Do your part. Report taxi drivers who refuse you.

[Wacoal]

these taxi drivers you are recommending reporting, are they the same ones who carry samurai swords and have been known to use them (and caught on vid doing) to attempt decapitation of farang?

[YipYipYa123]

these taxi drivers you are recommending reporting, are they the same ones who carry samurai swords and have been known to use them (and caught on vid doing) to attempt decapitation of farang?

yes ,most will have a weapon or 2

but thats no reason to let them bully you or steal your money

maybe im crazy ,but i dont take shit from aholes and usually when they see i aint backing down they willback dow rather than deal with someone more dagerous

ok ,it might be a nasty result but ive spent the best part of my life in this business so a knife is joke unless

someone is an expert with it and even then if id give myself 50/50 or better no matter what trainig hes had but ........

ymmv

[lomatopo]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/713266-dlt-over-10000-complaints-against-thai-cab-drivers-received-in-past-5-months/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bkktaxireport

Android app: http://bkktaxi.tsadvanced.com/blog/

Phone : 1584

Email : [email protected]

web-site: http://apps.dlt.go.th/1584complain/frmComplainTuck-User.php?TuckType=88

FWIW, I've been using GrabTaxi recently with excellent results. There is a 25 baht surcharge.

http://grabtaxi.com/bangkok-thailand/

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grabtaxi.passenger

[chris2004]

Taxu drivers are selling a service and like any other seller can charge what they want. It is up to you, the buyer, to decide whether you want to buy the service at that price.

[belg]

i guess the bangkok taxi drivers would want to same deal as their cousins on PIRATE ISLAND

[DGIE]

This practice of taxi drivers with attitude problems, picking and choosing what passengers and which journeys to take has been going on in New York and London for as far back as I can remember.

Many of the black cab drivers that operate at the airports in the UK and the Yellow cab drivers of New York, prefer the naive tourists that want to travel long distances and will often refuse to do the short runs. I would not describe these taxi drivers as being part of a mafia gang, but they have definitely formed some sort of unofficial syndicates that consider themselves above the law and above any public transport regularity organisations. It now seems that this practice has caught on in Bangkok.

I'm not saying I don't believe you but I've never had a taxi driver scam me in the UK and I've taken many a licensed black cab at many airports and they've always used the meter. I've also had to call some unlicensed taxis in London with west African drivers who charge a bit more than the regular fare but this is not comparable to BKK because I am flagging down licensed taxis every time.

Read my post again.

I did not say that the New York and London cabbies are scammers. My point is that these drivers prefer the long distance passengers and especially tourists who are inclined to give better tips. Their philosophy being: they prefer the big jobs rather then doing short runs for less profits. It appears the same now applies in Bangkok.

But taxis here in Bkk prefer short runs because they will start their meter again in the starting pay which is 35Bht(?)

[brit1984]

At Morchit busstation at the taxiqueue a driver was hammered by a supervisor because he did not want to do a ride for a thai customer. I was surprised, as far as i could understand it, the driver was threatened by said supervisor by taking away his license. He drove out of the busstation without a customer.

In all my years coming to bkk and using taxis i have witnessed that more and more want to ride with a fixed price and not use the meter. As there are many taxis just bare the impoliteness and be happy you dont have to do their crappy, lowpaid job.

On a sidenote....inside the taxis the licenceholders photo is usulally never from the driver.....

i had a taxi drive us a the long way home

i asked for his id before paying him as the id holder was empty

my gf thougt i was crazy

i said if he cant identify himself he shouldnt be driving taxis

he wanted wpaid the meter rate for the scenic trip

tried to tell her the short way was closed

we arrived home and i asked to photo his taxi id or thai card becauze i think he purposely took the log way

then he started going mental shouting at her and one of our local shop owners (an old thai woman and her hubby came out to see whats going on)

as aggressive as he thought (twoards a woman obviously ) he might be i was planning to pull his neck off if it came to it

he ended up leaving woith no fair as the locals took our side before it came to violence and called police and he sped off before the police arrived

you just need to stand up to them so they know they bullying tactics they might use o their wives dont work on farangs as well

but whatever you say ,make sure the odds are on your side

the way the meter is set up (and the fact that most passengers will give a tip) gives the taxi drivers plenty incentive to take the shortest route possible and move onto their next job... if he really took an unusual route it's probably just because that day was his first day in bangkok

[Melonade]

one refused us (speaking to us like we were idiots) last weekend, trying to argue that we should take the MRT and BTS. it was saturday morning and traffic was comparitively light. our destination (imperial hotel, suk 22) is also quite a distance from both asoke and prom phong stations. my wife was pissed but I just put it down to the dude likely having been up all night and not being in a good place. I smiled and waved him off.

the next taxi driver happily took us to the hotel and all was good!

