Uber rival All Thai Taxi service launches in Bangkok

[taony]

Why should I have to pay more for a taxi driver to do his job? How about making taxi drivers do the job they've chosen to do.

You sound like a guy whose wages are not set by a government body unlike taxi drivers, right?

He's right though. Its not the rider's problem if the flag fall fare is too low. That's between the drivers and the regulators. If the starting fare is fair, the drivers need to stop complaining and do their jobs. If its not fair, the regulators need to do their jobs and raise it. As riders, we will pay.

[Sabot]

Why should I have to pay more for a taxi driver to do his job? How about making taxi drivers do the job they've chosen to do.

You sound like a guy whose wages are not set by a government body unlike taxi drivers, right?

Sure, I make a decent salary and get a yearly raise. However, I have chosen this work and they have chosen their line of work. I'm sure they knew what they were getting before becoming a taxi driver. It doesn't give them the right to run without meters and not accept riders who need to go somewhere.

[muffy]

I predict they have a lot of problems with the old drivers , broken windows , fights Etc.

[Monkeyrobot]

Hope there at the airport , saves haggling over the fare with the mafia drivers.

[Stan7444]

The cars look cute. Where do you put your luggage? Too bad the London style taxi is unavailable here, much more practical.

.....and will they also guarantee that the drivers all can speak English???

[jpduggan]

This is Thailand where they open a 7/11 across the street from an existing one. Wouldn't surprise me if we see another dozen of these Taxi servises launched in coming months.

[Dumbastheycome]

You think the brother-in-law of the Nakhon Chai Air guy happens to own a Toyota dealership??

And what percentage of the total taxi fleets is NOT a Toyota ??

[Jaggg88]

20 baht plus standard rate, meaning? So instead of 35 baht starting rate and after that the same as Bangkok taxis?

No. The article quoted 20 baht in addition to standard taxi rates. It seems clear that the starting rate of 35 baht will still exist and an additional 20 baht booking fee would be included - Thus, the starting fee - 55 baht - Not too much if clean cars, reliable and honest drivers can be guaranteed.

It's seems very much like GrabTaxi but with the same costs and better cars (Prius).

Recently I've been avoiding taxi's and relying on UBER where possible (and waxing lyrical of UBER's service). I'd happy give this All Thai Taxi a try.

I agree completely Richard - 20 bht is a small price to pay for clean, reliable and honest taxi service.

[A1Str8]

So that's why they were foaming at the mouth when uber arrived in Thailand. They wanted monopoly.

[Dumbastheycome]

In at least 300 taxi trips in BKK I have only had 3 problem trips. One was a "tour trip", one was a " The meter is broken" and the other was potentially dangerous with blatant attempt at 1000% overcharge and an attempt to steal from luggage. All three thwarted by simply videoing the driver, the id and the taxi number with cell phone. The "tour" was abandoned, the meter magically fixed itself, and in the last the fare was apologised for and blamed on the meter also. ( Paid the nominal amount for the same trip as many times before! Attempt at luggage was only noticed after but no loss of importance occurred.)

But the refusals of carriage are a problem. ill seriously consider this for specific travel. Otherwise I will stay with the buses, skytrain and underground. Is cheaper and often more entertaining and usually faster.

[Xircal]

Good sized boot by the looks of it, at least space isnt taken up with a bloody LPG can.

These taxis could be great.

The Toyota Prius is a hybrid electric vehice hence the lack of the usual LPG tank taking up half the luggage space.

We have a similar type in Amsterdam and they're practically silent when driving. http://www.taxielectric.nl/en/home

The only problem here is that you can't rely on just your ears when crossing the road. Even if you can't hear anything, there could still be a giant electric truck bearing down on you and you really do need to look both ways when crossing the road.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Xircal

[ttnice30]

500 taxis is nice but not that many ,

I hope it works , I would be happy to use them for longer distances ,

but i did not have any luck using Grab taxi so will wait and see

Are Prius built in Thailand ?

Yes, Prius is built in Thailand.

[MaiDong]

I've used Grab Taxi, it's ok, at first the taxi's were new and clean, then slowly the bashed up cars, noisy, erratic & dangerous driving crept in, I'll be checking out All Thai Taxi as soon as they fix their broken app, which has over 700 reviews, most of them negative, regarding to the app that doesn't seem to work, I'll attest to that too, I am still waiting for the OTP which I've requested 3 times now, what's the matter with these people?? They start a business but then just sit around picking their noses whilst it digs a grave for itself!?

On a lighter note, here's 1 minute of my 1 hour journey to the airport last week in a taxi I hailed from the road...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF0_gyi8Nsk

Edited January 7, 2016 by MaiDong

[richard_smith237]

I've used Grab Taxi, it's ok, at first the taxi's were new and clean, then slowly the bashed up cars, noisy, erratic & dangerous driving crept in, I'll be checking out All Thai Taxi as soon as they fix their broken app, which has over 700 reviews, most of them negative, regarding to the app that doesn't seem to work, I'll attest to that too, I am still waiting for the OTP which I've requested 3 times now, what's the matter with these people?? They start a business but then just sit around picking their noses whilst it digs a grave for itself!?

