Thai police get tough on taxis refusing fares in Bangkok - thousands fined in ten day crackdown

[rooster59]

Thai police get tough on taxis refusing fares in Bangkok - thousands fined in ten day crackdown

Thaivisa Reporters



Image: Thairath.co.th

BANGKOK:-- Bangkok police are finally getting tough with taxi drivers who refuse fares, if a huge public relations exercise in the downtown area is to be believed, reports Thaivisa News.

A high ranking officer announced thousands of fines in a ten day crackdown since last week while police and land department officials carried out training in correct behaviour for drivers in front of Central World in Ratchaprasong.

Top police said that the practice of refusing passengers was a big problem that was adversely affecting tourism in the capital in particular.

Amid a backdrop of billboards and tents the three hour training exercises for some 50 drivers caught that very day in areas around Central World it was announced that 3,700 drivers had been fined 1000 baht and ordered to undergo behaviour training in the last ten days in Bangkok.



Police acknowledged that one of the most serious areas for refusing passengers was in the very area where the public relations exercise was being mounted.

Wuthi Liptapalop of the National Police Bureau joined with a large entourage of officers from the tourist police as well as land department officials in the exercise designed to reassure the public they were taking the matter seriously.

Wuthi said:"Refusing passengers is a serious issue that the government has asked us to address. It adversely affects tourism in particular."

Among excuses given by drivers was changing shift times, not understanding tourists and not being familiar with routes and destinations, said Wuthi.



As some fifty drivers caught that day in nearby Pathum Wan, Thong Lor, Phayathai and Lumpini areas paid fines and received three hour training, Wuthi said that all those reported in the ten day operation had paid fines and repeat offenders would be dealt with severely.

A second offence would result in loss of driving licence for between 3-6 months and a third would see the licence taken away for good. Non-use of the metre is also subject to the same sanctions with reckless taxi drivers facing 5,000 baht fines and three hours training also.



-- 2016-03-26

[trogers]

No carrots? Only the stick? What happened to the BiB frequent use of urges?

[Thian]

OK tomollow we do the same at the famous temples....but only because it's decreasing tourist numbers. Who cares about the fake touts there saying the temple is closed.

[ezzra]

And when you done with Bkk, go and do Pattaya, whereby drivers are known to be ultra fare gougers

demanding outrageous fare for short trips, and are quite happy to stand there for hours waiting for

" the right fare " to come along....

[torpedo1970]

And when you done with Bkk, go and do Pattaya, whereby drivers are known to be ultra fare gougers

demanding outrageous fare for short trips, and are quite happy to stand there for hours waiting for

" the right fare " to come along....

The best excuse i ever heard in Pattaya was that all city of Pattaya was exempt from using meter...

Outside central in Pattaya there is usually 10-20 taxis standing there and none of them want to run by meter. and right across the road is pattaya police station

[mrrizzla]

One of those officers is pretty and why do I never see these lovely officers out and about? Some eye candy may at least lessen my disdain for the cops.

Oh and let's get some pretty, non refusing taxi drivers while we're at it too.

[Sarathi]

To be fair, there is a genuine issue of drivers sending the cars back to a garage at the end of their rental period (usually 12 or 24 hours). If it is close to that time, they don't want to be too far away as they get fined for returning the vehicle late.

Also there is the issue of not understanding tourists. I saw one tourist yelling 'regent hotel' at a driver who was refusing them. When I got the address of the hotel and told the driver, he was willing to take them.

Taxis are pretty good here on the whole. They don't make much money. They're cheaper than Tuk Tuks!

Albeit sometimes I ask 10+ cabs to take me to Thonburi, before one will accept the fare.

[craigt3365]

We were refused 3 times this past week on Suk Soi 39 around 3pm. Didn't want to do a short trip with traffic to soi 55. Finally, offered 100B, no meter. We got a ride.

[hansnl]

Khon Kaen:

No meter or meter running and charging double.

Hotspots are the airport and big C.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

I was on Sukhumvit 11 last night. I must have seen at least 40 to 50 taxis refuse various people in a 2 hour span. It is way out of control and needs harsh penalties and enforcement. A complaint line in English would be helpful too.

The complaint line should also provide a follow up service whereby the complainants are updated as to the action taken against the driver.

An app would be good.

I complained about a driver from Grab taxi once, their follow up with me on the matter was excellent.

[mcfish]

A second offense to be dealt with severaly. That's good, what exactly is the punishment?

[steven100]

Taxis driver scum. Police need to ramp this up and hit them hard.

Try to get a cab on Sukhumvit anytime after 4.00pm and you will be refused 5 out of ten times.

[andygunther]

I was on Sukhumvit 11 last night. I must have seen at least 40 to 50 taxis refuse various people in a 2 hour span. It is way out of control and needs harsh penalties and enforcement. A complaint line in English would be helpful too.

The complaint line should also provide a follow up service whereby the complainants are updated as to the action taken against the driver.

An app would be good.

I complained about a driver from Grab taxi once, their follow up with me on the matter was excellent.

There is already an app, I have downloaded it from Itunes

[colinneil]

A second offense to be dealt with severaly. That's good, what exactly is the punishment?

The punishment is a slap on the wrist, you naughty taxi driver do not do that.

[sabaii69]

And when you done with Bkk, go and do Pattaya, whereby drivers are known to be ultra fare gougers

demanding outrageous fare for short trips, and are quite happy to stand there for hours waiting for

" the right fare " to come along....