[KunMatt]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/713266-dlt-over-10000-complaints-against-thai-cab-drivers-received-in-past-5-months/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bkktaxireport

Android app: http://bkktaxi.tsadvanced.com/blog/

Phone : 1584

Email : [email protected]

web-site: http://apps.dlt.go.th/1584complain/frmComplainTuck-User.php?TuckType=88

FWIW, I've been using GrabTaxi recently with excellent results. There is a 25 baht surcharge.

http://grabtaxi.com/bangkok-thailand/

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.grabtaxi.passenger

So do you get better quality taxis when using GrabTaxi? What I'm really interested in is getting a taxi with seatbelts in the rear seats that I can actually use. I guess that they need to have GPS and a radio to work with the app so I'm hoping this points towards a newer and better maintained car.

Or can any old usualvtaxi get the GrabTaxi radio/receiver?

[A1Str8]

Sure report them. I agree. My experience shows that crooked people love being recorded. Whenever I walk around I wear my Pivothead and record them. Help the crooked.

Record them and report them.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Stradavarius37]

Open the back door to ask, when they say 'No' walk away leaving the door open. They will close it. Then open it again just to make the point mwuhahahaha !!

Good way to get the sh#t beat out if you lol

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Stradavarius37]

these taxi drivers you are recommending reporting, are they the same ones who carry samurai swords and have been known to use them (and caught on vid doing) to attempt decapitation of farang?

yes ,most will have a weapon or 2

but thats no reason to let them bully you or steal your money

maybe im crazy ,but i dont take shit from aholes and usually when they see i aint backing down they willback dow rather than deal with someone more dagerous

ok ,it might be a nasty result but ive spent the best part of my life in this business so a knife is joke unless

someone is an expert with it and even then if id give myself 50/50 or better no matter what trainig hes had but ........

ymmv

I'd like to challenge you to a spelling contest - I like my chances

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[YipYipYa123]

these taxi drivers you are recommending reporting, are they the same ones who carry samurai swords and have been known to use them (and caught on vid doing) to attempt decapitation of farang?

yes ,most will have a weapon or 2

but thats no reason to let them bully you or steal your money

maybe im crazy ,but i dont take shit from aholes and usually when they see i aint backing down they willback dow rather than deal with someone more dagerous

ok ,it might be a nasty result but ive spent the best part of my life in this business so a knife is joke unless

someone is an expert with it and even then if id give myself 50/50 or better no matter what trainig hes had but ........

ymmv

I'd like to challenge you to a spelling contest - I like my chances

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

chalege accerptered !

[Mencken]

I am so sick of this. It's always the same whingers. Why don't you offer them b100± ?

Can anyone think of a business where owner must do something wholly against their will that ends up costing time, money or both?

Taxi drivers make a pittance, be more supportive.

Whining because they wont take your fat drunk ass down a few sois on Sukhumvhit in stand still traffic is just not good form.

Yeah, they won't take you from a transport center? That is a problem. Other than that, up to him!

Offer double meter or + 100 or stop crying.

[speedtripler]

I am so sick of this. It's always the same whingers. Why don't you offer them b100± ?

Can anyone think of a business where owner must do something wholly against their will that ends up costing time, money or both?

Taxi drivers make a pittance, be more supportive.

Whining because they wont take your fat drunk ass down a few sois on Sukhumvhit in stand still traffic is just not good form.

Yeah, they won't take you from a transport center? That is a problem. Other than that, up to him!

Offer double meter or + 100 or stop crying.

why ??

meters are put in cabs to stop drivers extorting passengers with whatever fare they feel like .........

[ppmacready]

Ive lived happily in Thailand for nearly 2 decades now.

I think you need a good sense of humour to survive here.

Normally, I'm the first in line to point out the faults, with what would be unbelievable storys in the UK.

Now heres my unbelievable story.

And the only conclusion I can draw is, maybe he is what's known as a genetic throw back?

From times long ago in Thailand.

It was 7pm in Bangkok.3 days before Songkram.

Annoyingly several taxis refused to take take us to where we wanted to go.

Another pulled over.

He wasn't going the way we wanted to go either.

But he invited us to get in and he would drop us in an area easier to get a taxi.

When asked to put the meter on, he refused and said he wanted no payment as he wasn't actually taking us to our chosen destination.

I could feel a confrontation brewing when we got out!

Meanwhile I changed the destination to a train station, because of the traffic.

He took us quite a long way, as it turned out approximately a 60 bht fare, and assuming he wasn't going to now try and rip me of, I got out 100 baht as a tip for his generosity.

When we stopped,I offered it to him, he refused, I tried to get him to take it and he refused again.

