First batch of 5,000 Thai taxies with adjusted meters ready for December 22

[webfact]

First batch of 5,000 taxies with adjusted meters ready for December 22



BANGKOK: -- The Land Transportation Department says taxies will begin to charge new rates from December 22.

Director-general of the department Mr Teerapong Rodprasert said so far 4,000 taxies have their adjusted fare metres and car condition inspected by transport officials.

He expected that by January 21, 85% of the total 8,000 registered taxies would have their fare metres and car conditions inspected.

These taxies will be given stickers to display on the windshields of the cars to let the people know that they are authorised to charge the new taxi rates, he said.

He said he expected the first batch of 5,000 taxies will be ready for services under the new rates on December 22.

By January next year, he added all the 8,000 registered taxis will be able to switch to the new rates.

Under the new metre fare system, the starting rate for the first kilometre is 35 baht.

Over 1-10 kilometres is 5.50 baht/km, 10-20 kilometres is 6.50 baht/km, 20-40 kilometres is 7.50 baht/km, 40-60 kilometres is 8.00 baht/km, 60-80 kilometres is 9 baht/km, and over 80 kilometres is 10.50 baht/km.

In case of traffic jam which the vehicle can not move or move slowly of not more than six kilometres an hour, an extra fare of 2 baht per minute will be added.

In case of calling taxi service via taxi call centre, 20 baht extra charge will be added.

For taxi service at taxi stands arranged by authorities at the Suvarnabhumi airport, extra charge of 50 baht will be added in addition to the metre rates.

The Transport Ministry has allowed taxi fares to rise in phases from 8-13%.

The taxi fare rise to begin December 22 is just within the first 8% phase.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/first-batch-5000-taxies-adjusted-metres-ready-december-22


-- Thai PBS 2014-12-19

[lee b]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

[siam2007]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

[lee b]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

Lived in BKK for 7 years around soi 11 area. And I can only say you are lucky, what i wrote is far from nonsense. They refuse 100s of people unless the meter is off, and this includes the Thais.

[roger1999]

I lived in Bangkok from 2001-2008 and used taxis every day. The meter was always used. Never once did I have any problem.

Samui -- now that is a different story.

[thrilled]

I have never had problems with Taxi's using the meter.I'm hoping that with the price going up that the drivers will be able to make A

Decent living.And hopefully with them stopped in traffic jams it'll work out for them.

In the past if I would be stuck in A traffic jam I would tip the Taxi driver more.Compensating him or her for the time they were in

The traffic jam.

[surangw]

and long waiting line at the shops that fiddle them to misread

[KCM]

So what's going to happen to the taxis with turbo meters?

[BKKdreaming]

it would have been interesting if they tested them all to see how "legal" they were before letting them raise the fares,

I am 100% plus on raising the fares on honest taxis , but if they were already cheats why reward them , send them to the back of the line.....

[HooHaa]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

lucky you. my mileage varies depending on time/location of flag.

i generally take a minimum of 2 taxis a day without issue. i took 4 taxis today. most asked for 100 baht for what should be a 70 baht ride.

lived here for 18 years and i had stuff to do, so wasnt willing to bicker.

most days, it is not an issue but welcome to the holiday season.

i personally believe fares are criminally cheap here anyways, so an increase is due.

[Sviss Geez]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

You must just like losing bets then. Most taxis do use their meters.

[Sviss Geez]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

Lived in BKK for 7 years around soi 11 area. And I can only say you are lucky, what i wrote is far from nonsense. They refuse 100s of people unless the meter is off, and this includes the Thais.

He's not lucky, the vast majority of taxis will use meters and what you said is complete nonsense. Who are the hundreds of people that you know have been refused?

[Squeegee]

Soi 11 is likely to be a hotspot for taxis who don't use the meter, and there are some.

However, the vast majority of taxis all around BKK use the meter, and away from certain hotspots pretty much all of them use it.

[jacko45k]

I thought a large percentage had already adjusted their own meters.

[whiteman]

lived in Bangkok for 5 years and if they fiddle it it is only pea nuts change in the end to you cheap charlies out there get a life and keep your blood pressure down and go with the flow

[samsensam]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

do you live in bangkok? if so and this is truly your experience then you are either incredibly unlucky or not being particularly smart when selecting a taxi.

never go with a taxi driver who is hanging around looking for passenger especially in a tourist place, always flag down a passing taxi.

i take taxis all the time here and it is rare that the driver will not use the meter

i know my way around bangkok and it is even rarer - in fact i cant remember the last time it happened - that a taxi driver didnt take the most direct route

taxis are very cheap here and a price rise is long overdue

[bender92]

Funny enough, it seems to be the taxis that cause the traffic jams. Especially on Sukhumvit at night.

[Sparkles]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

Lee nonsense. In 9 years in Bangkok only had 2 occasions where they would not turn the meter on so I waited 30 seconds for another cab.

Drivers after paying leasing costs etc to owners are luck to earn 400 baht a day.Most drivers come from Isaan.

