Phuket airport meter taxi mafia on video.....

[Rorri]

Somtamnication, on 14 Apr 2014 - 18:54, said:Somtamnication, on 14 Apr 2014 - 18:54, said:Somtamnication, on 14 Apr 2014 - 18:54, said:

FireMedic, on 14 Apr 2014 - 15:52, said:FireMedic, on 14 Apr 2014 - 15:52, said:FireMedic, on 14 Apr 2014 - 15:52, said:

Somtamnication, on 14 Apr 2014 - 15:40, said:Somtamnication, on 14 Apr 2014 - 15:40, said:Somtamnication, on 14 Apr 2014 - 15:40, said:

Forward it to the governor. He will be interested in it, especially once it is up on youtube.

I'm fresh out of his email address. I have forwarded it to local media and we will see what happens.....likely nothing.

Send it to Claire and thephuketnews. She is always looking to rock the boat.

Not if it involves the governor...they treat him as a "protected" species. Be critical and your comment is not posted, be favourable and it's posted. Perhaps being critical is why the consuls meetings were cancelled.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Rorri

[spidermike007]

Who cares about these videos? As if they are revealing something new. This has been going on for years now. The authorities in both Phuket and Samui have zero interest in controlling this. Nothing buy occasional lip service. And then it is 200 baht for a 1 km. ride. Taxis and tuk tuks both. A mafia operation, that is more powerful than the police. They own the cops. They control the cops. The cops do nothing. They are complicit in the criminal acts perpetrated by these thieves. Nobody cares, except the tourists who are getting fleeced by these animals. Does Yingluck care? No. Does the state governor care? No. Does the mayor care? No.

[NamKangMan]

Well done OP.

Bad publicity is something that is understood here.

"Bad publicity is something that is understood here." - loss of money is understood more than bad publicity here.

Edited April 17, 2014 by NamKangMan

[bankei]

Firemedic, you did this in a very American like way. Why were you speaking to them in English for a start? And why in a loud and condenscending voice at rapid pace. This is not America and not an English speaking country. most people in the tourist industry only know basic English.

Why SMS for help at the taxi meter as if it were an emergency- you weren't in need of help. All this is just a dispute over prices.

Your constant threats of putting this on youtube were amusing.

If you don't want to pay the prices why not arrange your own transport?

Bankei

[Bkungbank]

This is not touts standing in front of gates looking for customer this is taxi counter provide by AOT is something ridiculous unaccepted and TAT wanted to reach target 700 Billions from tourist income have rally tackle is problems seriously as normal fare is 600-900 Baht to Patong or Karon beach okay midnight charge addition 200-300 Baht but not 1,700 Baht in Bangkok you can go to Pattaya already with this price.

[NamKangMan]

Firemedic, you did this in a very American like way. Why were you speaking to them in English for a start? And why in a loud and condenscending voice at rapid pace. This is not America and not an English speaking country. most people in the tourist industry only know basic English.

Why SMS for help at the taxi meter as if it were an emergency- you weren't in need of help. All this is just a dispute over prices.

Your constant threats of putting this on youtube were amusing.

If you don't want to pay the prices why not arrange your own transport?

Bankei

By law, they MUST use the meter. The OP informed them he was filming, and that it would be used as evidence, and even then, they still refused to abide by the law and use the meter.

No "dispute" over prices. They were breaking the law and didn't even care they were filmed doing so.

When a police officer did arrive, he did nothing, and the offence was still being committed, right in front of him, with such impunity. It's a disgrace.

[empireboy]

I will never understand, why people wants to visit Phuket....

A boring, dirty and overpriced place. A lot of scam and rip off.

Yea, some 10 million or so tourists per year, all obviously misunderstood........

Please DON'T tell the tourists to go anywhere else.... let's keep them all in one place and keep the nicer places the way are for longer...

Edited April 17, 2014 by empireboy

[bander]

" If the taxi mafia pay the police, and the police take me home for free...I guess I just got a ride from the airport to my house for free courtesy of the taxi mafia."

There is no IF....BIB charge the taxi mafia on the next payoff for this "delivery" case closed

[NamKangMan]

" If the taxi mafia pay the police, and the police take me home for free...I guess I just got a ride from the airport to my house for free courtesy of the taxi mafia."

There is no IF....BIB charge the taxi mafia on the next payoff for this "delivery" case closed

Shouldn't the police officer involved arrest himself for being a "black taxi?"

[ggt]

I will never understand, why people wants to visit Phuket....

A boring, dirty and overpriced place. A lot of scam and rip off.

My experience...this holds true for most of Thailand...LOS...Land of Scammers...

[FireMedic]

Firemedic, you did this in a very American like way. Why were you speaking to them in English for a start? And why in a loud and condenscending voice at rapid pace. This is not America and not an English speaking country. most people in the tourist industry only know basic English.

Why SMS for help at the taxi meter as if it were an emergency- you weren't in need of help. All this is just a dispute over prices.

