Why no metered car taxis?

[Hal65]

Apparently all the car taxis are from BKK and they don't use the meter here.

Why are there no metered car taxis in Pattaya?

[patekatek]

Most likely due to spineless city officials not wanting to implement an ordinance that would require taxis to use meters in Pattaya. Another possibility is that the "chain of corruption" in Pattaya is in place and that has more power and influence than a city ordinance. Take your pick.

[Jingthing]

It's about the transport here being owned by own company ... the "baht bus" collective that owns all the baht bus trucks and also the Pattaya taxi meter cars that never use their meter. They are not allowed to use their meters. They are for COSMETIC purposes only if they're in there at all. Does this suck? Why yes, it certainly does. Who can change it? The local Thais don't seem to care enough.

[LennyW]

They do not use their meters because then their revenue income would be recorded and thus taxable, and of course no entity has the balls to make them use the meters either!

[RabC]

Try using the search function, this is done to death at least a couple of times a year............

[digbeth]

Why aren't Thailand a developed country yet?

[JESSVANPELT]

I have lived here for 10 years, and have never had a problem with the local rates charged for transportation, I can go from central Pattya to jomtien for 20 baht and from Jomtien back to central patty for 10 baht, motor bike taxis cost a little more around central Pattya 40 baht and to Jomtien 60 baht, so why would anyone need a meter....Oh? you don't know the rates!

[JESSVANPELT]

Why aren't Thailand a developed country yet?

if it was you could not afford to be here, as with development comes higher wages and higher taxes , which means all things cost more!

[Jingthing]

I have lived here for 10 years, and have never had a problem with the local rates charged for transportation, I can go from central Pattya to jomtien for 20 baht and from Jomtien back to central patty for 10 baht, motor bike taxis cost a little more around central Pattya 40 baht and to Jomtien 60 baht, so why would anyone need a meter....Oh? you don't know the rates!

You're joking right?

We're talking about taxi cars where you get a private ride and may want to go somewhere other than the standard baht bus routes.

[musiclover]

I have lived here for 10 years, and have never had a problem with the local rates charged for transportation, I can go from central Pattya to jomtien for 20 baht and from Jomtien back to central patty for 10 baht, motor bike taxis cost a little more around central Pattya 40 baht and to Jomtien 60 baht, so why would anyone need a meter....Oh? you don't know the rates!

What about people who live outside the baht bus routes? No 20 baht fares here!!!! For you it's clear that Pattaya is only Jomtien to Pattaya and back lol !!! Why would one want to use a motorbike ??? Perhaps it's raining or you have heavy shopping ..and that's discounting the discomfort and danger ...... What about a longer distance ? On a motorbike taxi ?? You're joking

You're living here 10 years and know only central Pattaya and Jomtien ??? That's your life ...not for everyone!

Edited January 28, 2016 by Rimmer
Flame

[onthemoon]

Of course there are "Taxi Meter" taxis in Pattaya. They are the only ones allowed to take passengers. The taxis from Bangkok are not allowed to take passengers in Pattaya, not even back to Bangkok. I know this from a "Taxi Meter" taxi driver in Pattaya.

Of course, the "Taxi Meter" taxis in Pattaya don't turn on their meters.

[SirPaul]

The love of the meter - and here lies the problem. As a passenger, you get in a cab and the driver puts the meter on - in a developed country like the UK various authorities regulate. If a meter is not right the driver may find himself with all sorts of problems. Plus one other thing - the correct running and installation of a meter in a taxi is not free.

So your in Thailand and let us say all taxi drivers must now put their meters on. Who will pay to check the meters are correct? What spot checks will take place? The more you force things the more room there is for meddling. Meters would probably not be the best option and they can be costly compared to what a Thai taxi driver earns. Furthermore, if a fare ends up being too expensive - who wants to get into an argument with a Thai taxi driver? Better to organize the fare before you get in, if the driver wants too much just try another cab, no problems. When you get a taxi you want to pay the going rate, a meter may not guarantee this.

hope this helps.

Edited January 28, 2016 by SirPaul

[Jingthing]

OMG, have you been to BANGKOK?

