PM Prayut calls for crack down on taxis going off-meter

[kennw]

So who are responsible for enforcing the direction against Taxi's not using their meters?. Come - on you red shirt supporters you know it is the police but you prefer to blame the Army when they can't act, and then you complain when the Army senior officers are given civil powers. Give the PM enough time and he will prevail. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[mgjackson69]

So who are responsible for enforcing the direction against Taxi's not using their meters?. Come - on you red shirt supporters you know it is the police but you prefer to blame the Army when they can't act, and then you complain when the Army senior officers are given civil powers. Give the PM enough time and he will prevail. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Seeing as how the taxis are owned by the police...good luck getting any change there.

[mgjackson69]

The PM was going to solve all of Thailand's problems in a few short months, as I recall.

All he has done is chastise people for having fun, as near as I can tell.

[siamcrut]

He's putting another cart before the horse.

[stickyrice2000]

If they are going to crack down, they should send out undercover officials to test ride the taxi every now at various locations. Impose a big fine or perhaps suspense their taxi service privilege when found guilty. Relying on the customers to report the fraud incidents can only go so far. This way the taxi drivers are aware that the government is taking serious action.

Edited April 22, 2016 by stickyrice2000

[cyberfarang]

You get into a taxi, the driver refuses to turn on the meter, so who you gonna call? Cab busters.

[Usual Suspect]

...& who has he entrusted to carry out these latest crackdowns..??

Again just another example of the people of this nation ingnoring any laws & doing as they see fit...TiT!

[Jonmarleesco]

'... the premier ... expressed concern over news being circulated via social media ...' It's a bugger, isn't it? ... Especially when you can't intercede.

'He has ordered that the Ministry of Transport take serious action on this matter.' Something they shouldn't need to be told to do. Well, we'll see.

[NCC1701A]

imagine working your whole life to get to the top of this corrupt country only to be defeated by a bunch of semi literate taxi drivers.

[Moonmoon]

Crackdown on Songkran drink n drive no safety drivers. Highest record number of deaths this year 2016. Crackdown on taxi drivers going without meters. I fear the worse for taxi drivers.. or not?

[chilli42]

All must be well in the kingdom if this is the biggest issue facing the Prime Minister.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Right,good,ok thank you,thats great.But where is this centre and whats its phone number and what do we do when its the middle of the night? do we then have an emergency number.? Will there be a police unit especially formed to deal with these problems,when arriving from the airport? And what happens when you want to go,say from Pattaya to Jomtiem,honest joe wants to charge you 900 baht,you know he's taking the piss and you tell him so.You pull out your trusty mobile to call the number given and he in turn pulls out his trusty machete.next day his taxi s pulled by the police('cos you got his plate) and the guy says 'it wasnt me,it was my twin brother who go back to isaan now,he not have telephone 'do you really expect the bib to investigate this further,cos now its too complicated for them.
Nahh,all these big ideas are great,but,in reality?????

[tominbkk]

Like the crackdown on the rogue cop extortion fueled roadblocks. That lasted about 2 months, and then they came out stronger than ever!

[mesterm]

Talk, talk, talk but nothing changes. Oh so Thai !

Sounds bit like TV members as well. If you're PM what is your plan to curb such behaviour?

Seriously clamp down on corruption in the civil service. The rest will follow.

Have you not lived in any other developed country?

No this is my first. So wise one easy to say clamp down on corruptiom when it's part of local culture since when..

As expert yourself please share your detail plan with the PM. I'm sure he'll appreciate your kind assistance.

And I'm sure once you cleaned up the blantant corruption cost of living will remain the same. It's one of the reasons most of us are here no...

No social or economic policies or plans will move forward when they cannot be implemented due to a inherently corrupted civil service. So what's the use of suggestions?

And if you've read any news outside of the ThaiVisa forum, you'd realize many such proposals and plans have been made by academics already.

