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

[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.

Yeah that sounds about right. The rush must be over....

[robertthebruce]

Well Done, glad you stood your ground, and did what you did...

Hopefully this will be the start of something......

[Fookhaht]

According the to pics I took of the posted fairs inside the taxis in Bangkok (which I can't figure out how to attach yet)... For 1700 baht I should be going somewhere around 225km.

This is correct.

I frequently travel from the Bangkok international airport (Suvarnabhumi) to a location west of Bangkok, about the same distance as from the Phuket airport to Phuket Town. Normal fare is 250 to 300 baht.

[falkan]

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.

700 baht with LPG, that is a good profit!

Would you drive 98 km , 2 hrs+, for 700 Baht? I would not.

My wife would have picked me up with her car. But I would not do that to her.

Did you ever calculate the cost for 1 km with your car ?

and since when did we start compare western salary to thai lol bkk taxi drivers charge 400 baht for the same ride

[falkan]

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.

700 baht with LPG, that is a good profit!

Its very a reasonable price for a hours ride in a taxi, you could always ride your Bicycle and save the fare

Sure my Cervelo R5 SRAM works good, but with luggage i rather take my benz up!

[FireMedic]

Breaking news: I have been in contact with a Thai reporter who would like to send the video to the Governor and is also asking that I take the video down until the Governor sees it. I replied that I will discuss it with the Governor if he so chooses to meet with me. Until then, it's non-negotiable.

No joke, Not BS'n.

[starkey_rich]

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.

700 baht with LPG, that is a good profit!

Would you drive 98 km , 2 hrs+, for 700 Baht? I would not.

My wife would have picked me up with her car. But I would not do that to her.

Did you ever calculate the cost for 1 km with your car ?

Do what to your wife?

What's the use of having a car if you don't use it.

[Valentine]

I walked out of the arrivals hall last night at about 6.30pm, went straight to the first limo counter (the blue shirt guys) & paid Baht 800 to Chalong, Patong was on the list at the same price. The car was clean, comfortable. spacious, with a polite driver who told me he charged double to go to Patong on Sunday simple because it took him 3 hours to get in & out of the place with the Songkran traffic jam. I used to travel a lot & have always used the limo service. 20 odd years ago it cost 400 & I do not feel it unreasonable to pay 800 for a quick, efficient & hassle free service. The other day in Bangkok I was going to Sukhumvit Soi 24 for some business with someone else & he paid the fee of 1,100.

[fatdrunkandstupid]

Watched about half of the videos yesterday. They would have been more interesting if the person doing the talking would have slowly spoken simplified English.

Why didn't the OP speak in his fluent Thai with the taxia mafia?

He is a tourist cop, and one of the stated criteria for joining is fluency in Thai language:

http://www.phuket-tourist-police-volunteers.com/join.html

On another point. FM travelled home with the cops. Can he please post here how long the journey took. Was it the usual duration? This will then shut down some of the comments from other members suggesting that the higher price was due to signifcant delays because of Songkran.

[FireMedic]

Watched about half of the videos yesterday. They would have been more interesting if the person doing the talking would have slowly spoken simplified English.

Why didn't the OP speak in his fluent Thai with the taxia mafia?

He is a tourist cop, and one of the stated criteria for joining is fluency in Thai language:

http://www.phuket-tourist-police-volunteers.com/join.html

On another point. FM travelled home with the cops. Can he please post here how long the journey took. Was it the usual duration? This will then shut down some of the comments from other members suggesting that the higher price was due to signifcant delays because of Songkran.

I am not fluent in Thai, however, I am pretty good in regular conversation. Not only did my trip take just 40 mins, I did not see one person throwing water or any other traffic problems. We did go through maybe 3 checkpoints. One at Heroines, one near Chalong, and a small one near Kata. No traffic, no people, no delays, the road was clear the whole trip.

[Fookhaht]

...The other day in Bangkok I was going to Sukhumvit Soi 24 for some business with someone else & he paid the fee of 1,100.

Two key items of information missing: What was your starting point in Bangkok? And was this a metered fare?

[Valentine]

...The other day in Bangkok I was going to Sukhumvit Soi 24 for some business with someone else & he paid the fee of 1,100.

Two key items of information missing: What was your starting point in Bangkok? And was this a metered fare?

Limo service from Suvarnabhumi.

[Fookhaht]

So what does this have to do with the discussion at hand, as the distance nor the transportation mode is comparable? I'm mystified as to your point.

[FireMedic]

...The other day in Bangkok I was going to Sukhumvit Soi 24 for some business with someone else & he paid the fee of 1,100.

Two key items of information missing: What was your starting point in Bangkok? And was this a metered fare?