Your constant threats of putting this on youtube were amusing.

If you don't want to pay the prices why not arrange your own transport?

Bankei

Thank you for the geography and cultural lesson. I'm very sorry if this was too American for you but it wasn't scripted and I wasn't sure which parts where actually going on Youtube. There is a separate issue involving the Tourist Police that I haven't been public about, although you can hear me reference it in the video. If you read my earlier posts you will see why I forced to use the taxis. My normal driver was most likely not allowed to pick me up.

[dorlemon]

. I probably just signed my own death warrant for posting this stuff.

yep

Don't open your door in night time - or say it clearly: they won't knock at your front door ...

[Peterphuket]

I remember the first metered taxis coming to Phuket, about 12 years ago if I remember well, 4 pieces, licenseplate numbered 1 to 4, the first weeks the price from the airport to Patong was about 400 THB, not long after they rising the price with 100B if you start at the aipor, because they make a deal with the tuktukmafia. Also I remember when i ordered a taxi from the apartment I live in Patong the taxi drivers where very scared about the tuktukdrivers, many times the don't show-up when I order the taxi's. What an unbelievable BS is it now, I live here now more than 15 years but every day again I'm surprised, and like the traficdeads, it will never finish.

[KIWIBATCH]

Good on you for capturing those videos.........Post them on Youtube and any other sites you can think of

[FireMedic]

Good on you for capturing those videos.........Post them on Youtube and any other sites you can think of

I did already. It would be helpful if everyone else did too. Thanks!

[stickylies]

brave but useless...

ps. u "live" here but u still don't get the concept of "smile" here...

[stickylies]

By law, they MUST use the meter.

by law prostitution is illegal here however many a farang comes for paid sex.

by law driving motorbike w/out licence is illegal. many farang drive bikes w/out dr licence.

by law ... another 10.000 examples where most farang don't mind the law not being enforced when it's in their advantage.

[Lokie]

I arrived from Singapore on 11.04.14 at around 6 pm.

Paid the Meter Taxi woman 100 Baht.

The driver turned the meter on.

In Kata the meter showed 690 Baht.

The driver was good and polite.

He said his name was Gipsy.

That is usually how it supposed to be. I'm reading in other places it started on the 12th.

March I paid the 100B and used the meter, the small digit (extras) was set to 3? I was on my Jack (but unfortunately I do enjoy the odd beer or two...) anyway to my place in Patong on meter was 640B, driver was polite and cab was clean enough, I am sure it was the same woman Trout , sorry I mean tout at the Taxi meter Office. The Thai lad who runs me to airport did tell me last time could I pay him before we left as he not want any problems at airport??

Two days ago my brother got a taxi meter from Swampy all the way to Chumpare (9hrs) was 4,900Bhat (he is a loon) Now how much would that have been by a Phuket Taxi meter? lol

[mikeynodosh]

Usually I have an older lady who takes me back and forth for 600....She said she was unable to get me from the airport but didn't give a reason. I have a strong belief that she was well aware of what was going on and would not be welcome there. I was really tired after working for 4 days straight in Singapore and lost my mind. I probably just signed my own death warrant for posting this stuff.

Its against the law they made a big thing about it 2/3 years ago but everyone forgets so its business as usual

[Andre0720]

I will never understand, why people wants to visit Phuket....

A boring, dirty and overpriced place. A lot of scam and rip off.

Well, try my country.

Canada.

Perhaps not dirty, but very boring and extremely overpriced,,,,

Then come back to Phuket.

And tell me about your newfound love for Phuket....

[ghworker2010]

I will never understand, why people wants to visit Phuket....

A boring, dirty and overpriced place. A lot of scam and rip off.

I completely agree.... and it has the most angry and unfriendly thai's in thailand living there

[Nowisee]

Sadly these thieves and liars are not forward thinkers... fish until all the fish are gone, then stand there and wonder what happened.

I say every plane load of passengers that needs a taxi should protest out in front of the taxi stand, make a lot of noise, everyone video record, NO ONE pay the asking price and stop booking flights and hotels.

[paddyjenkins]

Came through the airport last night around 8PM.

Although I had my motorbike parked around the corner, when bugged by the so-called "limo" guys in blue shirts, I was quoted 2,000 baht to Rawai.

Over at the metered taxi stand, I asked how much and the lady told me 100 baht plus meter and for Rawai, it would probably run around 800-900 baht for the meter.

Yes, overpriced compared to many places in the world and especially anywhere else in Thailand.

But, not as bad as the video.

I assume it was a very busy time and prices go up accordingly.

Yes, it sucks that there is no standard.

But, those of us who live here know this and do our best to not get stuck without transport there.

Those who don't have a choice, will most likely go somewhere else, or rent a car I imagine.

Or pay of course.

sorry but i thought the taxi office at the airport displayed fixed prices, as opposed to 100baht plus meter? i am talking about the taxi office you get to after exiting and turning right.