Edited April 23, 2016 by mesterm

[SABloke]

Well I'm sold on the whole ''Taxi App'' thing now. I used All Thai Taxi today and the service was excellent..I waited about 5 min and the guy arrived. Granted I live close to the Ratchada HQ. He brought me to Minburi no problem and in the afternoon I will use them to go to Asoke. The driver suggested I book 20min in advance (which is probably how long I'd have to wait to get a taxi willing to go anyway) The deiver told me they now have 500 Taxis and are planning to increase to 1000 by next year. The more the merrier.

I should add that starting rate and per km rate is exactly the same as normal taxi (plus 20 booking fee...also the same as normal taxi) and they fetch from the airport so now I don't have to worry about friends and family having a hard time when I can't fetch them.

This post might seem off topic, but my feeling is if these companies continue to grow then ''crackdowns'' won't be needed anymore.

[SABloke]

And I just received an email with fare breakdown and a photo of the driver. I'm impressed

[mikiea]

Again? What number is this one?

ya noticed he is starting more and more crackdowns .... is that his job ?, who knows where these crackdowns will lead . checking soi 7/11 dogs to see if they are registered and have papers ? checking the temperature of soi street dishes ? good god when will it end ?

[mrrizzla]

Again? What number is this one?

ya noticed he is starting more and more crackdowns .... is that his job ?, who knows where these crackdowns will lead . checking soi 7/11 dogs to see if they are registered and have papers ? checking the temperature of soi street dishes ? good god when will it end ?

We will want the Facebook addresses and bank account details of those dogs too.

[Nobb]

You have threatened them with fines and losing the drivers lincences for two years but nothing changes. You make the laws and they break the laws because no one enforces the law. They know the chance of them getting caught is slim to none! How comes no one listens to this powerful man?

[Jonmarleesco]

I may be wrong, but if the taxi drivers would not continually decline passengers transportation, the drivers probably would make more money and would not feel that they have to go off meter.

Many times I'm denied by drivers going in the same direction on Sukumvit to the next or second BTS station and that never made sense to me when I spoke in their language! One night I had 6 drivers in a row deny me transportation on Sukumvit after they stopped.

I like the Grab Taxi Application, but that too can be frustrating when no taxis are available.

You're undoubtedly right, but that logic is up against Thai taxi drivers' version, and it's unlikely ever the twain shall meet.

And always assuming the DoT would actually do what they say they do, did you not consider reporting the six malcontents?

[Doc46]

Easy as pie if they don't turn on the meter before you go,,,, exit the taxi,,,

[Melyn]

The answer is simple. Set up a Line account and/or Facebook account where people can post a photo of the taxi with a time and place

[Thongkorn]

I got refused from Sahmut Prakan , the taxi driver refused because he said he did not use meter, I took a picture of him and his Taxi cab number, Got a bit of abuse but i told him it was going to the police, seemed to get him agitated,

[Jiggo]

This menial issue has now gone to the PM, what next a UN Peacekeeping Force.....

[Ghostnigel]

Would that be classed as a crackdown on the crackdown that was already in place?

[Kaalle]

Results dont matter, its about words and appearances just like it always is. You all know it.

[dbrenn]

Didn't he crack down on that a while back?

All these crackdowns do is prove that he is powerless to effect lasting change, just like the rest of them.

[NongKhaiKid]

It's tough at the top Mr. PM and all these heady issues of state.

Isn't it time to open a new bike lane somewhere ?

[saltandpepper]

Bullsh*t. Again.

[tigermoth]

The farce never stops. How the hell can the Govt. ever crackdown on taxis??? None of the elite who are responsible for this imaginary crackdown never travel by taxi. They will no doubt form the usual committee. It is another ridiculous statement which continue to be made. The vast majority of taxi drivers are well behaved and courteous. The only problem I have ever had is a driver not wishing to go to your destination. As for overcharging, don't get in unless the meter is used or decide wether you will accept the increased charge which generally only occurs late at night and in tourist areas. There are hundreds of a lot more relevant 'crackdowns' that can be made, public toilet cleanliness, standard of maintenance on public transport, electrical supply, street maintenance, driving laws, public servants making up their own rules etc., etc., etc.