I really wanted him to take it more than any tip I think I've offered in my life.

And yet he staunchly still refused.

Enjoy Songhram, he said as I got out of the cab.

I didn't get his badge number.

I wish I had .

Cos, surely his the guy who should have a say in the running of Thailand, I told Jazz my daughter!

[neverdie]

My new tactic for dealing with fare refusal is to simply walk away, leave the rear door of the taxi open. Been abused a number of times for doing so as the taxi driver needs to get out to shut the door properly. If everyone did the same, might make some of them think twice. I'll probably get shot in the back one day.

[KunMatt]

I am so sick of this. It's always the same whingers. Why don't you offer them b100± ?

Can anyone think of a business where owner must do something wholly against their will that ends up costing time, money or both?

Taxi drivers make a pittance, be more supportive.

Whining because they wont take your fat drunk ass down a few sois on Sukhumvhit in stand still traffic is just not good form.

Yeah, they won't take you from a transport center? That is a problem. Other than that, up to him!

Offer double meter or + 100 or stop crying.

If that post was aimed at me then nothing of what you said is true or actually happened and you just come off as a huge whinger making up parts of the story to complain and rant about.

The taxi driver that I reported wanted 5 times the regular fare, when I asked him to use the meter he just immediately drove off with me still leaning into the back of the cab and nearly drove over me while I was standing there with the door open. It was 10.30am so no traffic along the 15/20 minute route, obviously I wasn't drunk at that time in the morning coming from an appointment at the VFS, and the route was mainly highway going to a busy district where he would most likely pick up another regular fare.

If you think that his behaviour is perfectly acceptable and should be the way that taxis operate here then I more than disagree with you.

[MobileContent]

Install GrabTaxi for Android or iPhone and the problem is solved. You might have to wait for a while but those Taxi drivers are great. I have tried them last week from Asoke to Don Muang Airport for 229 Baht plus I got a 25 Baht discount. Grab Taxi is expanding rapidly in Thailand and they give the drivers a 70 Baht bonus per airport trip.

[KunMatt]

Install GrabTaxi for Android or iPhone and the problem is solved. You might have to wait for a while but those Taxi drivers are great. I have tried them last week from Asoke to Don Muang Airport for 229 Baht plus I got a 25 Baht discount. Grab Taxi is expanding rapidly in Thailand and they give the drivers a 70 Baht bonus per airport trip.

So do you get better quality taxis when using GrabTaxi? What I'm really interested in is getting a taxi with seatbelts in the rear seats that I can actually use. I guess that they need to have GPS and a radio to work with the app so I'm hoping this points towards a newer and better maintained car.

[MobileContent]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Install GrabTaxi for Android or iPhone and the problem is solved. You might have to wait for a while but those Taxi drivers are great. I have tried them last week from Asoke to Don Muang Airport for 229 Baht plus I got a 25 Baht discount. Grab Taxi is expanding rapidly in Thailand and they give the drivers a 70 Baht bonus per airport trip.

So do you get better quality taxis when using GrabTaxi? What I'm really interested in is getting a taxi with seatbelts in the rear seats that I can actually use. I guess that they need to have GPS and a radio to work with the app so I'm hoping this points towards a newer and better maintained car.

My driver spoke fluent English and the taxi from the inside was ok. GrabTaxi doesn't allow run down cabs to join their programme.

[KunMatt]

Install GrabTaxi for Android or iPhone and the problem is solved. You might have to wait for a while but those Taxi drivers are great. I have tried them last week from Asoke to Don Muang Airport for 229 Baht plus I got a 25 Baht discount. Grab Taxi is expanding rapidly in Thailand and they give the drivers a 70 Baht bonus per airport trip.

So do you get better quality taxis when using GrabTaxi? What I'm really interested in is getting a taxi with seatbelts in the rear seats that I can actually use. I guess that they need to have GPS and a radio to work with the app so I'm hoping this points towards a newer and better maintained car.

My driver spoke fluent English and the taxi from the inside was ok. GrabTaxi doesn't allow run down cabs to join their programme.

That's what I was hoping. So seat belts in the back that you could use?

[MobileContent]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Install GrabTaxi for Android or iPhone and the problem is solved. You might have to wait for a while but those Taxi drivers are great. I have tried them last week from Asoke to Don Muang Airport for 229 Baht plus I got a 25 Baht discount. Grab Taxi is expanding rapidly in Thailand and they give the drivers a 70 Baht bonus per airport trip.

So do you get better quality taxis when using GrabTaxi? What I'm really interested in is getting a taxi with seatbelts in the rear seats that I can actually use. I guess that they need to have GPS and a radio to work with the app so I'm hoping this points towards a newer and better maintained car.

