Regyai Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The incessant mewing over Pattaya 'Taxi Meters' They were incepted as a quaint solution to a need BUT If they actually functioned as intended they would present a real competitive alternative to the hoard of Songthews, and that of course would be intolerable. So the 'collective' put the bite on them and their existence is only tolerated if they price themselves way out of competitive proximity. If you want to understand the problem follow the money, and the trail ends basically with the Baht Bus Licence holders who rent out most of the ones rattling around the town . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigt3365 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The most practiced national sport of service providers in this country is to fleece and cheat tourists, they see nothing wrong with that and infect, are proud of doing so, I'm not sure what any PM can say and do to change the situation, when the people themselves think that foreigners ' are rich ' and it's ok to get the most out of them by any means possible..... They have been doing it for many years now, and for them, so far, so good..... Agreed! But not so sure it's going good right now. Tourism seems to be down. Mass tourism from China isn't trickling down very far. Only those businesses tied into this are making money off them. They stay at specific hotels, eat at specific restaurants and shop at specified stores. Places off the beaten track are dead as only independent travelers go to them. The global economy isn't helping. Russians are gone, as are others. But I do think the shine has been lost off Thailand. Koh Tao murders (and others), traffic fatalities, widely published rip offs, polluted waters, under maintained national parks, and scams involving public transport are all creating a perfect storm for tourism. Hopefully, those in charge see this and know something needs to change. Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam are all up and coming competitors for tourist dollars. The mafia controlling public transport needs to be dealt with. I think it's a shame to make tourists travel around Pattaya hanging on for dear life on the back of a baht bus. Metered taxis, like those in Bangkok, are desperately needed. Hats off to the PM if he can make this happen. We'll see.... It's their choice if they want ride on these baht buses, its only 10b at least they're not being scammed like motorcycle or so called meter taxis. Sadly, many don't have another choice. The local buses aren't allowed to stop at the Ambassador because of the baht bus mafia. And they won't leave till they are full. Making people wait, or walk down the road away from this scam. Yes, it's only 20B into town, but my last ride, I was hanging on for dear life on the back. No other choice. I call that a scam. Public transport needs reform badly. OK if you only do the central Pattaya loop, a mess if you try it elsewhere.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 So let's say taxi to Ban Chang, approx. 36Km, so 60 + (34x4) = 196 Baht, yeah right!! Strange figures. Using the calculator I bought in Patts 60 + ( 34x4 ) = 750. You obviously used one bought overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoDinosaw Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 There is a desperate need for metered taxis in Hua Hin. The amounts charged by the assortment of old cars and tuk-tuks is astronomical. The drivers only need a very few passengers per day to make a living. Hence all the parking space in downtown Hua Hin is clogged up with 'taxis' waiting for clients. Can the General sort this out ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asiantravel Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 If I'm reading this correctly, this is NOT an order to use the meters. Why ever do they persist in the farce in even calling them taxi meters here? I think it is, JT. But perhaps not worded properly. Hard to charge the designated fees if you don't use a meter: Six separate Taxi cooperatives who operate around Pattaya were represented at the meeting and drivers were told that changes will need to be made within 2 months. The maximum charge for passengers for the first 2 Kilometers is 60 Baht and then 4 Baht for every extra Kilometer travelled. You know the history of this better than most. IIRC, they were brought here due to these very same complaints many years ago. But simply refused to use their meters. And our lovely police department did nothing about it. If this is true, I should be able to get a metered taxi to my house in NaJomtien for about 100 Baht. Fantastic! 12km trip. The same price you'd pay in Bangkok. I told an Air Asia representative at a recent promotion they held at Central Festival Beach as a matter of principle I will not use Utapao airport when I go to Chiang Mai if I have to pay 800 baht for a taxi when the airfare itself is the same price. It's just daft. a few weeks ago finding alternative transport such as a minibus was like the world's best kept secret but now I notice AirAsia's minibus to Utapao is well signposted and seems to be promoted much better. So maybe I wasn't the only one who expressed the same sentiments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scouse Twoccer Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Im not in Pattaya at the moment, so i can't do it, but can somebody try out the taxi "meter" and check if they will use the meter. ?????? Didn't you read the OP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpcoe Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 According to the article there are six taxi cooperatives operating in Pattaya. Are they all affiliated with the "baht bus mafia"? I don't see many