Bangkok upgrades taxi services to raise tourism standard

[Alwyn]

Dad: "okay kids I've booked our holidays and we're going to an all inclusive 5 star resort in Punta Cana, Mexico. The beaches are pristinf and you're even allowed to take a parasol on to the beach to protect you from cancer! Foods great, weather great, no military government and it's only $40 a night"!!

Kids: "Oh but dad, we want to go somewhere they have an upgraded and enhanced taxi service"

And the drug barons come around and machine gun you all- I'd prefer a dodgy taxi driver

what planet are you on?

[Ghostnigel]

What a waste of time and effort this will be ....

Taxis still refuse passengers everywhere .... why don't these guys get out in the real world and try and catch one at 4.30pm from say MBK or Sukhumvit ...

Bought the T shirt on that one....best to get a motorcy at 4.30pm, if life has no worth....lol

At 4 30 PM why would you do anything but take the Sky Train or Underground out of the centre before even thinking about catching a taxi??? you'll be stuck in the traffic for hours...

By the time you buy your ticket, i'd be home on my bike mate...tooroot!

[SoiBiker]

I can't recall when I last had a taxi driver refuse to use the meter either. By and large, they're friendly and helpful. At worst, I've had the odd one who didn't want to accept my fare, but there's always another around the corner.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in a different city to the rest of you.

[cookee68]

I think they need a bit more than that to raise tourism standards

[wandasloan]

I see there is another taxi service coming on, not only Grabtaxi and Uber this one had a big flat screen advertising on a nice Toyota Prius.

These taxis at the moment are playing up again refusing rides. I was in a taxi yesterday which was pulled up by the police for not wearing a uniform which he gave the cop 100 baht and drove off swearing and cursing all the way to Sukhumvit, my son was starting to get worried. Then he had the nerve to demand a tip because he had to pay the police.

nice Toyota Prius.

Speaking as a passenger, I'm unfamiliar with this specific phrase. Could you explain how this car is "nice" for a couple of passengers headed across town? Compared with, oh, since you brought it up, an Uber Toyota Camry, for example? Do you mean "nice" in the sense of doing isometric exercises with your knees against the seatback in front of you is "nice"? For this sort of nice you would pay a bonus over a regular taxi?

[steven100]

I can't recall when I last had a taxi driver refuse to use the meter either. By and large, they're friendly and helpful. At worst, I've had the odd one who didn't want to accept my fare, but there's always another around the corner.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in a different city to the rest of you.

You should try to catch one outside your soi .....

[SoiBiker]

I can't recall when I last had a taxi driver refuse to use the meter either. By and large, they're friendly and helpful. At worst, I've had the odd one who didn't want to accept my fare, but there's always another around the corner.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in a different city to the rest of you.

You should try to catch one outside your soi .....

What a weird reply.

I presume the intended implication is that I never go anywhere. But then why would I use taxis?

[steven100]

I can't recall when I last had a taxi driver refuse to use the meter either. By and large, they're friendly and helpful. At worst, I've had the odd one who didn't want to accept my fare, but there's always another around the corner.

Sometimes I wonder if I live in a different city to the rest of you.

You should try to catch one outside your soi .....

What a weird reply.

I presume the intended implication is that I never go anywhere. But then why would I use taxis?

Just saying you very rarely have been refused a ride .. ? I bet you try to catch a taxi on Sukhumvit at 3.00pm on any work day and chances are the driver will keep going ....

It's usually around 50% that refuse ...

[SoiBiker]

I live off sukhumvit. I've taken a taxi from there many times. The vast majority are happy to take me where I want to go.

[tigermoth]

taxis are bad in Thailand, but not as bad as other countries. Take for example Indonesia. Literally everywhere you go there is a sign posted saying "don't trust taxi here". Lol

You should try Manila. On at least 3 or 4 occassions I had the taxi break down and on one occassion while stuck in traffic on the way to the airport the dorr was jerked open and robbed at knife point.

[Usernames]

What is tourism standard? For me that's a taxi which can easy load a few big suitcases. Thai taxi's have a huge gastank.

Maybe that means the drivers will need to stop bringing samurai swords to their jobs and killing their passengers???

[Thian]

Last weekend i arrived at suvarnabhumi.

There was nobody at all at that taxi stop where you get the ticket, they put some stupid machines there.

I even couldn't find the taxi stop but the security told me it is dowwww.

Some tourist girls gave me a bunch of tickets because they all came out the machine they said. I didn't know what to do with the tickets so i walked to a taxi and asked to bring me home. No problem except that the taxi could drive 80 km/hr max. If he drove 90 the wheels in the back started shaking and grunting....So we drove 80 all the way over the tollways.

The driver couldn't speak any english at all.