Thai police to get tough on taxi drivers after flood of complaints

[mrrizzla]

How many times have I heard this rhetoric trotted out?

90% of my experiences with Taxis are fine. Just guys trying to earn a living and don't try to rip me off. However, the shysters ALWAYS congregate at the SAME areas in Bangkok and the tourist places. I bet all of us BKK residence could name ten or so off the tops of our heads.

The cops won't do anything about these guys though...and we all know why

[iReason]

Not to worry.

Because soon; "the new charter will eradicate corruption practices from Thai society."

http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/news/news_detail/WNPOL5901300010004

[EyesWideOpen]

After 14 years in Thailand, I had many miserable taxi experiences.

When my phone was left in a taxi, after calling my phone he

ransomed it back to me. One taxi driver many years ago asked

me if I liked Thaksin. When I told the driver Thaksin was the

worst thing that ever happened to Thailand, he stopped the cab

and ordered me out. And countless times the driver refused

to use the meter, or did not stop at all. So yeah, I say rein them

in. They are the main contact point for many tourists, and a sad

one at that. The crown for worst taxi driver certainly has to be

the one that had a fare dispute with a farang, pulls out a sword

from his trunk, and kills the farang.....

what about the one who picked up a young couple

drove somewhere and collected 2 of his friends

beat up the young guy and robbed his phone and money and left him at the side of the road

kidnapped his pregnant gf and took her to some apartment

where they took turns raping her until she escaped later in the day and reported the crime .......

i would say those 3 are the worst but opinions vary .........

Damn, yeah I forgot about them. Those three could be worse,

because in essence it was like an extended torture session.

The sword guy just did the standard Thai meltdown then

flew into a killing mode.....

[steven100]

bla ..... bla ....... bla ...... !!!! ....... next

[jmacken306]

The BIB are to get ' tough ' with taxi drivers !

Haven't we heard claims like this before and we all know what it means, very little !

We had a Taxi driver charge us for two stops on the side of the road to let out our friends near their home 35 BHT each stop when we got out!!!! We have had a few Taxis decline to take us to the Mall, it was during a college graduation on the too trip!!!!!

[EyesWideOpen]

bla ..... bla ....... bla ...... !!!! ....... next

Next is...............a news story next week about a taxi

driver with a heart of gold who returns one million

baht left in his taxi by a Japanese tourist....

[NCC1701A]

i always stay at a hotel right next to Soi Cowboy so I don't have to put up with Taxi driver shenanigans.

cuts down on "turn around time" for everyone involved.

Edited February 4, 2016 by NCC1701A

[speedtripler]

I'm in Bangkok at the moment and haven't had a problem in 4 whole days of taxis. Pattaya, on the other hand, not one taxi puts the meter on, and then they charge you double on top! Phuket, being the worst offenders are outright thieves, I left Phuket mainly because of being hostage to them, not being able to go where I wanted for a decent price. There's been countless crackdowns on Phuket, no one has managed to solve the problem yet.

the only way to solve the problem is get your own transport

a motorbike or a 2nd hand pickup isnt too expensive and you

wont have to deal with them again ........

worth every penny .......

[Khon Kaen Dave]

The BIB is going to 'get tough on Taxi driver's'.Why would you kill the Golden Goose???

[HerbalEd]

Sure the police are going to get tough. Yeah ... that's the ticket.

[lvr181]

"tips on how to use taxi service in Thailand will also be provided for tourists" Get some help/learn from Kuala Lumpur!

Oh damn, forgot - we (the authorities) must re-invent the wheel first.

Stupid is as stupid does.

[lostmebike]

Sure the police are going to get tough. Yeah ... that's the ticket.

Just passed a load, hiding under a tree.

[stickylies]

Ok.

Now "Police to get tough on police after flood of complaints" and life will be good...

[pomchop]

Stop by the cruise ship port of Laem Chabang if you want to see how a taxi mafia can totally intimidate and RULE a port, blantanly post rip off prices on big printed signs, scare the hell out of every person who would DARE to challenge their rule..... all OBVIOUSLY with the approval / consent of the Thai Government Agency that owns and runs the port. Happens with EVERY cruise ship that docks there and has been going on for years.

Whoever has that "concession" is certainly making a massive amount of money every single time a cruise ship stops there with a couple of thousand passengers having to put up with the CRAP. . I doubt it's the taxi drivers themselves making the huge bucks but a
MR BIG who could be tracked down in about one hour if anybody was interested in stopping the corruption.

[Sakeopete]

After 14 years I must be lucky I usually only take taxis between swampy(previously DM) and my condo never having a problem except the missing seat belt in the back seat thing.

[CantSpell]

There have been more crackdowns than anything.

I beg to differ: they don't do crackdowns... They do announcements here...