metered taxis in Pattaya with passengers, which is no great surprise, but how do six cooperatives manage to exist with so few customers? Also mentioned is that the changes in Pattaya must be made within 60 days. Why the wait? Easy enough to implement the "use the meter" policy immediately, no? In 60 days time, this will be all forgotten, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asiantravel Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 According to the article there are six taxi cooperatives operating in Pattaya. Are they all affiliated with the "baht bus mafia"? I don't see many metered taxis in Pattaya with passengers, which is no great surprise, but how do six cooperatives manage to exist with so few customers? Also mentioned is that the changes in Pattaya must be made within 60 days. Why the wait? Easy enough to implement the "use the meter" policy immediately, no? In 60 days time, this will be all forgotten, " but how do six cooperatives manage to exist with so few customers?" This is something I have wondered myself many many times i.e. how can it be such a brilliant business model when you take into account such overheads as annual depreciation on the vehicle, insurance, maintenance and yet with so few customers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geisha Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 After all the fuss on Phuket a few years ago with the taxis and tuc tucs, the army and police never managed to get them to use meters , or fair prices for the tuc tucs. So what are they going to do now that is different ? Just a thought, is it possible to block the car , making it necessary to use the meter before it starts ? Now that would be something !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonBreadMan Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 So let's say taxi to Ban Chang, approx. 36Km, so 60 + (34x4) = 196 Baht, yeah right!! You will be lucky just last week I got one for 500 all sorted out, half way he pulled over in middle of no where(just before Sliver lake) and said he got it wrong wanted 1000 ????? In the end I paid him 700, got very nice bus back from outside Tesco for 60 BHT back in under an hour faster than the taxi as he also got lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMGImInPattaya Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Its about time something was done about these thugs. How about the Baht bus drivers, well will you start on them Mr PM? What do you want him to do about the baht buses? Meter them? I'm quite happy with the 10 baht rate, thanks. The rate is OK, and great if you are only going around the Central Pattaya loop. Otherwise, they aren't really that good. Especially in bad/hot weather. And difficult for those with disabilities or who are older. Wouldn't it be nice if you could hop on/off one of these for about the same price? With regular loops all around town. Great. At least it'd get rid of the crazed baht bus drivers. They're terrible. They did the fixed bus route thing a few years ago and it was a complete flop. It seems like Thais and tourists alike riding around in open-air songtows sweating profusely, inhaling vehicle exhaust fumes, and getting soaked in the rain...think the cable-car riding experience in San Francisco. Something civilized like a bus service was completely alien to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barryofthailand Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Mr. Prime Minister how about Korat? The taxies in Korat has a sign on top of the taxis that says Taxi meter as do all the taxis in Thailand. the problem is they don't even have a meter in the taxi. They rip off every customer in Korat foreigners as well as Thai people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redline Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 AGAIN it's about penalties and enforcement. How is that difficult? Stop treating adults like infants Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldTravellerMUC Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 This is news to me. There are taxis with installed meters in Pattaya, but the meters are never used. So they really can not be called metered. All these taxi-related crackdowns are a joke! Nothing will change unless there are serious measures implemented and this will not happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emster23 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I've only gotten slightly ripped off by baht buses couple of times in 10+ years here, but then again always remember exact change... impact of failed attempt at bus service seems to have been Swede who had back busted when sign fell on him in Jomtien. Waiting for gf to come in on airport bus at Jomtien notice yellow/blue taxi and baht bus both park on street in clearly marked red/white stripe no stop area, messing up traffic and forcing bus to drop off a bit up street. There are no laws here, just guidelines for payoffs. Unfortunately cops too thick and/or lazy to realize the profits to be made if got off backside and enforced traffic laws, besides unintended consequence of making streets a tad safer. Sorry. Where is my medication? