Harsher penalties for belligerent Thai taxi drivers who are not fair with the fare

[Andrew65]

Have the official higher fares been implemented in Bangkok yet?

[SantiSuk]

Refusing a fare at night or when the journey is a particularly obtuse one is endemic worldwide even amongst the best regulated taxis systems like the London black cab system (highly regulated and generally justifiably lauded).

Crackdowns need to focus on the more pernicious aspects of driver behaviour - dumping, tampered meters, bogus extra charges and refusing to use the meter once the vehicle has set-off.

I recall 15 years ago getting a cab from downtown Manhattan to JFK airport. The driver refused to set the meter when we set off and quoted a silly price. I simply told him it was meter or the police station (same strategy that I now use here). He grudgingly set the meter. When we got to JFK a curbside policeman came up to me as we were unloading and asked if everything had been OK with the ride. I said fine but I had had to use the 'usual threats' to get a metered fare. "Right - he's toast" was the reply and he promptly ticketed the driver on my say-so. They were having a crack-down at JFK I believe. Doubt we'll see anything like that in Bangkok.