Thai taxi drivers explain why they reject you

[SaamBaht]

Another segment of the labor population that is exploited and underpaid.

[Capt Rob]

There is another reason, and perhaps the drivers do not want to "lose face" by telling a dumb Farang this, but I don't care.

One thing many Farangs don't understand is that many drivers RENT their taxis from an owner.

They have definite hours they can drive that taxi, and if they keep the taxi too long, past their allotted hours, they have to pay a fine for late return of the taxi.

Therefore, if you ask them to go to a destination that is on the opposite side of Bangkok, they may know perfectly well that will make them late returning the taxi to the owner (who has it rented out again to someone else for that person's shift).

The taxi driver will have to pay a late fee, and often that can cost him the entire day's profit on driving an 8 hour shift right there.

The taxi driver may not be willing to tell you this, again because he will "lose face" to tell a foreigner this fact.

Some of you may already know this, some of you don't.

But now, anyway, I've told you the facts, so at least you can't say you "didn't know".

Good to know - have actually had a driver pick me up but drop me off where I could more readily catch a taxi - with no charge ??? Now it makes sense and I can both appreciate and understand the event.

[darren84310]

Sorry lads and lasses.You took the job you should be aware of the problems.

Let's be fair a number of these taxi's are better described as fecal matter on wheels, drivers who don't have a clue as where they are going and a number of them are no more than cheap pimps for the sex trade.

However to be fair it is a minority of these taxi drivers those categories..,

I think you're being grossly unfair, in general my experience of taxis in Bangkok has been good with just a few bad ones.... I've had much worse experiences in England and I take 20 times the amount of taxi rides here than I did there.

Go out of Bangkok to the beach towns and then I'd agree with you.

[Jackson86]

i'm ok with higher fares but please switch on the meter !

[iReason]

"We don't reject passengers, we just reject your destination," the taxi admin wrote"

Classic twisted Thai logic.

"We earn THB100 from you, but do you know what we have to pay for it?"

Your Local Mafia Extortionist?

"Do you think it is worth our time?”

It had better be you lazy <deleted>. Or, get a real job.

"The status claims taxi drivers should be able to file complaints against bad customers."

More Classic twisted Thai logic.

The Thai really have a knack for endearing others with their Foot in The Mouth approach.

And they love to always blame the customer. Absolutely BIZARRE.

Minds of children...

complete absence of understanding that fares have not increased at all while the cost of doing business skyrockets. i would refuse to go too.

I would have found another job.

Especially, if I had a family.

And, I'll bet the times that they rob you, more than make up for it.

though... ONE THING I DEFINITELY AGREE is that the taxi fares have not budged in YEARS. they definitely should go up. that is probably the only part which is NOT FAIR to the Taxi driver.

of course, no passengers want taxi fares to rise... but ethically and to be fair, they should go up.

But, everything else they are complaining about is childish.

I've got no problem with that.

But it's just like the dreamers here who say; give the cops a raise and the corruption will go away.

Ain't gonna happen...

Edited December 1, 2014 by iReason

[Old Man River]

I usually make it clear i will tip them well.

Never had problem .

Might cost me $3-$6 extra but i have usually family and want polite treatment.

They are always very grateful , polite and deserved of a tourist extra earn.

I might catch 4-5 per visit ..its not a great deal of money.

But to them its a significant tip.

I think they deserve more.

Those traffic jams are hellish

And its unfair they can take people to an airport spend 30 minutes of their day and only make $10…..before the gas and hire costs are taken out .

I know its Thailand .

But tipping ensures they neither go too fast or feel upset when caught in traffic.

Agree

Whenever we are using taxis in Bangkok we do exactly the same. Agree at the pick up point on a tip on top of the meter fare. Usually ฿100 tip on a ฿100 to 200 fare and ฿150 tip on a ฿300 to 400 meter. And always get polite, very friendly and excellent service. And their cards and numbers to give them a call when we want a taxi and if they are not in the area they will direct someone to us.

Its not only the traffic jams. One only has to do some basis maths on their costs on a daily basis to know they are making sweet bugga all. And also very easy to see that costs have out stripped the set rates that they are locked to.

If one is only prepared to pay the peanuts of the set official rates then expect the monkey service that you are left to bitch about.

I always tip a waiter extra if good service after I've eaten and have the bill. I do the same with taxi drivers.

Can you honestly say once seated in a restaurant you tell the waiter how much you will tip before you are served?

[iReason]

I usually make it clear i will tip them well.

Never had problem .

Might cost me $3-$6 extra but i have usually family and want polite treatment.

They are always very grateful , polite and deserved of a tourist extra earn.

I might catch 4-5 per visit ..its not a great deal of money.

But to them its a significant tip.

I think they deserve more.

Those traffic jams are hellish

And its unfair they can take people to an airport spend 30 minutes of their day and only make $10…..before the gas and hire costs are taken out .

I know its Thailand .

But tipping ensures they neither go too fast or feel upset when caught in traffic.