On a lighter note, here's 1 minute of my 1 hour journey to the airport last week in a taxi I hailed from the road...

Wow.... How did you remain sane listening to that music all journey?

Didn't you want to ask him to turn it off ?

[MaiDong]

I don't know, it was a test, that's definite.

I did want to ask him to turn it off but my better side prevailed(for him), he seemed to be having so much fun thumping his feet(off-beat) in the footwell - along with over-revving and erratic lane-changes, late braking, reading messages on his phone whilst speeding, and probably thought that EVERY WHITEY loved this, I thought I'd let him off, and the comedy value was worth it, everybody I've showed this to has had a good giggle about it, not sure if that's because I had to endure it, or because it's actually funny, wasn't funny for me, I wanted to cry

Edited January 7, 2016 by MaiDong

[simon43]

On a lighter note, here's 1 minute of my 1 hour journey to the airport last week in a taxi I hailed from the road...

I must have missed something. He seems to be driving OK, not too fast, not shouting or getting angry at other drivers.

If you didn't ask him to turn his music down, then that's your problem

[MaiDong]

On a lighter note, here's 1 minute of my 1 hour journey to the airport last week in a taxi I hailed from the road...

I must have missed something. He seems to be driving OK, not too fast, not shouting or getting angry at other drivers.

If you didn't ask him to turn his music down, then that's your problem

You did miss something, you missed the fact that we're in a traffic jam, you missed the fact that the video is 1 minute long and I said in my post that the journey was 1 hour long so that's 59 minutes missed, you also must have missed the part in my post where I said 'my better side prevailed', and 'he seemed to be having so much fun', and also in my YouTube description where I said 'my inner 'greng jai' told me to stay put and keep my mouth shut'.

[samtam]

An All Thai Taxi turned up at our condo in answer to our regular request for one last week. The car was immaculate, with good space for passengers, (unlike the sometimes nearly horizontal driver's seat that makes sitting behind him impossible), and the driver was smartly dressed in a silk suea phraratchathan (Thai "Mandarin@ jacket). The car was quiet, the driver competent and the route clearly visible on the GPS screen that he was following... which seemed essential, as he didn't appear to know where Central Chidlom was. If they can maintain this standard, then I would certainly use them frequently.

[MaiDong]

An All Thai Taxi turned up at our condo in answer to our regular request for one last week. The car was immaculate, with good space for passengers, (unlike the sometimes nearly horizontal driver's seat that makes sitting behind him impossible), and the driver was smartly dressed in a silk suea phraratchathan (Thai "Mandarin@ jacket). The car was quiet, the driver competent and the route clearly visible on the GPS screen that he was following... which seemed essential, as he didn't appear to know where Central Chidlom was. If they can maintain this standard, then I would certainly use them frequently.

Sounds like a dream doesn't it!

I would love to experience those standards, just as soon as they have fixed their app...

[weka]

I got in an All Thai Taxi in December. He was stopped on the side of the road.

Very good experience.

Nice guy, spotlessly clean car (Prius). He asked about the radio and if the air conditioning was ok, never drove above the speed limit, (was a 220 baht fare/distance)

We got chatting and he gets 18k baht per month salary, 12 hour shifts. Nothing dependant on trips or fares

The cars have GPS so dispatch can monitor and all have cameras on the ceiling where normal interior lights are

The meter is exactly the same as normal taxis

A great formula for taxi trips. No refusals, clean and professionally monitored cars and drivers, very safe for all, especially solo women

Hope it becomes a success!

[samtam]

An All Thai Taxi turned up at our condo in answer to our regular request for one last week. The car was immaculate, with good space for passengers, (unlike the sometimes nearly horizontal driver's seat that makes sitting behind him impossible), and the driver was smartly dressed in a silk suea phraratchathan (Thai "Mandarin@ jacket). The car was quiet, the driver competent and the route clearly visible on the GPS screen that he was following... which seemed essential, as he didn't appear to know where Central Chidlom was. If they can maintain this standard, then I would certainly use them frequently.

Sounds like a dream doesn't it!

I would love to experience those standards, just as soon as they have fixed their app...

I had to pinch myself, to be sure I was in Bangkok and not Tokyo. I thought "if only it was always like this". But do I "dream on" if I say that it could be?

[impulse]

Like Muffy, I wonder what's going to happen the first few dozen times one of these taxis rocks up in front of a "protected" hotel driveway and takes some business away from a firmly entrenched mob of drivers waiting for their next score.

But I'd prefer to see it on video... Don't want to get blood on me.