Thai Transport gets tough with 'Uber Taxis'

[webfact]

Land Transport department gets tough with Uber cabbies



BANGKOK: -- The Land Transport Department has set a deadline for December 9 for all operators of the mobile application-based service called ‘Uber Taxis’ to report themselves or otherwise face legal consequences.

Warning by Mr Thirapong Rodprasert, the director-general of the Land Transport Department (LTD), came as the on-line car booking service is growing and the department views the service is illegitimate and its safety is skeptical.

He said the private cars that are provided services did not meet LTD rules in that the vehicles are not properly registered.

He said such a violation will entail fines of up to 2,000 baht.

Having said this, he stated that the LTD was willing to be lenient and would be willing to have talks with ‘Uber Taxi’ operators to see what measures can be agreed upon.

The director-general of the LTD stated that he had set a date on December 9 as the final deadline for them to report themselves to the LTD.

Failing to do so will result in legal ramifications and fines will be charged.

So far the LTD is aware of three to four operators but the exact number of vehicles involved has yet to be ascertained.

There was report that certain ‘Uber Taxi’ operators are being financed from abroad and this has raised further concerns that the problem may be further complicated.

The LTD is worried over the possibility that these foreign backers would purchase a large number of private vehicles with the intention of hiring local drivers to run them.

As ‘Uber Taxis’ are not directly registered with the LTD, the exact details of their operations are difficult if not impossible to determine.

Meanwhile Bloomberg said Vietnam will consider legalising Uber Technologies Inc, the online car-booking company that competes with traditional cab services, a day after ruling the taxi service illegal.

It said Vietnamese transport minister has instructed officials to consider adding regulation to manage Uber’s taxi operation.

This comes a day after authorities said the mobile application-based service has no legitimacy to operate as a cab provider in Vietnam.

Uber Technologies Inc, a San Francisco-based company, which provides the online car booking service, has faced setbacks in Southeast Asia, with the Ho Chi Minh City Taxi Business Association complaining about its operations.

Thailand said it will fine drivers using private cars to provide commercial services and warned users against the app, which could dent Uber’s global expansion plans that underpin a valuation of the company of as much as $40 billion, making it worth more than Twitter Inc. or Hertz Global Holdings Inc.

Uber, which has started operations in more than 200 cities since its founding in 2009, faces legal battles in countries including Germany amid complaints about unfair competition and lack of customer safety.

The city of Oslo reported the company to the police for lacking permits to operate there, and Toronto has also asked a court to shut down Uber.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/land-transport-department-gets-tough-uber-cabbies


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-03

[falkan]

scare of the unknown..

[BKKBrit]

US$40 billion? Seriously...who makes this crap up?

I tried using Grab Taxi....you see them being heavily promoted in Bangkok....tried 4 times to order a cab...never worked and have since deleted the APP.

[halloween]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

Edited December 3, 2014 by halloween

[Lammbock]

Basically Grab-Taxi works as it supposed to do but the problem is that often the Taxi which won the bid to pick you up are far away or stuck in traffic.

Grab-Taxi promotes it's self to order a Taxi 5mins just before you want to be picked up but waiting times up to 40mins is a common problem.

Edited December 3, 2014 by Lammbock

[whybother]

US$40 billion? Seriously...who makes this crap up?

I tried using Grab Taxi....you see them being heavily promoted in Bangkok....tried 4 times to order a cab...never worked and have since deleted the APP.

"who makes this crap up?"

Bloomberg.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-26/uber-said-close-to-raising-funding-at-up-to-40b-value.html

[BKKBrit]

Basically Grab-Taxi works as it supposed to do but the problem is that often the Taxi which won the bid to pick you up are far away or stuck in traffic.

Grab-Taxi promotes it's self to order a Taxi 5mins just before you want to be picked up but waiting times up to 40mins is a common problem.

For 14 years I have been using 1681 Community Taxi...and only once have I been let down..and the fee is only Bht20. So Uber and Grab just don't cut it for me. And 1681 you get a human to talk to

[KunMatt]

US$40 billion? Seriously...who makes this crap up?

I tried using Grab Taxi....you see them being heavily promoted in Bangkok....tried 4 times to order a cab...never worked and have since deleted the APP.

I don't know what you are doing wrong but I use GrabTaxi all the time for Bangkok. I even used them for a trip to Pattaya from Bangkok and several accepted the request.

I see that Bumrungrad hospital no longer allows regular taxis and will only let patients use EasyTaxi cabs. I assume that this is because they are much safer, cleaner and more professional than the usual mafia taxis.

[KunMatt]

Basically Grab-Taxi works as it supposed to do but the problem is that often the Taxi which won the bid to pick you up are far away or stuck in traffic.

Grab-Taxi promotes it's self to order a Taxi 5mins just before you want to be picked up but waiting times up to 40mins is a common problem.