[minikev]

I reckon BKK taxis are shitot! Cheap and polite every one I ever used

[timmyp]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

i take taxis all the time here and it is rare that the driver will not use the meter

i know my way around bangkok and it is even rarer - in fact i cant remember the last time it happened - that a taxi driver didnt take the most direct route

taxis are very cheap here and a price rise is long overdue

I have been visiting Bangkok since 1990, and back then they rarely used the meter. Many didn't have meters. But by the mid/late 90, they all started using their meters. In recent years, I've probably had 4 or 5 cabbies say they didn't want to use the meter, so I went on to a different taxi.

Even the few times I've been on Sukhumvit late at night, the driver used the meter.

[darren84310]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

Lived in BKK for 7 years around soi 11 area. And I can only say you are lucky, what i wrote is far from nonsense. They refuse 100s of people unless the meter is off, and this includes the Thais.

11 years?... you haven't learnt much then.... like the other poster said, get out and flag down another taxi.... I've never had a problem around there. However, I have the sense to look for the moving taxi and not the ones parked up waiting for the idiots who'll pay their inflated fares.

[Benmart]

lived in Bangkok for 5 years and if they fiddle it it is only pea nuts change in the end to you cheap charlies out there get a life and keep your blood pressure down and go with the flow

I go with the flow, but never without a paddle to steer with. I also try to remember that it may be peanuts, but collect enough and you can eventually feed the elephant.

I refrain from calling any one a name, be it "Cheap Charlie", etc. Getting a life is up to others and I'm not qualified to tell anyone to rearrange theirs for my gratification.

As for lowering blood pressure, I'm not a physician.

[merlen10002]

Lived in BKK over three years took taxi about four times a week never had one not put the meter on never had to ask a driver to put the meter on, I could always speak Thai for the destination and never went to the low bar type areas manly used taxi in the day time.

[ICECOOL]

Seems to me they have the new charges upside down. If they want more use of meters surely short trips should charge a higher rate per km???

[geisha]

Anyone complaining about Bangkok, hop down to Phuket and see what they are doing there ! Despite a " crackdown" by the military, and anti scam random checks on the roads, the taxis and tucs are still wildly overcharging anyone who dares set foot in Phuket , from the airport to every little beach town, it's a Huge rip off ! Prices can be 10 times Bangkok, or anywhere else in Thailand. Having had 2 nearby accidents from drunk/ high drivers, one experience of rage and being pushed out of the door because the driver did not want to sit in Patong traffic , refusing one taxi driver who turned up completely drunk, I decided to quit Phuket and spend my time elsewhere. Compared, it's a pleasure to take taxis anywhere in Thailand!

[sprq]

Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

Lived in BKK for 7 years around soi 11 area. And I can only say you are lucky, what i wrote is far from nonsense. They refuse 100s of people unless the meter is off, and this includes the Thais.

You lived in a black spot for this kind of gouging. It usually only happens in particular parts of Bangkok such as tourist hubs and shopping centres.

[torpedo1970]

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Adjusted or not I'm betting that most of them will still not be used !

what an utter nonsense. Have you ever been to Bangkok in your life ? Of maybe 1000 rides I had there, there were not more than 3 or 4 who refused to switch on the Meter. Easy to get out of the Cab then and hail down the next one.

I do not frequent sites such as lower Sukhumvit after midnight, though

Lived in BKK for 7 years around soi 11 area. And I can only say you are lucky, what i wrote is far from nonsense. They refuse 100s of people unless the meter is off, and this includes the Thais.

He's not lucky, the vast majority of taxis will use meters and what you said is complete nonsense. Who are the hundreds of people that you know have been refused?

i Guess you both correct.

Different time and different places.

Some places and times i have no problems, other times and certain tourist areas impossible to get a taxi to run by meter even for Thais

[sprq]

Nice to see the new charges clearly explained for a change. Now Thai PBS needs to learn a bit of spelling. In British English, a meter is the instrument, a metre is the measure. In American English, a meter is both the instrument and the measure. And in every form of English, the plural of taxi is taxis. Are you listening, Thai PBS? I doubt it.

[berybert]

Why do people refuse to believe some taxi's refuse fares ? I have often seen people standing by the side of the road hailing down a taxi, and as I walk past they will stop 4 or 5 taxi's before getting into one.

[cyborgx]

Yes, it's not as bad as it used to be, but there are still many occasions when taxis will refuse to turn on the meter. It is usually because of one of the following :-

Pickup location e.g. taxis hanging around outside expensive hotels, night clubs etc. looking to take advantage of tourists/drunks, or trying to recover the "fee" they have paid to hang around there in the first place.

Destination - where the driver considers his chances of getting a return fare as slim

time of year e.g. New Years Eve is a classic where they know because of basic supply and demand, they can take advantage of people, and 90% of taxis around Sukhumvit refuse to turn on a meter

time of day - like rush hour where they don't consider the meter compensation enough of a return for being stuck in traffic.

I can't see this minimum increase, with no increase in minimum fare making any difference whatsoever.

Hopefully the inspections at time of meter replacement might weed out a few old jalopies, but don't bet your shirt on it!

Edited December 20, 2014 by cyborgx