Limo service from Suvarnabhumi.

According to the posted fair cards inside the taxi, for 1,100 thb you should have traveled around 150 kilos. I'm not sure if Swampy to Soi 24 is anywhere near that. I travel to Soi 11 or 19 on a regular basis from Swampy and think I pay 300/350.....It's been so long because I usually take the train nowadays.

[LivinginKata]

<snip>

I'm not sure if Swampy to Soi 24 is anywhere near that. I travel to Soi 11 or 19 on a regular basis from Swampy and think I pay 300/350.....It's been so long because I usually take the train nowadays.

Now there is an idea - a train service from the airport to the beach areas. No wait - the airport pier and high speed ferry has been ordered

[NamKangMan]

Breaking news: I have been in contact with a Thai reporter who would like to send the video to the Governor and is also asking that I take the video down until the Governor sees it. I replied that I will discuss it with the Governor if he so chooses to meet with me. Until then, it's non-negotiable.

No joke, Not BS'n.

There was a damning You Tube clip out of Phuket a while ago.

I think it may have been the Russian guy on his knees, being threatened by a Thai with a gun - not sure. Anyway, authories wanted it taken down, but by then, someone had downloaded it and reposted it on You Tube. So, the original poster of the clip could do nothing more about it.

I'm not that great with IT, but maybe someone else can see if this can be done.

It should stay up on You Tube until something changes, which we know will not happen.

[FireMedic]

you send a email already to phuketwan,thephuketnews and gazette about vids??

maybe put up a subtitle and upload at Youlike ?

Phuket news is not going to do a story because of the video quality isn't good.

[eezergood]

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.

700 baht with LPG, that is a good profit!

Its very a reasonable price for a hours ride in a taxi, you could always ride your Bicycle and save the fare

Sure my Cervelo R5 SRAM works good, but with luggage i rather take my benz up!

HEy good one, I see what you did there. You managed to tell people, indirectly of course, how rich you are by pointing out your ownership of a Benz & a high end bicycle without looking like an arse....

Oh wait, no sorry you didnt!

[seabear]

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.

700 baht with LPG, that is a good profit!

Would you drive 98 km , 2 hrs+, for 700 Baht? I would not.

My wife would have picked me up with her car. But I would not do that to her.

Did you ever calculate the cost for 1 km with your car ?

Do what to your wife?

What's the use of having a car if you don't use it?

Thank you for such easy questions.

I want my wife to be happy. Driving to the airport and back in shiti traffic, plus waiting, will not make many people happy.

About using my car. I drove 200'000 km in ten years.

If you have more easy questions, don't be shy to ask.

And, by the way, Did you ever calculate the cost for 1 km with your car ?

[NomadJoe]

It is very likely that the improvement in the behavior of the people running the taxi meter stand since this incident as described by two members above is due to FireMedics videos. I'll be coming through there in a few days myself. We will see if it's any different.

[Mrjlh]

you send a email already to phuketwan,thephuketnews and gazette about vids??

maybe put up a subtitle and upload at Youlike ?

Phuket news is not going to do a story because of the video quality isn't good.

Good effort on your part but I do have to agree with them, the video could have been better. They need to be able to clearly idendify the people you spoke with because if they accuse the wrong person they have a much greater problem. Nice try though. Probably why it was requested you take it down from YouTube you think?

[markg]

I used the Taxi Service counter just inside the airport last night.

Prices are clearly displayed and you pre-pay.

Queue of 2 people in front of me.

Taken by a uniformed driver in a new and clean car (possibly a Camry)

Driver drove at a sensible pace.

650 baht to Phuket town.

It must be a 1 hour/80km round trip.

I don't think that is anything like excessively expensive.

I gave him a 100baht tip for driving sensibly.

10 years ago it was 450 to 500baht.

The OP's point is that meter taxis should use the meter and this is a valid point, however, the pre-pay taxi service is there and it is a viable alternative.

[Somtamnication]

I found the OP's language and loud mouth a bit uncomfortable and very very confrontational. He was lucky he did not get a "Thai welcome" at the counter. He held the camera phone the wrong way and the quality sucks.

However, I did tell him to contact a few people and I hope he gets some sort of media coverage.

[Valentine]

...The other day in Bangkok I was going to Sukhumvit Soi 24 for some business with someone else & he paid the fee of 1,100.

Two key items of information missing: What was your starting point in Bangkok? And was this a metered fare?

Limo service from Suvarnabhumi.

According to the posted fair cards inside the taxi, for 1,100 thb you should have traveled around 150 kilos. I'm not sure if Swampy to Soi 24 is anywhere near that. I travel to Soi 11 or 19 on a regular basis from Swampy and think I pay 300/350.....It's been so long because I usually take the train nowadays.

