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

[gyrosman]

This may get some attention to the drivers. The problem is clear, lack of any other language hampers these guys. Like the girls they come from the village and do their hustle.

I stayed at the Nasa Vegas hotel, nice. I had to go to the Bangkok Hospital for an appointment. I had the print-out with map in Thai. I went to taxi area by the family mart and out of 7, not one knew the hospital. So, for fun I asked about Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy, they knew that address.

The hotel was only 2km from the hospital, that's why I booked it. Solution 3 hours training so at less teach English and make it a requirement for a taxi license.

Crazy, huh! how much money is lost in future tourist business if the taxi's are clueless and rob, kick out passengers because they don't understand. Here's a simple way too, the dispatcher should speak a foriegn language, English, Chinese and maybe German. I see in Phuket in the airport the signs are in Russian .

Can't remember when the last time a taxi driver in USA robbed or kicked out customers. Only in the movies. Foreigners are the drivers these days and they

.

[ldiablo]

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.

So the acceptance rate in your case is 10% or less and yet you state "taxis are pretty good here on the whole."

Makes perfect sense. ...

[ldiablo]

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

"Remember the color of the car." That's hilarious considering about 80% of the taxis are green and yellow,10% blue, 5% red and the other 5% pink.

Wouldn't it make more sense to remember the license plate number.

Edited March 26, 2016 by ldiablo

[Doc46]

Why do they have Taxis if they refuse fares? The greedy bastards want only the big ripoff fares,Don't stop with fines, Take their license and taxi away ,that will teach them .

[torpedo1970]

Khon Kaen:

No meter or meter running and charging double.

Hotspots are the airport and big C.

Not sure when you last tested this?

It used to be like this, and not enough taxi's around.

Now have a lot of taxi's, there is also a big sign at the airport and on the new bus terminal. running by meter but there is a 40 Baht surcharge to the meter price. all around the city they add a surcharge of 20 Baht.

not complaining too much, to my home they used to charge 300 Baht.... now it is 100 on the meter and 20 "extra" a big difference......

[citzofwrld]

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....

Go after the Pattaya baht bus drivers that take you through 3/4 of their circle trip then tell you you, I take you long way pay 30 baht, or say, its night pay 30baht.

[Merylhighground]

Why Central World? If they're serious and not just after a photo op with the hotties they'll be at Lower Suk at midnight on a Friday night....

[hyperdimension]

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

Here is the app on Google Play: DLT Check in

I've just installed it and will try it on my next taxi ride.

[sambum]

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....

And "do" Samui at the same time!

[Searat7]

I was refused by 3 taxis on Friday going from Silom to Don Muang Airport on the highway. Fortunately the fourth one took me there. These guys just don't care.

[Tchooptip]

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....

And "do" Samui at the same time!

Samui Samui Samui Samui

[Fookhaht]

Khon Kaen:

No meter or meter running and charging double.

Hotspots are the airport and big C.

And all bus stations

[Fookhaht]

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.

I'm too concerned for my personal safety to try this. Some pretty aggressive tough guys behind the wheel who conceal clubs (or worse) under their seats. Too many stories of driver-on-customer violence in Bangkok.

[farcanell]

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.

My thoughts exactly...but more importantly, were they dressed appropriately, to give a positive first impression of the LOS?

[Farmer1956]

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.

I got stopped and fined 200bhat near Khaosuankwang (Khonkaen) for not having the registration document with me.

The female officer at the fines desk was stunning.

[moe666]

I will say I have seen may Thais refused by taxi.

[swerver]

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.

The heavy stop start traffic was taken care of when PM Dr, Annand made the law all taxis to be fitted with electronic taxi meters on (I first thought was an April joke) 1 April. But when 1 April rolled around all taxis were equipped with electronic taximeters. These electronic taximeters took care of the stop start traffic by being able to collect all the waiting time and add it to the meter charge of flag fall and km travelled. So in heavy traffic they are still making money. It is just that taxi drivers aren't the most ambitious people around from you know where so they come to Bangkok to sit in an airconditioned taxi and drive around the city.

As for Pattaya, that is a problem because 99 percent of people on the street are tourists who do not have a clue about downtown, they jump in a taxi to go were they could walk quicker, so the taxi gets the Flag fall ONLY. The Baht Pickups are for that type of service, but then again the clueless tourist do not know how to handle the Baht Pickups either. And they are NOT a Baht anymore either, that was a long time ago at least 30-years.