Agree

Whenever we are using taxis in Bangkok we do exactly the same. Agree at the pick up point on a tip on top of the meter fare. Usually ฿100 tip on a ฿100 to 200 fare and ฿150 tip on a ฿300 to 400 meter. And always get polite, very friendly and excellent service. And their cards and numbers to give them a call when we want a taxi and if they are not in the area they will direct someone to us.

Its not only the traffic jams. One only has to do some basis maths on their costs on a daily basis to know they are making sweet bugga all. And also very easy to see that costs have out stripped the set rates that they are locked to.

If one is only prepared to pay the peanuts of the set official rates then expect the monkey service that you are left to bitch about.

I always tip a waiter extra if good service after I've eaten and have the bill. I do the same with taxi drivers.

Can you honestly say once seated in a restaurant you tell the waiter how much you will tip before you are served?

Agreed.

TIP(S) is an acronym:

To Insure Prompt Service.

Who but a fool would tip in advance?

[happydude303]

Not fair lmao when they want to charge 150 b to go from Sukhumvit soi 20 down to soi 11 and when they get to the club the club give them a extra load of dosh for bringing us there lmao , but to all the good taxi drivers out there who alway go by meter I hope they do get a pay rise and to all them lazy f tards that sit out side the hotels and soi cowboy doing nothing all day , well they can kiss my crack

[khunpa]

I wish they would explain why they actually stop, when they never planned to pick you up anyway???

[mauGR1]

I never had problems with taxis. except once, but it can happen once in a many years.

Personally i defend the right , for whatever reason, of a taxi driver to accept or refuse a job, as a right of every single independent worker.

... So, if they refuse, just be patient and try with another taxi, there are too many in Bkk.

[Tokay]

I don't care what it costs, just turn on the meter and take me. What I won't stand for is drivers making up prices on the fly. I hope these types are driven from the business.

[smellthecoffee]

This is a grey area. Taxi drivers are either good or bad you almost know a bad one right off. The ones that say no are cool in my book that's fair. Not worth your while mate ok by me cool I will get another going in my direction and if push comes to shove get a moto taxi to a bts. The sly ones try and slink up a wrong road add to a fare or have a fixed meter always pick a new cab not an old one as the old one is more likely to be a cowboy.

Taxi guys can be angels or devils it's a throw of the dice but I do not think they should be forced to take you no matter what. &lt;deleted&gt; that! If I was driving and your out your face on drugs or drink I would drive away.

Some of these guys are cool.

[Longstaff]

Like others, I'm happy to pay 'proper price - proper job'. Sadly my experiences of BKK taxis has been overwhelmingly bad. Almost all taxi rides have been with my Thai wife who has ended up grumpy because of the taxi drivers' endless complaints, rudeness, bad attitude etc. Many times we've been refused a ride across the city and never once has a driver given my wife any explanation, let alone the need to get the taxi back to the owner, or an apology. Again, like others, I've encountered drivers who don't know the city, who take the long way, who drive incredibly badly, who recklessly speed on the motorway, or who drive so slowly you want to throttle them. On numerous occasions my wife has paid less than the meter rate because they've either intentionally or not, gone the wrong (long) way. If it had been me alone I'd have been unaware and just paid up.

On the other side of the coin I've had some excellent taxi rides in modern clean cabs with professional drivers, not many, but it has happened!

In terms of the financial side of things I agree the fares need to go up. One memorable trip late on a Friday took longer to get from the airport to our condo in Samsen Nok than my flight from Auckland to Sydney, and all for a pitiful sum that would get you a 10 minute ride in a Western city. If the driver hadn't been complaining endlessly as if it was our fault the traffic was bad, he'd have got a decent tip to make up for the 3 hours in gridlock.....

Chatting recently to a London cabbie, he was lamenting the good old days when it was a good job from which he derived a decent living; but he was just biding time till retirement and finding it hard to make ends meet due to the oversupply of cabs. It's the same story in NZ where de-regulation has led to far too many taxis and insufficient work to go around. Meantime back here in Chiang Mai there has to be at least 1,000 too many sangthaew, tirelessly blocking the roads as they crawl around the city empty and looking for customers.

Like many things in Thailand, taxis need reform, standards, and a really good clear out.

[rametindallas]

Hey, I'd gladly pay more if it meant the service was reliable.

Even if the State raises all fares, there will still be taxi drivers who 'cherry pick' destinations and/or try to finagle a higher fee.

The customers, who support taxis by their patronage, are the last people the taxi driver should complain about. He should be complaining about his true problems: government and mafia.

[MauiSteveBKK]

If none of them are making money --- why are there so many?

Somebody ... must be making BAHT.

2. Isn't it better to have a passenger in a traffic jam, than be sitting alone for an hour with no passenger?

BE HONEST!

Just tell us WHY you don't want to take us. What a concept.

[tonbridgebrit]

I wish they would explain why they actually stop, when they never planned to pick you up anyway???

Because the taxi driver did not know where the customer was going, the driver was thinking the customer might be going to a place that makes money sense. If the driver knew where the customer was going, then the driver wouldn't have bothered stopping just to know that this fare is not worth doing.

[SoiBiker]

I'd rather wait 30 seconds for another cab than get in the car with a guy who's been forced to take me against his will.

[happydude303]

If none of them are making money --- why are there so many?