[LennyW]

I do believe they are going to enforce the use of meters ....around about the same time that all trucks, buses and mini vans are going to be fitted with speed limiters and tachographs!!

[RabC]

I do believe they are going to enforce the use of meters ....around about the same time that all trucks, buses and mini vans are going to be fitted with speed limiters and tachographs!!

Which is just after they post lifeguards in the new underpasses on the Suk.............

[fforest1]

If you only use a taxi on very rare occasions then who cares if they use the meter or not..

If you live far off a Baht bus route it is your choice and you knew the score before you moved there...

[toenail]

True, the taxis are managed by the same mafia as the taxis. The taxi drivers pay 800 baht rent per day to have this "privilege" to drive one of the Pattaya taxis. So you can imagine the fee has to be quite high to pay the daily rental on the car. I think of the string of taxis I see in front of some of the 4-5 star hotels and I wonder how many "clients" they get per day? Two or three?

I do not have a car since I have a driver to take me to work but... it would be nice to have a regular taxi take me to places that the public songtaews do not go to but some of the prices these taxis are asking are ridiculous - I would rather waste my money on renting a private songtaew (baht bus).

Many BKK taxis come down to Pattaya to drop off tourists and they are taking a chance if they stop somewhere to pick up passengers from Pattaya to take to BKK. So that is why so many of them have a booking agent that they will call up on their way to Pattaya in order to fince someone that needs a ride to the airport or city center in BKK. The middle man/ or booking agent makes (I think) 200 baht) and the taxi returning to BKK makes 1000 baht. The middle man or the booking agent that contacts a BKK taxi for you can never guarantee if the driver has a full gas tank returning to BKK ( you may wast 30 minutes finding a petrol station to fill up) or that the driver is a "good driver", or the car will not smell. The man behind the little booking taxi stall along the small soi in Pattaya cannot guarantee if the BKK driver is honest, a good driver, or knows where your hotel is. He will say YES to anything you ask in order to get the money out of you.

The reason a Pattaya taxi is about twice the cost taking you to BKK is because these drivers are not hooked up to a system where there is a middleman/ or booking agent to find him (the taxi driver from Pattaya) a passenger that needs to go to Pattaya - All of this has been explained to me by different drivers since I have lived/worked here.

[brewsterbudgen]

The non-meter taxis charge a flat rate fare of between 200-300 baht. Not a bad deal if there's more than one of you and you're going outside the baht bus route.

[Hal65]

The non-meter taxis charge a flat rate fare of between 200-300 baht. Not a bad deal if there's more than one of you and you're going outside the baht bus route.

Compared to a BKK taxi this is still quite expensive. In BKK the rate is something like 35 baht for the first km, 7 per km after that and 2 extra per 5 minutes. I used to take a 14 km trek in the outskirts for around 130 baht.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Hal65

[brewsterbudgen]

The non-meter taxis charge a flat rate fare of between 200-300 baht. Not a bad deal if there's more than one of you and you're going outside the baht bus route.

Compared to a BKK taxi this is still quite expensive. In BKK the rate is something like 35 baht for the first km, 7 per km after that and 2 extra per minute. I used to take a 17 km trek in the outskirts for around 125 baht.

Yes, a lot more expensive than Bangkok, which must have some of the cheapest taxis in the world. But compared to the prices tourists pay at home 200/300 is bearable for trips where the baht buses don't go or where air-conditioned comfort is needed.

[Jingthing]

Compared to at home? OMG tourist mentality.

[onthemoon]

The love of the meter - and here lies the problem. As a passenger, you get in a cab and the driver puts the meter on - in a developed country like the UK various authorities regulate. If a meter is not right the driver may find himself with all sorts of problems. Plus one other thing - the correct running and installation of a meter in a taxi is not free.

So your in Thailand and let us say all taxi drivers must now put their meters on. Who will pay to check the meters are correct? What spot checks will take place? The more you force things the more room there is for meddling. Meters would probably not be the best option and they can be costly compared to what a Thai taxi driver earns. Furthermore, if a fare ends up being too expensive - who wants to get into an argument with a Thai taxi driver? Better to organize the fare before you get in, if the driver wants too much just try another cab, no problems. When you get a taxi you want to pay the going rate, a meter may not guarantee this.

hope this helps.