I will try & clarify the point I was trying to make. Using airport limo service from Swampy & Phuket both had good, clean, efficient service & based on time travelled it seems like a similar distance as the traffic was light in Bangkok, possibly due to Songkran holiday, so no delays, & the only slow part (but only by several minutes) in Phuket was at the Lotus fiasco junction. So my point is that it is more expensive in Bangkok for limo service although I assume they charge more because normally in Bangkok the traffic would be much heavier.

[PattayaPhom]

If you dont like something vote with your feet....you can even pre book a taxi for THB 750 to Patong, alternative get the bus to Phuket Town and then connect to Patong or wherever.

[PattayaPhom]

The "offense" of refusing to accept metered fares is not a criminal act and therefore there is little the Police can do.

Accusing the Police of malfeasance in this situation is disingenuous.

You are lucky the Police did not insist on you walking !

According to multiple previous news articles quoting officials, it is illegal.

You must be very new to Thailand if you think the Thai police are not rewarded handsomely for letting the tuktuk taxi mafia do as they please. Charging 1700b for a journey that would be about 275b in metered taxi in any other part of Thailand is disgracefull.

I think Samui is the same price,Pattaya- Survanabumi which takes just over an hour is THB 1,500 so not a big difference. I dont know anywhere in Thailand where an hours journey would only be THB 275

[Mrjlh]

I think the root of the problem lays in the Taxi route structure. In Bangkok, Taxis have customers everywhere. Even when waiting they are moving up in que in line. So many places to go and they don't need to stay in one place.

[FireMedic]

I used the Taxi Service counter just inside the airport last night.

Prices are clearly displayed and you pre-pay.

Queue of 2 people in front of me.

Taken by a uniformed driver in a new and clean car (possibly a Camry)

Driver drove at a sensible pace.

650 baht to Phuket town.

It must be a 1 hour/80km round trip.

I don't think that is anything like excessively expensive.

I gave him a 100baht tip for driving sensibly.

10 years ago it was 450 to 500baht.

The OP's point is that meter taxis should use the meter and this is a valid point, however, the pre-pay taxi service is there and it is a viable alternative.

Yes, again, this is usually correct. The Singaporean girl in the video stated she had asked already and they were all charging way too much. That's why she came down to the taxi meter. Either way, I'm sure nothing will change or become of this...

[FireMedic]

I found the OP's language and loud mouth a bit uncomfortable and very very confrontational. He was lucky he did not get a "Thai welcome" at the counter. He held the camera phone the wrong way and the quality sucks.

However, I did tell him to contact a few people and I hope he gets some sort of media coveraI

I'm very sorry if I offended you. I'm really sorry that I was exhausted and pushed over the edge by this nonsense. I have no doubt this event will go nowhere and nothing will ever change here. I have no doubt that even if the video was perfect, government influenced media would not pursue it due to it's sensitive nature. I also have no doubt whatsoever the Governor wouldn't touch the issue with a 10ft pole due to the fact he has already stated the airport is not in his jurisdiction and there was nothing he could do. The greed and corruption is so blatant and rampant, they don't even try to hide it anymore. I know nothing will change in my lifetime.

The only thing I wanted to do was something...anything. Instead of being one of the expats that sit around all day and keyboard cowboy their toughness, I directly confronted the taxi mafia on video (as crappy as it is), exposed what they were doing, got angry tourists with valid complaints, and I got police unwilling to enforce the law on camera. Having read countless threads of people here unhappy with the system, at least I tried something.

[NomadJoe]

I found the OP's language and loud mouth a bit uncomfortable and very very confrontational. He was lucky he did not get a "Thai welcome" at the counter. He held the camera phone the wrong way and the quality sucks.

However, I did tell him to contact a few people and I hope he gets some sort of media coveraI

I'm very sorry if I offended you. I'm really sorry that I was exhausted and pushed over the edge by this nonsense. I have no doubt this event will go nowhere and nothing will ever change here. I have no doubt that even if the video was perfect, government influenced media would not pursue it due to it's sensitive nature. I also have no doubt whatsoever the Governor wouldn't touch the issue with a 10ft pole due to the fact he has already stated the airport is not in his jurisdiction and there was nothing he could do. The greed and corruption is so blatant and rampant, they don't even try to hide it anymore. I know nothing will change in my lifetime.

The only thing I wanted to do was something...anything. Instead of being one of the expats that sit around all day and keyboard cowboy their toughness, I directly confronted the taxi mafia on video (as crappy as it is), exposed what they were doing, got angry tourists with valid complaints, and I got police unwilling to enforce the law on camera. Having read countless threads of people here unhappy with the system, at least I tried something.

+1