No-rejection ‘All Thai Taxi’ service rolls out Monday

[FangFerang]

I want more pictures, with taxi drivers and police and military joined arm-in-arm -- that proves everything!

Better yet -- let's have another Dusit poll! May peace and reconciliation be with you, Amen.

Edited April 25, 2015 by FangFerang

[kiwikeith]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

A guarantee that all drivers will use their meters will help.

The owners of the Althaitaxi service, Nakorn Chai Air have already said:

- The meter charge is automatically based on the standard & published LTO scale of Baht amount by distance. There is a 35Baht flag fall plus 20Baht phone order service.

- The hi-tech data equipment in the car will be analyzed continuously to ensure there are no strange 'bumps' in the whole process including a comparison of receipts issued to customers compared to cash in hand, compared to trips assigned from their control centre.

- GPS data will be watched to ensure the vehicles are making appropriate progress throughout each trip and not speeding, and the sign on the top of the vehicles indicates the current speed of the vehicle, and more.

- All of the Allthaitaxi drivers are direct employees of the company, and have an appropriate driving license. They are not freelance drivers and not people who have rented a car for a day as is the current practice with 99% of taxis on the roads.

- Salaries to their driving staff will be attractive.

- The parent company Nakorn Chai Air have already done the hard work to develop a good business / operational model and they have much safer operations than any other bus company in Thailand. Actually they also have a license to start up a domestic airline but this seems to be on hold at the moment.

- I will use this service as often as I can and if the drivers are polite, customer focused & drive safely I will always give a separate appropriate tip.

Maybe they will start a ten seated version to compete with the Kamikaze suicide versions that continue to wreak havoc, the only opposition to encounter will be the ya baa, caffeine and chain smoking lunatics and their mafia bosses.

[Guest]

yes they run a great bus company and i hope the taxi company is as well run and 40 taxis is a start so we should all get the app and use it and also report any drivers that do not accept the fare the phone number is 1584, remember Roma

[Traveling Sailor]

cant think of a stupider choice of car to do it in

All Taxi on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia are Toyota Prius , that is every Taxi not just a few, don't think their Stupid, many other city's in Australia also run Toyota Prius taxis , think about it, maybe it is not them that is Stupid,,,

Not ideal vehicle for passengers with luggage.International airport and only Prius cabs, sounds like a nightmare.

Nowhere does it say that these taxis will be available at the airport. I think they will be wonderful for around town. I'll give them a try when I visit Bangkok in July. I hope they are a roaring success and will decide to expand to other cities in the near future.

I would even consider taking the train from Swampy for a couple of stops, just so I could hail one of these cabs.

[Benmart]

Geez Louise....can we please stop all the mind torture and get this taxi cab affair over and done with.

Just raise the kick off rate to 60 Baht or raise the per kilometer rate so the Taxi drivers are making some money for sure and help put an end to this squabble about not making any money and the need to try to over charge some way or another.

As for the No Rejection aspect.....how can that be enforced while really there is only a small percent that refuse to go....so we will have to live with that aspect of the taxi industry while they try to find a way to enforce it........but how????

All part of living in Thailand although it is a negative part that will have to be tolerated until they find a concrete solution....but do not hold your breath.

Personally, I think they should sell soft drinks and snacks and other saleable items in the taxi cab if they want to make some extra income....maybe condoms and personal lubricants would be popular and profitable....lol

Cheers

I leave it to Louise to decide, for him or herself, when this affair is over and done with.

I don't run the show. I live my life and not that of others. I try not to hold my breath as it is necessary for clear thinking and self reflection.

[siam2007]

Please come to Pattaya!!!!

For sure they would love to, plus Phuket, plus Samui, plus Chiang Mai, but 100% sure they would get their cars burnt and their drivers assaulted, same as it happens frequently to Indonesia's most reputable Taxi company BLUEBIRD in Bali......

[mikebell]

40 taxis means 40 fewer disappointed fares at all times of the day/night. They should site the Head office in Soi Nana where loads of taxi loungers hang out refusing fares.

[Halion]

Hopeful. Mighty Oak trees from little acorns grow.

[lockman]

I have to agree 40 isn't many and vehicle choice leaves much to be desired, however my findings are no matter how many or few there, traffic gridlock defeats all that. I.E. the main NE bus station has taxies arrive to take passengers out, but when the buses can't get to the station due to all those who refuse to go that route and are blocking traffic and the area, it does nothing for that problem. How about an exit route that every taxi must use from that area, no ticket like at swampy, 100-500B fine. Same with city traffic, No fare, no call for,off the road, end the driving around for fares.