My driver spoke fluent English and the taxi from the inside was ok. GrabTaxi doesn't allow run down cabs to join their programme.

That's what I was hoping. So seat belts in the back that you could use?

Yes their were seat belts. Give it a try...

[saakura]

Www.easytaxi.com has been flooding our mailbox with pamplets since the last few weeks.

[lomatopo]

So do you get better quality taxis when using GrabTaxi?

Yes, absolutely, but quality can mean different things to different people, and be fairly subjective. The vehicles have seemed newer, but there are DLT rules/regs. re: taxi age now. The drivers are universally savvy, nice, decent drivers, helpful.

I cannot vouch for the availability of seatbelts. It seems like, more often than not, these are in a given taxi, but the short latching portion seems to have always disappeared down between the seat.

Www.easytaxi.com has been flooding our mailbox with pamplets since the last few weeks.

Android app.: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.easytaxi

A bit newer, I have not tried them, preferring to stick with Grab Taxi.

[ricklev]

GrabTaxi is useful but problematic. The drivers still bid on the trip and if you are going somewhere inconvenient no driver will bid. Not that I blame them. I go from Rajadamri to Tha Prachan one a week in the morning and have NEVER been able get a GrabTaxi.

Hard to understand why they don't require the drivers to pull the damn seat belts out from under the seats and keep them out. A unique selling point that is absolutely free! Ten trips or so and I've never gotten one with seat belts.

Still, it's a useful service when it works and I will continue to use it.

[lomatopo]

GrabTaxi is useful but problematic.

It's not so much a bidding, but a desire to complete the specific trip, which might involve a long trip from their current location to pick you up, and an undesirable destination, based on any number of reasons (04:00/16:00 turn-over, current fuel load, current/origin/destination traffic situation).

They have quotas and get extra bonuses from GrabTaxi, so it is not necessarily in their best interest to avoid any/all trips. They also have to incur mobile data and phone charges.

I think they need more taxis participating, which should make the process even better?

[ricklev]

GrabTaxi is useful but problematic.

It's not so much a bidding, but a desire to complete the specific trip, which might involve a long trip from their current location to pick you up, and an undesirable destination, based on any number of reasons (04:00/16:00 turn-over, current fuel load, current/origin/destination traffic situation).

They have quotas and get extra bonuses from GrabTaxi, so it is not necessarily in their best interest to avoid any/all trips. They also have to incur mobile data and phone charges.

I think they need more taxis participating, which should make the process even better?

Of course. I think you might not understand the word bidding as used by GrabTaxi. The drivers choose whether or not to accept a fare which shows up on their app. When the driver responds that they want the fare it is called bidding for the fare. The closest bidding driver wins the bid, but If no driver bids than the customer doesn't get a taxi and is promptly informed that no taxi is available.

I haven't tried it, but I think the app allows the customer to promise a tip which will encourage bidding if there are no bidders.

Uber is better because the customer doesn't enter the destination, however they don't have enough cars yet. When Uber has rejected my request for a car due to lack of availability they have given my a 150 baht credit. Good job!

[KunMatt]

So here's the update for everyone that said that the complaints hotline will do nothing and so on.

Now bearing in mind that this taxi driver not only refused to do his job but also wanted 5 times the normal fare, was rude and almost drove over me while I was holding my child leaning into his taxi with the back door still open. I know that the outcome of this is going to generate a lot of hate because, well this is the General Forum and haters love to hate and the same people would hate on me equally if I said I didn't complain, so here we go.

I just got a text back from 1584 saying that the driver lost his license. He'll have to go to the office/police to get it back.

Here's the text "ได้ระงับการดำเนินการด้านทะเบียนของรถหมายเลขทะเบียน[taxi number]ที่ท่านร้องเรียนไว้แล้วและได้ติดตามผู้ขับรถมาสอบสวน"

So the 1584 hotline line does take complaints seriously, just wield this power carefully as I just made one call and that was all it took!

Since this incident I've been using GrabTaxi which has saved me a lot of problems. The taxis are always clean and 9/10 of them have a seatbelt in the rearseats that you can actually use. The only thing is they usually call me to confirm where I am and I have to explain in Thai my location to them, so bear that in mind.

OK, so let the tirade of pathetic hateful comments commence General Forum people...

[speedtripler]

in silom rd i could not get a taxi to use the meter recently

i asked 5 and they all refused to go to ratchada with the meter at midight so there were no traffic jams

they are all parked around the patpong area and not interested in anyone

who speaks thai when they can wait on a tourist to rip off

the 6th taxi was actually driving and he took us with meter but i had to run into the middle of the road and wave him down

because these scumbag taxi mafia had occupied half the road with their taxis refusing to accept passengers with a meter