PHUKET: Police begin arresting unregistered tuk-tuk drivers
Tanyaluk Sakoot


Legitimate tuk-tuks with the yellow plate.

PHUKET: -- Kathu police backed by the Army have begun arresting unregistered tuk-tuk drivers in Patong. Five have been caught so far, all on Sunday (September 7).

The arrests appear to be a shot across the bows of the illegal tuk-tuk drivers, who have been proliferating in Patong in the past year.

Jaturong Kaewkasi, chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office (PLTO) told The Phuket News, “Col Somchai Ponatong of the Army had received complaints so we knew that we had to work on the issue.”

He explained that a vicious cycle has developed whereby legitimate tuk-tuk drivers were selling their tuk-tuks along with the yellow plate for up to a million baht, then buying an unlicensed “black plate” tuk-tuk and applying for another yellow plate, which they would then sell again.

Now, however, the PLTO has declared the yellow plates to be its property, bringing all trading to a halt, but leaving hundreds of black-plate tuk-tuks still plying their trade illegally.

They have annoyed the legit drivers by undercutting prices -- one of the reasons behind the mob blockade of Patong streets on March 3, which led to many tuk-tuk drivers being arrested in the massive raid on Patong on August 28.

Mr Jaturong said the black-plate drivers, of which there are five small groups, should get to together to form a cooperative and then apply for yellow plates. If they do not, they risk arrest.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/police-begin-arresting-unregistered-tuk-tuk-drivers-48632.php


-- Phuket News 2014-09-09

Last night at the end of Bangla they arrested several more black (white plated) taxi and tuk tuk drivers. Traffic police with several Army or Navy soldiers overseeing. They even detained the passengers and had the tourist police interview them so that the drivers couldn't make up a story about just giving friends a ride.

>>Mr Jaturong said the black-plate drivers, of which there are five small groups, should get to together to form a cooperative and then apply for yellow plates. If they do not, they risk arrest.

Coops need to be done away with altogether, and instead let drivers with meters cruise around and pick up passengers wherever they like, kind of similar to the rest of the world. Coops are only for thuggery and intimidation, along with sliding envelopes to certain "influential people" and groups of uniform clad lads.

As mentioned above, selling off those yellow plates was quite the lucrative business.

"They have annoyed the legit drivers by undercutting prices" -

>>Mr Jaturong said the black-plate drivers, of which there are five small groups, should get to together to form a cooperative and then apply for yellow plates. If they do not, they risk arrest.

Coops need to be done away with altogether, and instead let drivers with meters cruise around and pick up passengers wherever they like, kind of similar to the rest of the world. Coops are only for thuggery and intimidation, along with sliding envelopes to certain "influential people" and groups of uniform clad lads.

As mentioned above, selling off those yellow plates was quite the lucrative business.

"Coops are only for thuggery and intimidation" - yes, mainly to collude to set outrageous prices.

They what undercut overpriced legit tuktuk ripping off tourist? So now illegal to give tourist the opition of paying 200 baht or paying 20 baht. Oh Thainess keep forgetting.