The app shows you where the cab that accepted your request is and tells you how long until arrival. If it's too long then just cancel it with the app and try again. If it happens several times then try putting a 20B tip in the app and see if anyone closer accepts it.

[Chang_paarp]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

As a biased cab driver from Perth Oz I have to agree with the above. We have to have our taxis inspected by the Dept of Transport every year "over the pits" is the jargon here. These are not things that Uber drivers have to submit to, neither are they compelled to undertake the training required to get taxi endorsement, have done this training in Perth and Brisbane at different times. This has little to do with Taxis in Thailand as they do not seem to have the training vehicle inspection requirement.

[WhizBang]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

Well, it would be nice if those rules were actually applied to the taxis and drivers here. But, as you know, This is Thailand, and there are no rules.

[LuckyLew]

Instead of trying to shut down UBEr, they should look at why it is growing in populatrity

Maybe they can learn a few things ... like take any fare they want to go ... and so on

[cocopops]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

Clearly there are advantages for customers using traditional taxi services. The problem is that all these advantages have a price tag. It seems that a growing percentage of the market has decided that these advantages come at too high a cost.

It's not unreasonable either really. Of the points you list above, the insurance issue might come up I suppose. And if I was sending a teenager or child somewhere alone I might be willing to pay more for a driver whose background has been well investigated. But in general, for adults traveling during the day, none of those points really mean anything at all. I can tell almost immediately if somebody is unfit to drive, and if they are, I'll have them stop the car and I'll walk away. I had to do this once in Brisbane because a regular cab driver was aggressively tailgating and swearing at another driver*, so there is no real guarantee of appropriate behavior anyway.

In short, the advantages of regular taxis are difficult to quantify and only apply in a minority of circumstances anyway. Smart taxi drivers should work on getting politicians to ban ride-sharing services, you're just too weighed down with bureaucracy and procedure to compete directly.

* I've probably taken 200 taxis in that city and can only remember feeling unsafe twice - it is not typical.

[webfact]

Uber To Meet With Transport Dept After Service Outlawed in Thailand
By Khaosod English

BANGKOK — Thailand’s Land Transport Department has requested a meeting with Uber executives following last week’s decision to outlaw the mobile application-based taxi service in Thailand.

The department declared Uber’s services a violation of public vehicle laws on 28 November, citing the drivers’ lack of proper taxi licensing and vehicle registration.

The department has now invited Uber operators to discuss regulations on 9 December, state media reported.

The US-based company, which first launched its car service in Thailand in April 2014, allowed mobile phone users to book cars driven by Uber employees and pay for their rides with a credit card.

Although many customers were initially deterred by the service's relatively steep prices, the company launched a low-cost service in Bangkok in October that offered cheaper rates than the upcoming fare increase for conventional taxis.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1417590466


-- Khaosod English 2014-12-03

[Prbkk]

The Land Transport Dept has presided over a 'regulated' taxi system in which ,inter alia, passengers (Thai and farang alike) have been murdered, raped, bashed, robbed, cheated, denied service....but now wants to close down or regulate any threat to that broken system. Most taxi drivers are ok, some are simply terrific...but many are dreadful.

[halloween]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

Clearly there are advantages for customers using traditional taxi services. The problem is that all these advantages have a price tag. It seems that a growing percentage of the market has decided that these advantages come at too high a cost.

It's not unreasonable either really. Of the points you list above, the insurance issue might come up I suppose. And if I was sending a teenager or child somewhere alone I might be willing to pay more for a driver whose background has been well investigated. But in general, for adults traveling during the day, none of those points really mean anything at all. I can tell almost immediately if somebody is unfit to drive, and if they are, I'll have them stop the car and I'll walk away. I had to do this once in Brisbane because a regular cab driver was aggressively tailgating and swearing at another driver*, so there is no real guarantee of appropriate behavior anyway.

In short, the advantages of regular taxis are difficult to quantify and only apply in a minority of circumstances anyway. Smart taxi drivers should work on getting politicians to ban ride-sharing services, you're just too weighed down with bureaucracy and procedure to compete directly.

* I've probably taken 200 taxis in that city and can only remember feeling unsafe twice - it is not typical.

Smart taxi drivers don't have to work on politicians to ban ride-sharing services, they are illegal if money changes hands. Drivers offering services have been booked for a ride, arrive to find police waiting, and charged with a variety of offences.

Good luck in suing the competent driver of an uninsured and unregistered vehicle when an accident occurs, even if it is not his fault. As you have contracted with him to commit an illegal act, your rights will be limited.

If you have a complaint against a driver, complain to the taxi company. Even if the cab is privately owned, taxi companies will withdraw the accreditation of unfit drivers to protect their brand name.

