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

[KhunJack]

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?

Depends where you are .... outside lower Suk (farang Ghetto) ... it happens very very seldom to me (twice/year).

Not a farang only issue, happens to Thai too.

But e.g Suk 11 .... 50%+, night time.

Last night Suk Soi 23, stopped 3 Taxis, none would go with the meter.

Needed to walk down to Sukhumvit.

Still, I think it isn't as bad as it was 2,3 years ago.

[HerbalEd]

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.

I've lived on Suk. Soi 10 for ten years and have taken hundreds of taxi rides in the area. My experience is that about 10-15% of the time a driver tries not to turn their meter. Of course, the percentage is higher later at night and when traffic is grid-locked.

If you actually want people to believe what you say, try not to be so hyperbolic.

[spidermike007]

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.

Samui is an ethically and morally bankrupt island. The utter lack of law enforcement means that whoever has the money and the power rules the day. The tax mob there has proven time and again, they are more powerful than the local government, the police, and the army. They are above the law. What law? No law, on that island. No traffic safety results in the highest per capita traffic fatality rate on the planet. It is a well hidden fact, but easily verifiable. 30-60 road deaths per month, is a fact.

The sad truth, is that is in my opinion Samui is moving in the wrong direction on at least 10-20 different levels. At the current rate, within 5-10 years, Samui will resemble SW Bali, in terms of concrete blight, and congestion.

[rametindallas]

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

I'm sure that many of them already have an appointment set up to see the 'turbo meter' guy as soon as possible. I've ridden in a few of those 'turbo meter' taxis and the price can be double what it normally cost to go to a regular destination.

[rametindallas]

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

+1

Even with the increase, compared to Dallas taxi fares, the Thais are practically giving away their services. BTW, I've had a driver refuse to use the meter only when outside an event letting out or a heavily tourist-ed area.

[Lokie]

Just gotta love the headline of OP

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

Only in land of smiles lol

[jim cortesos]

Bangkok taxi's are some of the best in the world..very inexpensive...

Fleet of appox.180000 cabs 24/7 looking for fares...Yes in certain area's of the city it is a problem these guy can be very cruel...I think if you rub the driver in Thai the right way he will convey and turn on the meter..Its a big city with non forgiving hard traffic...Be polite say thank you and please plus try to give the driver the address and cross streets in Thai ..helps big time..Take care....a retired farang cabbie.