just deciding they don't want to stop at certain stops and taking a short cut?