Pattaya taxis should have a sign in English "NO INNER CITY FARES".

The ones hanging around Central are hoping to be taken by the Central Hotel guests to go to some sightseeing place outside the city or Suvarnabhumi Airport.

[F4UCorsair]

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.

If you're going to ridicule the campaign, first read the article........ in full.

Second offence - loss of licence 3 - 6 months

Third offence - permanent loss of licence.

Edited March 26, 2016 by F4UCorsair

[AlQaholic]

What Sai Keaow closed today, but we can take you to another pretty temple and another and another....

[rodknock]

why all of a sudden enforcing the laws that have been around for years. what a joke, some one gets a bug up there a-s and finally go do there job, that they should have been doing all along.

just more DOG & PONY SHOW

why make such a big deal about the police finally doing there job.

does not matter, it will all be over in a couple of weeks.

since when does a taxi driver care about a license!!

[BKKdreaming]

get a dozen army guys and girls in plain clothes ,

go to a high traffic area and have them hail Taxis , tell the driver an area 5 KM away (not the other side of the river on Soi 2 )

if they are refused , arrest the driver , park the taxi and make the owner come pick it up and pay fine,

if he agrees , turns on the meter , then the decoy gives the driver the approx fare , says thanks and gets out ,

Then the driver does not get on the radio to warn others about the sting !

Do not let the driver have the taxi back , take his licence off the dash and he can have it back in a few days after fine is paid , he watches "re-education" movies and takes a test which he signs so the 2nd time he cannot say he did not know rules ,

What this does is give the driver a break at 5KM , because I would not want to go to the other side of the river in traffic with no return fare,

rewards the honest ones , since you do not want your decoys all around the city

Hey I know there are holes in this , but its an idea , and pretty fair to the drivers that do the right thing.....

[bamukloy]

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.

I was scratching my head about that.

from what he says, both his starting place and destination both have BTS stops.

he would nearly have been on the steps of the BTS phrom pong when he was trying to get a taxi.

Even buses going along suk road to on nut.

[hawker9000]

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.

EVERY time there's a "crackdown", some genius here pipes up, says "it's a start", and takes a vacuous swipe at anybody with lingering doubts. Ten days? "Thousands" fined?? After all the other "crackdowns" over the years??? It takes more than the usual grand announcements and a couple of pretty girls with large ... signs ... to establish credibility... FPS, snake oil salesmen have been using precisely the same tactics in carnivals and country fairs for hundreds of years. ('Politicians even longer...)

[kennw]

Hope they come to Soi Jai Samarn joining

Soi 4 to 6 in Na Na area, taxis illegally park up to ten in a row, only accept tourists for sight seeing, no meter.

[gandalf12]

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.

There is the BTS you could have used

[captspectre]

if they are serious about this, than all the cops have to do is stand in front of ANY hotel on Sukhumvit soi-4, 6, nana hotel, soi, 7, and 13! a blind man would see the taxi drivers refuse to use the meter when picking up passengers, especially the tourist who are going to the airport! That's why i always use a hotel limo! it cost more but I can afford it and it really pisses the taxi drivers off when I wave them away and wait for the limo! makes my day!

[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.

There is the BTS you could have used

We were on the other end, and going to the middle of Soi 55. BTS wouldn't work....

[gandalf12]

Long time ago I must confess but I had a taxi driver "forget" to turn his meter on from the airport. I let him get a little way down the road and told him. He said it was broke so I told him "Ok, but I will pay you the price shown on your meter as the board at the airport says" amazingly his meter started working.

[gemguy]

I use taxis all the time....everyday several times a day .

Now I know why all the more taxi drivers have been all the more surly and moody...as of late.

They are being told what to do by someone else and forced to comply with a regulation ...which we all know is amongst the many things that Thai people, men more so than women, can not readily accept with graciousness......lol ...so their frustrations are revealed...lol

Cheers

[hawker9000]

I use taxis all the time....everyday several times a day .

Now I know why all the more taxi drivers have been all the more surly and moody...as of late.

They are being told what to do by someone else and forced to comply with a regulation ...which we all know is amongst the many things that Thai people, men more so than women, can not readily accept with graciousness......lol ...so their frustrations are revealed...lol

Cheers

Grumbling I'm sure, but they all take for granted that the crackdown will end and things will return to "normal" afterward. And odds are they're right.