[Arma]

Hate to say it, but this is pretty typical in LOS. You are not going to change it by throwing a farang fit. I think we all wish the thai would play by our rules - the problem is they play by their rules. By our standards this is a ripoff, but by their standards they are charging people they think have the $$ a price they can afford for a service they need. The same thing happens in New York all the time. I understand why this would make you mad, but hey, TiT.

[FireMedic]

Came through the airport last night around 8PM.

Although I had my motorbike parked around the corner, when bugged by the so-called "limo" guys in blue shirts, I was quoted 2,000 baht to Rawai.

Over at the metered taxi stand, I asked how much and the lady told me 100 baht plus meter and for Rawai, it would probably run around 800-900 baht for the meter.

Yes, overpriced compared to many places in the world and especially anywhere else in Thailand.

But, not as bad as the video.

I assume it was a very busy time and prices go up accordingly.

Yes, it sucks that there is no standard.

But, those of us who live here know this and do our best to not get stuck without transport there.

Those who don't have a choice, will most likely go somewhere else, or rent a car I imagine.

Or pay of course.

sorry but i thought the taxi office at the airport displayed fixed prices, as opposed to 100baht plus meter? i am talking about the taxi office you get to after exiting and turning right.

Strangely, there weren't the usually taxi guys hounding passengers on the inside. As soon as they stepped out, it was a mad swarm of taxi touts. This event happened down at the taxi meter office down at the end.

[NamKangMan]

brave but useless...

ps. u "live" here but u still don't get the concept of "smile" here...

You may "smile" while you're being shafted, but many others don't.

[NamKangMan]

By law, they MUST use the meter.

by law prostitution is illegal here however many a farang comes for paid sex.

by law driving motorbike w/out licence is illegal. many farang drive bikes w/out dr licence.

by law ... another 10.000 examples where most farang don't mind the law not being enforced when it's in their advantage.

Transport is an essential service, similar to water and electricity.

If there was a "water mafia" - and I suggest we have the makings of one on Phuket, or an "electricity mafia" - would you think it's ok to charge ridiculous fees for both of these, so much so that a large portion refuses to pay for the product, on principle? Transport on Phuket is the same.

Unfortunately, there is a real transport mafia operating on Phuket. It's not economics 101 with supply and demand. It's not about who can haggle better than the next guy. It's not about who can speak better Thai gets a cheaper price.

EVERYONE is being ripped off because it's not Governmnet regulated and legally enforced.

The TAT promotes Phuket as a "World Class Tourist Destination." A tourist can't even hop into a taxi on Beach Road Patong, have the air conditioner and meter turned on and tell the drive to take them to Kata Beach.

This makes Phuket more like a "Third World Tourist Destination."

The whole tourism industry on Phuket is being held to ransom by these criminals.

[NomadJoe]

Just for fun... Checked online to see how much a rental car costs... 149.22 for a brio for 1 week rental.. Pick up and drop off at Phuket airport

Looks like anyone going on vacation to Phuket would be much better off renting a car than taking a taxi

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If they can find a place to park. Most of the on road public parking in the beach areas in Phuket is taken up by taxi mafia. They will slash your tires or key your paint if you park to close to their Songserm and urine and laden salas. I recently counted the cars and spaces along Karon beach. There were something like 115 spaces, 80 or so were either marked "Taxi/TukTuk" or occupied by taxi/tuk tuks which remain there most of the day. With the fares so high, Phuket taxi's and tuk tuks only need one or two fares a day. The only spaces available to the public were in front of the empty lots north of the Hilton. It's impossible to park anywhere near any of the business or hotels, sometimes even for a motorbike.

Edited April 17, 2014 by NomadJoe

[bangarang]

Well done and respect to you FireMedic. You're a brave man.

I hope everyone who reads this in TV shares it on Facebook etc. This really does need to go viral.

Extremely brave! I dont think you would even want to get into a cab after all that arguing. They might take you for a little beating for causing a scene.

[hobz]

My instincts wants me to join in the complain-festival, but I went against my initial instincts and asked myself how this can be solved... Looking for a solution I remembered something about Italy having special laws (and judges?) to deal with the MAFIA. Ofcourse, even in Italy, it has failed. Even in Sweden, my homecountry, they fail to get rid of MAFIA.

What it takes is special law and very good law-enforcement and probably alot more.. Looking at thai law enforcement today it becomes obvious to me why this problem has not been solved nor will be solved anytime soon..because, well, thai law enforcement is a joke, a very very sad joke, and they can barely stop anything, so why would they ever be able to stop something as organized and powerful as MAFIA, simply wont happen hahahahahah

so, what to do? For me it's obvious, I never, ever, set foot on Phuket or Koh Samui unless i'm absolutely forced,, i recommend to anyone I know to avoid these places like the plague, sadly, I can not recommend any place in Thailand for a beach holiday anymore... Pattaya is pretty good, just have to be careful with jet-skis, but the beach is not very swimmable, is it?