---

And we are please to report that the ministry of announcement has successfully reach its quota for today with a really original subject as the taxi subject has not been mention in any announcement in at least two weeks...

Well done guys..

[jacko45k]

Well if that can get these Pattaya taxis to use the meter they are doing well, they ALL categorically refuse to.

'Not use in Pattaya' they tell you like they have some Royal concession!

Edited February 4, 2016 by jacko45k

[z42]

Standard ops in crackdown season for any offending drivers.. Have your wallet ready, that is all...........

[lvr181]

LOA = Land of Announcements! LOS = money still coming in?

No real action but many face saving announcements along with new laws and they cannot properly police the "old" laws!

Someone or some people need to have their collective butts kicked! But, while there is a baht to be made there will be, sadly, little or no change.

[alfredthegreat]

Last Friday early evening I was trying to get a taxi from outside Prakanong BTS on S.vit to get home and was refused 3 times in a row.

I couldn't resist saying "I'll report you" pointing at their number and photo. No response. Only shaking heads. Pretty disgusting!

And what is the penalty? 1000baht? A Joke.

[kimamey]

Is this the first crackdown announcement for 2016? I have lost count.

If you've lost count at 1 I wouldn't worry yourself. There's no way your going to keep up if there are as many as normal during the year.

[kimamey]

"tips on how to use taxi service in Thailand will also be provided for tourists"

Given that most Thais who struggle with Engrish, will answer in the affirmative if they're unsure of the question, my tip for about-to-arrive-visitors has:always been: When you get in a taxi, just ask a nonsensical question, like, "Are you an airline pilot?"

If the answer is "Yes", then get out of the taxi.

They might be an airline pilot. I've seen a few attempting to reach take off speed.

Maybe the rewards for taxi driving are better.

I like your idea though.

I had a friend in the police force in the UK. He told me he stopped a guy in RAF uniform for speeding once. He sarcastically said to the guy, "What's up Squadron Leader, can't get enough speed up to take off?"

I like that.

I heard of one guy in the UK who was stopped in the early hours speeding. The cop asked "Where's the fire mate?"

The guy was a fireman going to the fire station to start his shift and a call had come in so he got an escort from the police.

It's a bit off topic but it shows one of the differences in the way the traffic police generally work in Thailand. They don't seem to work very much at night and if they're on their bike or in their car they aren't working either. If there isn't a checkpoint very little is done and of course they can often be avoided.

[SABloke]

Serious question: Would Thailand be worse off without a police force? Since I have yet to see any police act in a preventative or protective manner I would answer, ''no''. There are no police patrols so if someone attacks you, you either die or end up in hospital. They do nothing to prevent reckless driving so the chance of getting T-boned at an intersection is very high. They don't investigate petty theft, so the chance of getting your belongings back is close to zero (unless you pay them, but who's gonna pay 10000 for a 5000 phone). I honestly don't think we'd be living in any more fear if they all quit. On the contrary, I'd live in slightly less fear as there'd be one less group of criminals (sanctioned criminals at that) that I'd have to worry about.

[Jonmarleesco]

They would probably be dealing with a lot more complaints, and daily, were the Thais more inclined to report taxi drivers for refusing the fare, etc. But so many don't bother, it's hardly surprising the drivers continually take the p__s.

But the BiB threatening to get tough? That's all it is; a threat. Just like their dealing with m/cs on the pavements; a flash in a pan. I'll happily take that back if things do actually change ... but I doubt I will need to.

[mikebell]

Good luck with Pattaya - where no taxi meter is turned on, EVER (reason: they're owned by the same cartel as the baht buses).

The Thai police in Pattaya are too busy arresting pensioners for playing Bridge to worry about taxi drivers.

[scorecard]

The BIB are to get ' tough ' with taxi drivers !

Haven't we heard claims like this before and we all know what it means, very little !

Add... and after decades of many complaints they are now going to set up a database.

[fey]

every since installing the uber app, taxi's have been a non-issue for me in bkk.

[bboy]

Had a belter last week when taxi driver taking me to a meeting pulled over, in Thai he told me he felt lazy & wanted to go home. Revved his engine for a minute with doors locked staring at me, lip gurning from some drug or other. But then he let me out & didn't even accept the 40baht I offered. Nice normal

Bloke...

[berybert]

Information and tips on how to use taxi service in Thailand will also be provided for tourists.

Is there a special way of using taxis in Thailand ? Never know another country have to tell people how to use the service.

[lvr181]

Information and tips on how to use taxi service in Thailand will also be provided for tourists.

Is there a special way of using taxis in Thailand ? Never know another country have to tell people how to use the service.

"Service" what "service"?

But there are good taxi drivers around, just that the majority have given a bad name to the minority.