Edited April 26, 2015 by lockman

[siam2007]

all information to be had online seems to be in THAI ONLY, so they obviously don't target foreign customers.

Same as NCA website - until today no English version, which is somehow ridiculous for such a big and reputable company that sees a lot of foreign passengers

[balo]

all information to be had online seems to be in THAI ONLY, so they obviously don't target foreign customers.

Same as NCA website - until today no English version, which is somehow ridiculous for such a big and reputable company that sees a lot of foreign passengers

Read the website using google translate. It will make more sense even if the sentences looks ridiculous sometimes.

[expatinbangkok]

I appreciate this idea in principle, but surely any cab will have to reject passengers sometimes if they're approaching the end of their shift and need to return the car, low on gas, etc. And is it no rejection within Bangkok, or would they go to across the country? There has to be some distance limit, and that therefore will add subjectivity - suppose I live on the very outskirts of Bangkok, and the driver considers it not to be within the city proper?

[Sviss Geez]

cant think of a stupider choice of car to do it in

All Taxi on the Gold Coast in Queensland Australia are Toyota Prius , that is every Taxi not just a few, don't think their Stupid, many other city's in Australia also run Toyota Prius taxis , think about it, maybe it is not them that is Stupid,,,

Not ideal vehicle for passengers with luggage.International airport and only Prius cabs, sounds like a nightmare.

Bigger boot capacity than a Corolla, sounds like less of a nightmare.

[Sviss Geez]

all information to be had online seems to be in THAI ONLY, so they obviously don't target foreign customers.

Same as NCA website - until today no English version, which is somehow ridiculous for such a big and reputable company that sees a lot of foreign passengers

As the vast majority of passengers of taxis in Bangkok are Thai it's hardly "somehow ridiculous" to have a Thai language website.

[fey]

No-rejection All Thai Taxi service rolls out Monday

OH MY GOD! Someone in Thailand finally grew a brain!

Any experienced cabbie from any country will tell you...if you want to make money...:Don't reject ANY fares"

(I worked part time as a cabbie in Sydney years ago...took the advice from the Taxi Training Company I got my licence through...and it worked.)

Want to go broke and be a miserable cabbie failure? Sit on queues all day or be picky with your fares.

no, long destinations into the middle of nowhere can result in long unpaid trips back. this can eat up most of the profit made. plus, the driver looses all that time when they could have been doing shorter trips both ways in popular destinations.

you probably did not make much of a cabbie. maybe math instructer is more your field.

i give you BT grade, for Brain Transplant.

[Laughing Gravy]

^{I had my faith restored slightly over the weekend regarding taxis. I had two great taxi drivers. I discussed this very issue with them and they replied "that to many drivers from outside Bangkok" was tarnishing their reputation. I have to agree with them.}

Edited April 27, 2015 by Laughing Gravy

[BernhardO]

Can anyone find the App? or what its called I have looked in the app store but no luck

Thanks in advance

[bangon04]

Geez Louise....can we please stop all the mind torture and get this taxi cab affair over and done with.

Just raise the kick off rate to 60 Baht or raise the per kilometer rate so the Taxi drivers are making some money for sure and help put an end to this squabble about not making any money and the need to try to over charge some way or another.

As for the No Rejection aspect.....how can that be enforced while really there is only a small percent that refuse to go....so we will have to live with that aspect of the taxi industry while they try to find a way to enforce it........but how????

All part of living in Thailand although it is a negative part that will have to be tolerated until they find a concrete solution....but do not hold your breath.

Personally, I think they should sell soft drinks and snacks and other saleable items in the taxi cab if they want to make some extra income....maybe condoms and personal lubricants would be popular and profitable....lol

Cheers

Sounds rather naïve to me.... if you double the meter the short term effect will not be to double the driver's income. It is much more likely that you will double the number of unsuitable drivers who think that taxi driving is an easy way to make money.

There are already too many taxis on the roads of central Bangkok, and the income drivers make could be improved by them servicing all other parts of Bangkok, not merely hanging around high paying central areas waiting for a big payoff and refusing fares they feel might be less lucrative.... Plus a few unsuitable drivers could leave the taxi driving profession thus improving things for everyone else. In many countries they would be refused a licence.

As for the rogues who hang around tourist hotels in lower sukhumvit, waiting for a tourist sucker payday - isn't it odd that the police are so unable to spot these unofficial taxi ranks even though everyone else can see them from a hundred yards away....?? The police could if they choose conduct a sting operation every hour of ebery day until the problem goes away. Do they want / choose to?

