Prajin delays taxi fare raise as survey shows taxi service still not satisfactory

[Blindside]

I was in BKK recently and took quite a number of taxis. I have to say that they were all ok. Some being really good. I tipped most them well over the fare (which by Phuket standards) which is really low if we are honest.

[bamnutsak]

Just raise the prices. They are stupidly cheap, and the service is no worse than most places in the world.

One issue is that 99.7% of the daily taxi journeys are made by Thais, and their purchasing power is limited by their local earnings, so increases really hit them. Increases in taxi fares might actually result in fewer passengers, and lower revenue for drivers.

Admittedly foreigners/tourists may be less price sensitive. And you can always pay/tip more if you feel the urge to increase local intelligence.

Obviously the ideal situation is for foreigners to pay 2x-10x and thus subsidize taxi fares for locals.

My solution, which might resonate with you, is to charge individuals based on their native taxi fares. "Hi, I'm from London, so I can pay 12x the metered fare. Is that OK?"

[Stradavarius37]

[Bluespunk]

Just raise the prices. They are stupidly cheap, and the service is no worse than most places in the world.

One issue is that 99.7% of the daily taxi journeys are made by Thais, and their purchasing power is limited by their local earnings, so increases really hit them. Increases in taxi fares might actually result in fewer passengers, and lower revenue for drivers.

Admittedly foreigners/tourists may be less price sensitive. And you can always pay/tip more if you feel the urge to increase local intelligence.

Obviously the ideal situation is for foreigners to pay 2x-10x and thus subsidize taxi fares for locals.

My solution, which might resonate with you, is to charge individuals based on their native taxi fares. "Hi, I'm from London, so I can pay 12x the metered fare. Is that OK?"

"Obviously the ideal situation is for foreigners to pay 2x-10x and thus subsidize taxi fares for locals.

My solution, which might resonate with you, is to charge individuals based on their native taxi fares. "Hi, I'm from London, so I can pay 12x the metered fare. Is that OK?"

None of those things is obvious, ideal or ok with me.

Quite the opposite in fact.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Bluespunk

[Jeff Bangkok]

I do find the service to be much worse than most places in the world. For that reason, I stopped using taxis regularly years ago and stick to the Skytrain and MRT. I have only taken taxis out of complete necessity until Uber came along. Now I don't go near a regular taxi for any reason. Just not worth the hassle. Sure there are a few good ones, but they are too few and too far between.

[fareastguy]

Will it ever be "satisfactory" ??

[mike324]

Taxi's don't run on gaoline, they are all on cng/lpg. So "gas" cuts into just a small portions of their earnings.

I noticed Grabtaxi drivers are slightly better than the normal ones, I think because they are more tech savy which just makes them better. Uber drivers are all very professional and nice