This is everywhere, even on Koh Samet! The bastards in Pattaya refuse to go to Siam CC Rd and refuse meter in town. How about some undercover farangs with cameras and show this to the cops. 'you no take photo of brother!'

[BudRight]

We were refused 3 times this past week on Suk Soi 39 around 3pm. Didn't want to do a short trip with traffic to soi 55. Finally, offered 100B, no meter. We got a ride.

You should have walked.

[Tanlic]

Open back door not front..tell driver soi xx he says 300 baht...walk away leave door open...<deleted> em ;0)

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[craigt3365]

We were refused 3 times this past week on Suk Soi 39 around 3pm. Didn't want to do a short trip with traffic to soi 55. Finally, offered 100B, no meter. We got a ride.

You should have walked.

Not much fun in the hot sun, with a few KM to go, wife in heels, me in long pants and long shirt. Doesn't work....not to mention the lack of sidewalks! LOL

[dyertribe]

I was on sukhumvit soi 9 heading for my flight to chiang mai. Taxi wanted 500 baht so I sent him away. As I was leaving in my metered taxi (245 baht) I saw that he had been nabbed by a cop that was watching my efforts. Maybe they are trying to fix things

[MadMac]

Call 1584, there is also an app from DLT. They will follow up. Remember the color of the car, they ask for it.

[BlindMagician]

Consistent policing please, not zero to crackdown and back to zero again.

[mike324]

To be fair, there is a genuine issue of drivers sending the cars back to a garage at the end of their rental period (usually 12 or 24 hours). If it is close to that time, they don't want to be too far away as they get fined for returning the vehicle late.

Also there is the issue of not understanding tourists. I saw one tourist yelling 'regent hotel' at a driver who was refusing them. When I got the address of the hotel and told the driver, he was willing to take them.

Taxis are pretty good here on the whole. They don't make much money. They're cheaper than Tuk Tuks!

Albeit sometimes I ask 10+ cabs to take me to Thonburi, before one will accept the fare.

I do agree, most poeple don't know that many drivers rent their Taxi, if they return it late they will be fined. Not only that, they need to fill their car up before returning. During changing shift times, gas stations are normally packed with taxis filling their car up to return the car to the owners. Sometimes waiting at gas stations can take as long as 30-40min for some areas of the city.

Perhaps taxis should have a better system, a display board on the top saying the routes they are servicing during their shift ending time. I think fares should be more expensive during rush hour time too, so people will be encourage to use public transport to get to non-traffic areas. Its also fair for taxis since they are stuck on the road. Kind of a win win for both.

Most taxi drivers are decent, its the 1 out of 5 that spoils the whole experience.

[UTH001]

Last week in Bangkok, around the corner from MBK: The first driver refused to go to Sathorn. The second driver wanted THB 200. The third driver ask me "how much you pay" and the fourth driver finally took me (but only after I walked to the MBK taxi rank). Fare was THB 55, I think (early afternoon). And yes, I used the DLT app to report the first driver, I am sick of it. When I take a cab with a Thai friend, rarely is a fare refused, even for shorter distances!

[FredNL]

Tourist Police is there only for Thai tourists or also for foreign tourist? These last probably can't read the sign....

Edited March 26, 2016 by FredNL

[Bangkok Barry]

To be fair, there is a genuine issue of drivers sending the cars back to a garage at the end of their rental period (usually 12 or 24 hours). If it is close to that time, they don't want to be too far away as they get fined for returning the vehicle late.

Then perhaps they should turn off their red For hire sign. Not too difficult, is it? And along those lines, I'm baffled why I wave at a taxi with the light on and the driver just drives past.

[Bangkok Barry]

Call 1584, there is also an app from DLT. They will follow up. Remember the color of the car, they ask for it.

I did. They told me to call the Tourist Police. I did. They told me to call 1584.

[Bangkok Barry]

I think there must have been a crackdown in Khon Kaen. I used a taxi this week to get to and from the airport from the main bus terminal, and both times the meter was used. That has never happened before in the many times I've done the route. The meter fare was 80, the non-meter fare was 150.

[TEFLKrabi]

OK tomollow we do the same at the famous temples....but only because it's decreasing tourist numbers. Who cares about the fake touts there saying the temple is closed.

Some people are never happy. It's a start and I hope they continue like this.

[bazza40]

A second offense to be dealt with severaly. That's good, what exactly is the punishment?

The punishment is a slap on the wrist, you naughty taxi driver do not do that.

1000 baht for the first offence is a fairly hefty fine for someone earning 10-15K a month. 3-6 months licence suspension for a second offence means they can't earn a living for that period of time as a taxi driver. Slap on the wrist? I don't think so.

Edited March 26, 2016 by bazza40

[hyperdimension]

There needs to be some detailed guidelines to what we as customers should do when dealing with taxi drivers.

Here are my ideas:

Get in the taxi first, close the door, then state your desired destination. (Don't state the destination whilst still outside the vehicle as they are then more likely to say no or quote a high fare.) If the driver follows standard procedure, then he will turn the meter on. If he doesn't and no fare is quoted, assume that there will be no fare. If a fare is quoted, say no. Take a picture of the taxi registration information and threaten to call 1584 and / or tourist police to report the driver. If threats alone don't work then do call 1584 whilst you are still in the taxi cab with the speaker phone on so that the driver can hear, stating the taxi registration details.

Smartphones these days have the ability to record video and / or audio, so you could additionally have all interaction on record as presentable evidence if later required.