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulic Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The TAXI drivers are in for another finger wag, then the jet ski operators, and Ping-Pong show boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgordo38 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Boy the great and serious achievements of the PM just keep piling up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimmer Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 An off topic posts in over large bold fonts has been removed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balo Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Good luck with that, I believe it when I see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Good luck with that, I believe it when I see it. Perhaps better odds than winning big in a lottery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EyesWideOpen Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The Army has already tried once in Phuket and failed miserably. I remember that a couple of years ago. That does not bode well for Thailand if it is invaded. So if the army cannot take on the Phuket taxi mafia and win, what chance would they have in Laos invaded Thailand ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenBravo Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 The Army has already tried once in Phuket and failed miserably. I remember that a couple of years ago. That does not bode well for Thailand if it is invaded. So if the army cannot take on the Phuket taxi mafia and win, what chance would they have in Laos invaded Thailand ??? They'd lose. Just like they did when they invaded Laos. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai%E2%80%93Laotian_Border_War Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil B Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 They should overhaul the brains of the taxi drivers. What brains??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fakename Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 So, every crackdown, means 2 months to start over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpcoe Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Its about time something was done about these thugs. How about the Baht bus drivers, well will you start on them Mr PM? What do you want him to do about the baht buses? Meter them? I'm quite happy with the 10 baht rate, thanks. The rate is OK, and great if you are only going around the Central Pattaya loop. Otherwise, they aren't really that good. Especially in bad/hot weather. And difficult for those with disabilities or who are older. Wouldn't it be nice if you could hop on/off one of these for about the same price? With regular loops all around town. Great. At least it'd get rid of the crazed baht bus drivers. They're terrible. They did the fixed bus route thing a few years ago and it was a complete flop. It seems like Thais and tourists alike riding around in open-air songtows sweating profusely, inhaling vehicle exhaust fumes, and getting soaked in the rain...think the cable-car riding experience in San Francisco. Something civilized like a bus service was completely alien to them. Oh, yes. I recall clearly waiting over 40 minutes -- twice -- on Jomtien Beach Road for the vaunted Red Line Bus as a dozen baht buses went by. The advertised schedule was for every 20 (or maybe 30?) minutes, but TIT. Didn't take long for me to stop trying to use the Red Line Bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 If I'm reading this correctly, this is NOT an order to use the meters. Why ever do they persist in the farce in even calling them taxi meters here? I think it is, JT. But perhaps not worded properly. Hard to charge the designated fees if you don't use a meter: Six separate Taxi cooperatives who operate around Pattaya were represented at the meeting and drivers were told that changes will need to be made within 2 months. The maximum charge for passengers for the first 2 Kilometers is 60 Baht and then 4 Baht for every extra Kilometer travelled. You know the history of this better than most. IIRC, they were brought here due to these very same complaints many years ago. But simply refused to use their meters. And our lovely police department did nothing about it. If this is true, I should be able to get a metered taxi to my house in NaJomtien for about 100 Baht. Fantastic! 12km trip. The same price you'd pay in Bangkok. I told an Air Asia representative at a recent promotion they held at Central Festival Beach as a matter of principle I will not use Utapao airport when I go to Chiang Mai if I have to pay 800 baht for a taxi when the airfare itself is the same price. It's just daft. a few weeks ago finding alternative transport such as a minibus was like the world's best kept secret but now I notice AirAsia's minibus to Utapao is well signposted and seems to be promoted much better. So maybe I wasn't the only one who expressed the same sentiments. Is this the one leaving from Nua (North Rd) bus station (Rung Ruen) I heard rumour of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falang07 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 So let's say taxi to Ban Chang, approx. 36Km, so 60 + (34x4) = 196 Baht, yeah right!! I think you forgot to include the way back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggles45 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 He did say TO Ban Chang.....how did an earlier poster get 750 baht on his overseas bought calculator? 34*4 is 136, Plus 60 is 196 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LennyW Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 He did say TO Ban Chang.....how did an earlier poster get 750 baht on his overseas bought calculator? 34*4 is 136, Plus 60 is 196 Thailand calculators are different didnt you know, very different!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawker9000 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Its about time something was done about these thugs. How about the Baht bus drivers, well will you start on them Mr PM? Don't knock the baht buses they're a godsend. Yeah, unless he's talking about Phuket, I'm not sure what that's about either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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