Taxi today from the Airport to Phuket Town....

[robertthebruce]

Landed at 0820 and took one of the metered cabs from Phuket Airport to Phuket town. Initially you have to pay 100. Baht, and when we got to Phuket Town, the meter read 550 baht , so all in total 650 Baht ??

To be honest I think the Taxis in Bangkok are cheaper...

[Jimi007]

A lot cheaper! I took a taxi from Soi Nana and Sukumvit to Don Muang for 300 Baht last month, including toll fees. There is no reason for the ridiculous taxi fares here other than greed! Now that Lion Air has flights to DMK for 650 Baht, it's cheaper to fly to Bangkok on a Boeing 737 than a taxi ride to the airport!

[LivinginKata]

There is no secret that the official metered cost per kilometer is much higher in Phuket compared with Bangkok. Taxi drivers claim to have a higher cost of expenses and living here in Phuket.

[Jimi007]

There is no secret that the official metered cost per kilometer is much higher in Phuket compared with Bangkok. Taxi drivers claim to have a higher cost of expenses and living here in Phuket.

Which we all know isn't true. Food and rent for Thais is about the same here or there. Although CNG is available in Bangkok and isn't available here… LPG is a bit higher than CNG, but other fuels are just about the same price here or there. The greed factor is much higher here though!

[NomadJoe]

There is no secret that the official metered cost per kilometer is much higher in Phuket compared with Bangkok. Taxi drivers claim to have a higher cost of expenses and living here in Phuket.

Which we all know isn't true. Food and rent for Thais is about the same here or there. Although CNG is available in Bangkok and isn't available here… LPG is a bit higher than CNG, but other fuels are just about the same price here or there. The greed factor is much higher here though!

I asked a group of Thais the other day why a taxi was 1000B from Patong (Amari Hotel) to the airport, when in Bangkok it was about 275B for the same distance. One in the group happened to be a taxi driver. He said it's because the cost of fuel, but added that it's no good in Bangkok because car can go "BOOM!"

Incidentally, there was a big police check on the beach road tonight with a dozen or so "black" taxis and tuk tuks (white plates) stopped by traffic police while the Army (or Navy) looked on. The odd thing was even the passengers were detained for questioning, some not to happy about it, with a tourist police translating.

Edited September 8, 2014 by NomadJoe

[Guest]

Incidentally, there was a big police check on the beach road tonight with a dozen or so "black" taxis and tuk tuks (white plates) stopped by traffic police while the Army (or Navy) looked on. The odd thing was even the passengers were detained for questioning, some not to happy about it, with a tourist police translating.

I guess they were collecting evidence from the customers "How much did you agreed to pay for this trip?".

It also sends a quite clear message: Don't use the illegal taxis.

[sfokevin]

^^^

How is someone to know which taxi is legal or illegal?...

[Guest]

Once the topic is out on the streets, they learn to ask.

[steelepulse]

^^^

How is someone to know which taxi is legal or illegal?...

License plate colour. Black is illegal private car without proper license or insurance, yellow is public vehicles like tuk tuks and the slow buses, while green are private cars that are now legal due to paying taxes, fees, and (supposedly) upgrading insurance.

However the average tourist would not know the difference, especially since they all bray out the same thing all day long "taxi tuk tuk, taxi tuk tuk".

[NomadJoe]

^^^

How is someone to know which taxi is legal or illegal?...

License plate colour. Black is illegal private car without proper license or insurance, yellow is public vehicles like tuk tuks and the slow buses, while green are private cars that are now legal due to paying taxes, fees, and (supposedly) upgrading insurance.

However the average tourist would not know the difference, especially since they all bray out the same thing all day long "taxi tuk tuk, taxi tuk tuk".

Also now they are required to have ID numbers and the the "1583" complaint line number on the door. This is on a lot of travel advise websites. Tourists that care to learn can easily find that info.

[pagallim]

Am currently in Don Muang, and took a taxi from Departures (way too early for my flight to Phuket) to the Amari (about 4 km because of the required 'U' turn. 59 baht.

[NamKangMan]

Am currently in Don Muang, and took a taxi from Departures (way too early for my flight to Phuket) to the Amari (about 4 km because of the required 'U' turn. 59 baht.

The same journey length in a tuk-tuk on Phuket would be 400 baht.

Why - because they can.

Edited September 9, 2014 by NamKangMan

[NomadJoe]

Incidentally, there was a big police check on the beach road tonight with a dozen or so "black" taxis and tuk tuks (white plates) stopped by traffic police while the Army (or Navy) looked on. The odd thing was even the passengers were detained for questioning, some not to happy about it, with a tourist police translating.

I guess they were collecting evidence from the customers "How much did you agreed to pay for this trip?".

It also sends a quite clear message: Don't use the illegal taxis.

This is exactly one of the questions I heard asked. As well as origin and destination, did you pay first, and were there any complaints, all being entered into computer.

[Guest]

This is exactly one of the questions I heard asked. As well as origin and destination, did you pay first, and were there any complaints, all being entered into computer.

That's good as it means that the army wants data to fight destroy the illegal taxis. I hope they remembered to say to the customers that they are not going to be in troubles as long as they tell the truth.