Somebody ... must be making BAHT.

2. Isn't it better to have a passenger in a traffic jam, than be sitting alone for an hour with no passenger?

BE HONEST!

Just tell us WHY you don't want to take us. What a concept.

I agree better to be making money then sat with there fingers up there ass....but trust me these guys do make a bit, one taxi driver was boasting 50000 b a month to my mrs because they have lots of the deal with the night clubs they get paid extra when they take us there to the door, after they've charges 100b for a half a mile drive

[rametindallas]

Like Rihanna sang, "Shut up and drive".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up7pvPqNkuU

[In Search of Space]

The wife is from a village near Nong Jok, just outside Bangkok. Anyway, before the days of meters, we almost couldn't get a taxi to take us from Central Bangkok to her village (sorry, large estate in the country !), they would want 500 baht minimum, but it would take an hour.

Once meters came in, usually had no trouble getting a taxi and the meter would read about 250 baht. I don't know if the introduction of meters resulted in more taxis and more competition at that time

[FangFerang]

What a load of crap. The reason they say no is that they want as many 30 baht fares as they can get. Those one kilometer runs are the most profitable.

[scorecard]

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

alt=whistling.gif> There is another reason, and perhaps the drivers do not want to "lose face" by telling a dumb Farang this, but I don't care.

One thing many Farangs don't understand is that many drivers RENT their taxis from an owner.

They have definite hours they can drive that taxi, and if they keep the taxi too long, past their allotted hours, they have to pay a fine for late return of the taxi.

Therefore, if you ask them to go to a destination that is on the opposite side of Bangkok, they may know perfectly well that will make them late returning the taxi to the owner (who has it rented out again to someone else for that person's shift).

The taxi driver will have to pay a late fee, and often that can cost him the entire day's profit on driving an 8 hour shift right there.

The taxi driver may not be willing to tell you this, again because he will "lose face" to tell a foreigner this fact.

Some of you may already know this, some of you don't.

But now, anyway, I've told you the facts, so at least you can't say you "didn't know".

How much is the late fee ?

Or how much is the late fee in the middle of a shift? alt=w00t.gif>

Late fee - do what they do in other countries:

1. Taxi companies have staggered change over times (often set-up by whatever ministry controls land transport)..

2. From 30 minutes before change time taxis put a sign in their window indicating change over time so passengers to longer destinations don't even ask. Better for passenger and for driver.

Edited December 1, 2014 by scorecard

[impulse]

Agreed.

TIP(S) is an acronym:

To Insure Prompt Service.

Who but a fool would tip in advance?

I often tip in advance, especially taxis. It puts them in a good mood. I like my drivers in a good mood, especially in BKK traffic.

Why would anyone but a fool tip AFTER it can do you any good? How does a tip insure you get good service if they have no clue what the tip will be? (Facetious statement, BTW)

Edited December 1, 2014 by impulse

[MAJIC]

I can't see what the Taxi Drivers are complaining about,they have an option,either accept an agreed fare,or switch on the meter,job done!

[Strangebrew]

Look Taxi Drivers we all don't want to take cab to Pattaya and stop half way with meter on while you eat and take 2 hour dump with meter on the hear you say pay toll which you always ask twice the toll price for the demand we buy you something to eat and after getting there you want a tip too? I drove cab yes it isn't easy hours are long But if your a good driver Like I was you make a heck of a lot of money in tips. I usually made 500.00 USD a week in tips Plus commisson from what was on meter.

[Thongkorn]

Cannot wait for the sky train to be extended more !

[Cake Monster]

This is the face of modern Thailand.

What a load of arrogant p=#$*s , if they dont like the job, bail out and find another, instead of expecting the world and his uncle to just give them a good living for doing nothing.

I really hope that every person in the world, who was planning a trip of some kind to Thailand, learns about the attitude, and treatment they may receive from any potential Taxi driver upon arriving at BKK, and subsequent time spent in Thailand.

[mercman24]

i see UBER taxis have got them running scared now, trying to ban them, at least UBER taxis pick you up-take you to your destination- no problem, perhaps if Thai taxi drivers were more like this then, us, the paying public would have more respect for them, what is the excuse late at night when they, pull in, you give the destination, and the drive off, as i have said on here before (sorry) my destination is a straight up suk road - u turn - and straight back, 65 baht ride,, i give 100.and they still drive off.

[2fishin2]

Its a taxi driver's job to take people where THE CUSTOMER wants NOT where ever the taxi driver feels like going. It aint rocket science people. You guys defending taxi drivers suck. I bet if you were refused service at Tesco or Big C just because a cashier doesnt like your products you would be crying your poopers off. Taxi drivers in thailand are idiots plain and simple. They dont give a crap about customers only their own selfish desires

[BKKdreaming]

I do not blame drivers who do not want to take you an , hour away and then have to come back empty probably to the area they know,

there have been times we drove that hour , the meter was 350 baht and the driver had to make his way back to the downtown area ,

Coming back is often a problem beause Taxi drivers on the outskirts of town do not want to go all the way back into the city they do not really know......

Give them a little more baht in town and traffic and a lot more say 10km from where you were picked up......