[Hornell]

You Aussie taxi drivers don't seem to get the point which WhizBang made; this is Thailand and we can wish for good rules on whatever to be adhered to until we are blue in the face, but it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. All the points you guys make on insurance, public liability, maintenance and inspections are great and of course should apply here, but - dream on!

[webfact]

UBER Taxi operators invited to discuss regulations on 9 Dec



BANGKOK, 3 December 2014 (NNT) – The Land Transport Department has requested another meeting with the executives of UBER TAXI, a mobile application-based taxi service, on 9 December to discuss the latter’s compliance with official rules.

It is the second time the department has sent the invitation to the UBER operator after UBER was declared last week as illegal taxi service.

According to Director-General of the Department Teerapong Rodprasert, UBER service violates the Motor Vehicle Act since drivers do not hold commercial driving license and their cars are not registered as commercial taxi.

The effort to legalize UBER service will allow the department to control the quality of UBER service in terms of drivers, taxi cab condition, and service charge which must be as equal as other taxis.

-- NNT 2014-12-03

[ratcatcher]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

As a biased cab driver from Perth Oz I have to agree with the above. We have to have our taxis inspected by the Dept of Transport every year "over the pits" is the jargon here. These are not things that Uber drivers have to submit to, neither are they compelled to undertake the training required to get taxi endorsement, have done this training in Perth and Brisbane at different times. This has little to do with Taxis in Thailand as they do not seem to have the training vehicle inspection requirement.

As a pair of biased Australian taxi drivers, everything you state is true. At least IMO.

You are forgetting that in countries like the USA, Canada, Australia N.Z. and most of Europe, Japan & S.Korea there are hindrances like professionalism, accountability, responsibility and liability.

Taxi drivers in the U.K. are required to pass rigorous testing part of which is "the knowledge". Presumably this is true of the other countries.

I somehow doubt that a London cabbie would say to a tourist" Where? Oh, let me think about that for a minute, sorry I think I'll look for a better offer"

But having said that, Bangkok taxis are generally amongst the cleanest, and cheapest in the world. I guess that also includes the fact that you get what you pay for?

[Echo Tango]

I believe UBER requires proof of insurance, license and medical certificate before you can be a driver in their network. The taxi mafia doesn't like the extra competition so they'll do anything to stop it.

[b2bme]

Works like a dream here in Singapore. Oops 5 minutes to 5pm.. Best I order a cab. Never more than 5 -10 minutes away.

[ChangMaiSausage]

Its a great app and used by many of my friends in Qatar (they swear by it)

As pointed out all drivers vehicles are meant to be vetted to register?

Apparently its all tracked and monitored?

[whybother]

I believe UBER requires proof of insurance, license and medical certificate before you can be a driver in their network. The taxi mafia doesn't like the extra competition so they'll do anything to stop it.

I don't believe you can get insurance for carrying paying passengers in a private vehicle in Thailand.

[arrowsdawdle]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

What's your point? Uber seems to be doing just fine in Oz, lad.

[Commerce]

"According to Director-General of the Department Teerapong Rodprasert, UBER service violates the Motor Vehicle Act since drivers do not hold commercial driving license."

I'd like to know exactly how many Thai taxi drivers hold a commercial driver's licence........ probably less that 2% if all truth is told!

[arrowsdawdle]

I believe UBER requires proof of insurance, license and medical certificate before you can be a driver in their network. The taxi mafia doesn't like the extra competition so they'll do anything to stop it.

Is it possible that hey also fear having to live up to Uber's standards, e.g., seatbelts that work and insurance?

[whybother]

As a very biased Brisbane taxi driver, may i make a few points which apply in Oz and may well here.

A vehicle registered 'private' and operated to carry paying passengers will invalidate TPPI and Comprehensive insurance policies. Comprehensive for a cab is ~AUD4000/year.

Taxi drivers also carry public liability insurance which covers customers entering or leaving the cab

Taxi drivers are required to have annual health checks as well as criminal and driving history checks.

Detection of ANY level of alcohol or drugs, by police or Transport Enforcement, in my system will cause loss of licence. Good luck in ever getting it back.

What's your point? Uber seems to be doing just fine in Oz, lad.

Which states is it allowed to operate in?

[arrowsdawdle]

Uber should be okay once they agree to the 30% 'facilitation' fee.

[Tboy928]

CAN anybody tell me why i still can not see METER taxis parked in Patong Beach Phuket yet ,for everyone to get when they want ???? did they not clean up this Taxi / tuk tuk mafia down here ???

[whybother]

I believe UBER requires proof of insurance, license and medical certificate before you can be a driver in their network. The taxi mafia doesn't like the extra competition so they'll do anything to stop it.

Is it possible that hey also fear having to live up to Uber's standards, e.g., seatbelts that work and insurance?

What insurance?