DLT speeds up inspection of taxi service before 1st phase of fare adjustment

BANGKOK, 24 November 2014 (NNT) – The Department of Land Transport (DLT) is monitoring the quality of taxi service both on the standard of vehicles and the quality of drivers, before the first phase of fare adjustment is allowed.

DLT Director-General Theerapong Rodprasert revealed that during 3-18 November 2014, his office had inspected 12,564 taxis. 80.7% of them, or 10,139 taxis, passed the test. The rest of 2,425 taxis have been instructed to improve their cars within fifteen days before coming back for another standard inspection.

Taxis passing the car inspection will be issued with a certificate of standard approval required in the fare adjustment process. Taxi owners are then required to take their cars to the DLT Office where officials will apply lead seals on their fare meters. When the process is over, taxi will receive a sticker label to show that their car have been approved for higher fare in the first phase, Theerapong explained.


-- NNT 2014-11-24

What does the sticker look like?

Every night at Mor Chit i have to ask at least 6 taxis to take me to IT Square. It's a 100 baht fare and they moan about making just 300 baht a day. No sympathy for these drivers because their attitude sucks.

Good, I am sick and tired of having to travel in a smelly and dirty taxi

while wearing my good clothes on my way to work.

This is what I get where I live. Awful.

Just how, exactly, does the DLT assess the quality of the drivers? Without going out into the field, and eliciting feedback from the travelling public, the short answer is: they can't!

Every night at Mor Chit i have to ask at least 6 taxis to take me to IT Square. It's a 100 baht fare and they moan about making just 300 baht a day. No sympathy for these drivers because their attitude sucks.

And do you call the Taxi Centre? Part of the problem is mainly - but obviously not entirely - down to Thais' reluctance to make a fuss. It does work. And it doesn't take too many B1,000 penalties to persuade even the densest driver that trying it on just doesn't make economic sense.

And everyone calls on the Shinawatras for corruption. What a joke.