The day they introduced metered taxis in Bangkok was the happiest day of my life. All your theoretical concerns have long proven to be non-existent.

[onthemoon]

The non-meter taxis charge a flat rate fare of between 200-300 baht. Not a bad deal if there's more than one of you and you're going outside the baht bus route.

Compared to a BKK taxi this is still quite expensive. In BKK the rate is something like 35 baht for the first km, 7 per km after that and 2 extra per minute. I used to take a 17 km trek in the outskirts for around 125 baht.

Yes, a lot more expensive than Bangkok, which must have some of the cheapest taxis in the world. But compared to the prices tourists pay at home 200/300 is bearable for trips where the baht buses don't go or where air-conditioned comfort is needed.

Let's have reasonable prices for residents and ridiculous prices for tourists, then. Oh wait, this concept already exists.

Edited January 29, 2016 by onthemoon

[brewsterbudgen]

Compared to at home? OMG tourist mentality.

Indeed. I wouldn't take one if you paid me, but when I had some relatives staying, they couldn't believe how cheap the Pattaya taxis were and so many of them just waiting to take you!

[Jingthing]

Compared to at home? OMG tourist mentality.

Indeed. I wouldn't take one if you paid me, but when I had some relatives staying, they couldn't believe how cheap the Pattaya taxis were and so many of them just waiting to take you!

I compare to Bangkok as we're in Thailand, so not cheap at all.

[brewsterbudgen]

Compared to at home? OMG tourist mentality.

Indeed. I wouldn't take one if you paid me, but when I had some relatives staying, they couldn't believe how cheap the Pattaya taxis were and so many of them just waiting to take you!

I compare to Bangkok as we're in Thailand, so not cheap at all.

Me too. But my relatives are from the UK and were on holiday, so compared the price to a UK taxi. Presumably these taxis rely on the tourist market as I can't believe any expat would take one. But then Pattaya is a tourist town. Edited January 29, 2016 by brewsterbudgen

[SirPaul]

The benefits of making all the taxis work on a meter so you do not have to ask the price are:

1) you can get a more standardized price for regular journeys - the price will only vary due to traffic or route taken, but that variation should not be too much

2) you can jump out any time and simply just pay what is on the meter, you do not have to finish your journey.

3) The passenger can expect change - not just paper money either.

The problem here is that these advantages do not benefit the driver (along with the cost of maintaining a meter) and it is questionable whether such changes would encourage more people into using Pattaya taxis. If the volume of trade is not likely to improve how can there be an argument that the driver must use the meter?

In Pattaya, a lot of people have their own transport. Along with this, motorbike taxis and Bhat busses are very efficient ways to move around Pattaya. Due to the existing forms of transport and the way we currently move around the place, I doubt that the volume of people wanting to use a metered taxis would be enough to make this viable. Therefore, in Pattaya, the metered taxi in reality will probably remain a priced fare for tourists and families that visit Pattaya. For such customers, the priced fare is considered cheap relative to the fares they would pay in their own countries.

[Hal65]

The day they introduced metered taxis in Bangkok was the happiest day of my life. All your theoretical concerns have long proven to be non-existent.

When did that happen by the way? Many years ago, or within the last few years?

[Jingthing]

The day they introduced metered taxis in Bangkok was the happiest day of my life. All your theoretical concerns have long proven to be non-existent.

When did that happen by the way? Many years ago, or within the last few years?

Many many years ago.

[raro]

I booked a taxi with grab taxi once and was unpleasantly surprised that the driver didn't want to switch on the meter. Overlooked that the driver actually quoted a fix price through the grab taxi app which I accepted.... Ok, my fault, didn't look carefully enough.

Interviewed the driver and learned :

There are four taxi corporations in Pattaya, but they all do not use the meter. In the beginning they did, but the drivers complained that they had a hard time picking up passengers and so the negotiable (higher) rates were introduced. I argued that I would never flag down a taxi in Pattaya because I can foresee the rip off, whereas in Bangkok I do it all the time as I know it will be metered. The driver didn't understand the concept that he would get much more trips if it gets known that taxis in Pattaya become as affordable as in Bangkok.