Taxi App - Why Bother in BKK ?

[Chao Lao Beach]

I believe there are several around, http://grabtaxi.com/bangkok-thailand/ Why the heck would you bother, there are heaps of cabs, when you find a good driver, you can make arrangements directly.

Why pay a booking fee as well, why bother ?

[The Dancer]

Well, what the OP says might apply to those living on or near a major thoroughfare, but I can see people deep in a soi finding use for such apps, especially at odd hours.

[lopburi3]

Most of us living in such areas also have a maid that can be sent to get taxi so even then it is not really a requirement. But suspect it may help some and if GPS is used should help find such homes if you do wish to call for taxi.

[smileplur]

I live deep in a quiet Soi. Directions to the townhouse I live in are confusing even when given in Thai. If I have a 7 am departure from BKK, using an app is a lot easier than hauling the luggage 2 Kms to the main road at 4 am. The alternative is to drop the missus off by motorbike to hail a cab and bring it back to our home. I know which we prefer at 4 am. Also, it's been shown that Uber X can actually be cheaper than meter taxis! Have a look around. Times are certainly changing!

[PhotographerJack]

I use Grab Taxi when I'm going to some place that drivers don't want to go. There's no standing on a street corner waiting to be turned down because traffic is too heavy or the driver doesn't want to go. I've never had a taxi summoned by Grab Taxi turn me down. For general getting around I flag a cab on my soi, but Grab Taxi is handy to have for some trips.

[SoiBiker]

Well, what the OP says might apply to those living on or near a major thoroughfare, but I can see people deep in a soi finding use for such apps, especially at odd hours.

Exactly this.

Why would you assume anyone that lives down a Soi has a maid?

[The Dancer]

Most of us living in such areas also have a maid that can be sent to get taxi so even then it is not really a requirement. But suspect it may help some and if GPS is used should help find such homes if you do wish to call for taxi.

Maid, really? Well, I used to use a GrabMaid app but it got me more trouble than good. So, now I stick to GrabTaxi.

[IMA_FARANG]

Most of us living in such areas also have a maid that can be sent to get taxi so even then it is not really a requirement. But suspect it may help some and if GPS is used should help find such homes if you do wish to call for taxi.

---------------

Not all of us have "maids".

But in my area, there are two taxi drivers living within two soi's of where I live that can be called.

If you need to go somewhere at a late hour or be picked up at the airport you can make arrangements for them to pick you up ahead of time.

My Thai girlfriend had there cellphone numbers on the fridge for quick use if needed.

The bottom line is: if you live in a Thai "moo Ban" area, there are many contacts nearby, and the Thais have always used

them even if the "Farangs" don't know about them.

[namdocmai]

But in a moobaan you can also call the guards to hail a taxi and send it to you.

I would use the app if i was sure a decent taxi was coming, not a stinky old one where the driver can't speak english.

[lopburi3]

No not all of us have a maid but most living in moobaans will either have a maid or a car available. I live 10km from central Bangkok but do not have to walk more than 200 meters to main soi if maid is not available; which always has taxi within a few minutes. Those living in condo and apartments have other means to summon taxi. Phone service has been available for years for those so wanting. The fact is Bangkok is over served by taxi service and it is rare to not see a taxi within a very short period on any street other than dead ends.

That said my one chance experience in a Grabtaxi from Foodland to home was a positive experience as he asked home location by road to enter into phone and took a route no taxi had ever used before (but was shortest by a few meters I suspect and a better road but needed several unmarked turns).

[Rumblecat]

No not all of us have a maid but most living in moobaans will either have a maid or a car available. I live 10km from central Bangkok but do not have to walk more than 200 meters to main soi if maid is not available; which always has taxi within a few minutes. Those living in condo and apartments have other means to summon taxi. Phone service has been available for years for those so wanting. The fact is Bangkok is over served by taxi service and it is rare to not see a taxi within a very short period on any street other than dead ends.

But there's still an element of hassle. Phone service doesn't guarantee the taxi will find your house / condo (especially if it's in a maze of sois.) Also plenty of streets that aren't dead ends don't get much in the way of taxi traffic down them. And then there's the joy of the taxi driver either refusing to take you as he doesn't want to go to the destination, or the realisation part way through the journey that the driver doesn't actually know where he's going. Even having a regular taxi driver doesn't mean he's necessarily going to be free at very short notice. And let's hope it's not raining...

Or you can just click GPS points on a map on your phone (so the taxi knows exactly where you and where you are going) and have a taxi show up in around fifteen minutes. Which is a lot less hassle and removes a lot of the problems that hailing a Bangkok cab can have.

All for a booking free of 25 baht, which is a pittance. (And up until Nov 1st on GrabTaxi you can key in the promotional code NIGHT between 6pm and 6am for no booking free).

Nobody's forcing people to use it though. But, like a lot of people, I've found it really useful and it's saved a lot of time and trouble for me.

[richard_smith237]

My question would be - Why Wouldn't you use an App such as GrabTaxi ?

The drivers and car details are recorded on your phone - there is added security.

I do wonder if it could work in some of the area's where taxi drivers are notorious for being cheating, lying scum... (a friend was recently punched by a taxi driver).

I was at a bar on a quiet Soi the other night and used GrabTaxi instead of walking in the rain to the main street.

My observations were mixed.

Positives:

- Security (the car and driver are registered and recorded on your smart phone - and the drivers know this - they seem more polite but I'll need more exposure to confirm this).

- Location (you can track your taxi's arrival)

- Price (the same as a normal taxi - I didn't notice a booking fee, but certainly wouldn't care if it was 25 baht).

- Convenience (it really is convenient to have a taxi arrive and wait at an apartment, rather than walking to a main road to flag down a cab)

- Phoning a Taxi only worked 30% of the time... Time will tell how reliable or not this service may become.

Negatives:

- The driver called me up to confirm the fare (I guess some book and then just take the next taxi which could damage the service)

- The driver spoke in Thai and asked for directions (fortunately my Thai was passable - tourists may have issues).

- There is a Tip section (I can see drivers conspiring not to pick up a far unless a Tip has been agreed - TiT).

[samran]

I live deep in a quiet Soi. Directions to the townhouse I live in are confusing even when given in Thai. If I have a 7 am departure from BKK, using an app is a lot easier than hauling the luggage 2 Kms to the main road at 4 am. The alternative is to drop the missus off by motorbike to hail a cab and bring it back to our home. I know which we prefer at 4 am. Also, it's been shown that Uber X can actually be cheaper than meter taxis! Have a look around. Times are certainly changing!

We must be neighbours...

[N47HAN]

Noticed today theres a Thai? App called easytaxi ?

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[JThai]

I think the point is getting someone who will use the meter guaranteed without a hassle.