Songkhla to strictly enforce taxi service guidelines

[webfact]

Songkhla to strictly enforce taxi service guidelines

SONGKLA, 10 February 2016 (NTT) - The commander of Provincial Police Region 9 have held a meeting to address the issue of taxi driver behavior towards tourists in order to foster a good image of the country's tourism sector.

In Songkhla Province, The Hat Yai Police within the 9th provincial region held a meeting to exchange views on how to address the issue. The meeting was chaired by Provincial Police Region 9 Deputy Commissioner Pol Major Gen Nopadol Puerksomon and attended by related groups such as representatives of the Bureau of Transportation of Songkhla Province, the Office of Tourism and Sports of Songkhla Province, local military divisions, Hai Yai Municipality, and the provincial tourist guides association.

Pol Major Gen Nopadol remarked that the meeting was in response to the Prime Minister’s orders to decisively address the issue of taxi driver behavior towards tourists by strictly enforcing public transportation regulations and cracking down on drivers who take advantage of tourists. He added that Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda had previously held a meeting on the same topic after reports revealed that over 22,000 complaints were filed in 2014, marking a 50 percent increase on the previous year.

The Commissioner-General had ordered the law enforcement officers to strictly crack down on violations and educate tourists on how to properly use taxi services. The Royal Thai Police had already established a task force to setup specific law enforcement guidelines to address the issue both immediately and over the long term which includes educating taxi drivers in appropriate behavior. The new campaign took effect on February 4 with progress reports to be delivered within 15 days.

Songkhla Province has 90 registered taxis. The only regular complaint by users so far was the drivers' refusal to use meters. Pol Major Gen Nopadol has confirmed that the authorities have instructed the 90 drivers to use their taxi meter on all trips, possess updated licenses and registration, and demonstrate courteous behavior towards customers.


-- NNT 2016-02-10

[swissbie]

Ha ha, that was a good laugh. 90 taxies for the hole province. There are no problems with taxies, because there nearly aren't any. The problem in Songkhla province is the transportation mafia, should be the issue adressed by the police and politics, not the taxies.

[KarenBravo]

Songkhla?

Isn't Phuket a more important place to start if they are worried about tourist's perceptions?

[Stocky]

Ha ha, that was a good laugh. 90 taxies for the hole province. There are no problems with taxies, because there nearly aren't any. The problem in Songkhla province is the transportation mafia, should be the issue adressed by the police and politics, not the taxies.

Indeed, the meter taxis can't operate freely because of the tuk-tuk owners. For example they're not allowed to work Hat Yai city centre, if you see one in the street you can't flag it down. So because they can't operate freely they don't make enough money using the meter, so it's fixed fares. There are only 90 meter taxis precisely because they're not really profitable unless they can compete freely.