[technologybytes]

Forever the optimist!

Well done to nakorn chai air, good luck with your new venture and thank you for doing something about the thieves that are driving taxis at the moment, hopefully they will all be put out of business.

Please remember that there are lots of very honest and good taxi drivers in Bangkok.

[richard_smith237]

Forever the optimist!

Well done to nakorn chai air, good luck with your new venture and thank you for doing something about the thieves that are driving taxis at the moment, hopefully they will all be put out of business.

Please remember that there are lots of very honest and good taxi drivers in Bangkok.

Agreed - but the issue is that flagging down a taxi is always somewhat of a lottery.... You can never be sure of getting a reasonable and safe driver...

Just last night the taxi driver had difficulty using his electric windows (upon paying for the express way), obviously he was very new to the car, he was not the guy in the photo ID, it was obviously not his car, it was also clear he was new to driving when frequently drifting out of his lane, he had no idea where to go - all in all not a comfortable trip. This is the one time I've used a taxi this week, 5+ other journeys in UBERx which were trouble free. The only problem is that UBERx is not always available in some locations.

For me, regardless of the fact that some / many of the normal taxi drivers are pretty good, the number of bad drivers is significant enough to warrant using the viable alternatives where ever possible.

Edited April 27, 2015 by richard_smith237

[SoiBiker]

Tried to install the Android app. Apparently it's incompatible with all my devices due to the country they're in.

Maybe it works if you're not in Thailand?

[craigt3365]

Forever the optimist!

Well done to nakorn chai air, good luck with your new venture and thank you for doing something about the thieves that are driving taxis at the moment, hopefully they will all be put out of business.

Please remember that there are lots of very honest and good taxi drivers in Bangkok.

Well put. Unfortunately, a few bad apples are spoiling the whole bunch.

[Anon999]

cant think of a stupider choice of car to do it in

Try thinking. The reason they have chosen the Prius Hybrid is because they do not have to install a gas tank in the luggage area and therefore it's an uninterrupted space for luggage. Additionally it runs on electric power in traffic jams.

[jmacken306]

We have been rejected 3 times in the last few weeks for wanting to go to the Hospital, the opposite direction???, we have rejected 1 in the last six months, because he stopped in a gas station to fill up and the line was long n wouldn't stop the meter!!! One we rejected after a 15 minute trip, no air.....

[Strangebrew]

Well, again guys, it's where you choose to live. I can get a Tuk Tuk to anywhere in Hatyai for B40-80

True that and I can get bombed in any bar in BKK and survive too. Just saying it is about choices But as far as Taxi's If I want to be ripped off I go to Vegas. They do it royally.

[Strangebrew]

I found 6 honest taxi drivers so I keep there numbers and use them a lot. Never an issue even had one waiting for me once at swampy to pick me up Big tip for him.

[smotherb]

Well, again guys, it's where you choose to live. I can get a Tuk Tuk to anywhere in Hatyai for B40-80

True that and I can get bombed in any bar in BKK and survive too. Just saying it is about choices But as far as Taxi's If I want to be ripped off I go to Vegas. They do it royally.

yeah, what's your point?

[craigt3365]

Well, again guys, it's where you choose to live. I can get a Tuk Tuk to anywhere in Hatyai for B40-80

True that and I can get bombed in any bar in BKK and survive too. Just saying it is about choices But as far as Taxi's If I want to be ripped off I go to Vegas. They do it royally.

Taxis in Vegas use a meter. The fares are super high, but metered. You want to get ripped off....go to Moscow. Or Vietnam. Or Cairo....

[siam2007]

Well, again guys, it's where you choose to live. I can get a Tuk Tuk to anywhere in Hatyai for B40-80

True that and I can get bombed in any bar in BKK and survive too. Just saying it is about choices But as far as Taxi's If I want to be ripped off I go to Vegas. They do it royally.

Taxis in Vegas use a meter. The fares are super high, but metered. You want to get ripped off....go to Moscow. Or Vietnam. Or Cairo....

Vietnam has GRABTAXI nowadays. easy to avoid rip-offs

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Seems they're having technical issues, not surprisingly, with their Android app.

When I searched for it in the Google Play store by name, couldn't find it.

When I clicked the link for it off the ATT website, it brought me to the app's page, but said it was incompatible with my mobile phone -- and that was even when I was running a Thai-location VPN on my mobile at the time.

Then, when I checked the user comments for the app, A LOT of Thai language posts complaining about the app and giving only 1 or 2 star ratings, saying they couldn't log in or register or get it to work.