Transport officials talk tough on clearing up rogue taxi drivers

[swissman53]

People with Line can use the Line ID 1584dlt to make complaints or people can drop in at transport department offices to register their grievances.

Line ID 1584dlt can not accept any more friends..........

That help's

[Winniedapu]

Ooh. More talking tough eh?

Must be close to the end of the month.

W

[JAG]

Walked through Soi Cowboy last night. There were 4 military police walking around in full kit with automatic weapons. They strolled right by the 10 taxi vultures at the Asoke side of the Soi that were grabbing people offering girls, and non metered rides. I guess these coppers didn't get the memo on talking tough.......

Full kitted military police wandering the city at night with automatic weapons doesn't do much for tourism and the image of Thailand. I guess they were just making sure the evil tourists were behaving while protecting the taxi drivers from being extorted.

Probably just strutting around posing - trying to impress the girls.

Mind you I suspect that the ladies of Soi Cowboy are unimpressed by tight polyester uniforms, plastic helmets and lacquered boots!

☺

[WhizBang]

Just another 'crackdown'. By Monday it will be back to business as usual.

[dddave]

In 14 years living here in Bangkok and using taxis frequently, I can count less than 10 bad experiences with Taxi drivers.

A friends experience a few days ago shows the other side of the coin for taxi drivers.

My friend flew to Bangkok to visit me for a few days. At Don Muang, she shared a taxi with a friend going to a Condo on Suk soi 4. This was close to midnight. They dropped the friend on Suk.-4, got stuck in a lot of Soi-4 traffic but were ble to finally make the right turn onto Sukhumvit to head for my place in Phra Khanong. As soon as they made the turn, the taxi was stopped at a police checkpoint. The cops were really nasty to the driver. He did not have a regulation shirt on so they threatened to impound his taxi unless he paid them B500. They told my friend to get out of the taxi and get another one. She got pissed-off at the cops and asked them why they were giving the driver who had a perfectly clean taxi and had used the meter without question such a hard time. The driver never really had a choice and paid the B500. The final fare was about B350. She gave him a B100 tip to cut his losses but he still lost a whole bunch of working time.

Here is a case of a driver doing everything right except for a uniform shirt and they bust his balls and demand a bribe. It's no wonder some of them become hard cases.

[Jonmarleesco]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. When they walk it as well as talk it, I'll believe it.

[ujayujay]

A lot of chatter for Peanuts. The proportion of black sheep among the taxi-drivers is not less in most western countries. In big cities anyway. In many cases, passengers are to blame. If the driver does not want to turn on the Taxmeter .... disembark. Take another one...........or its you're own fault.

[Cook my sock]

Taxi drivers need to be paid more. 40-45 baht minimum would help. No wonder there are rogue drivers and refused pick ups.

[BKKdreaming]

10-20% less taxis would help the remaining ones make a decent living .....

but really the companies renting the drivers the taxi are the best target , they see the drivers daily ........

[SOTIRIOS]

....talk talk talk.....

...without action is just noise....

[Mudlover]

So Wachara overcharged and hurt a Turkish tourist and gets away with having his license revoked. Surely he should be charged with assault.

[selftaopath]

Save the talk until after the action has been taken. I guess we will wait for ever

Thailand and Thai people are noted - generally - for talk talk talk talk and talk.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

This is all a load of cod's.Its gone too far,it cant be stopped because the drivers have been at it for so long,they now see it as their right.Also there are too many hands in the till.Everybody wants a slice of the pie.The cops are watching the drivers,but who are watching the watchers.

Look! A generation ago,this country was pulling handcarts,and rickshaws and the women walked around topless.Now they are driving automatic cars,have electric light,running water and bar's, and have learned how to screw the tourist. All in a space of the Vietnamese war and the 70's.The edict goes out 'Thou shalt not rip off tourists" and thats where it stops,because they think it doesn't apply to them and why worry,i wont get caught.

Modernization has come too quickly to Thailand.and they find it very difficult to adjust to to the rules that have come with it.

Children in grown up clothing.

[biplanebluey]

For heavens sake you pack of winjers.You create that nobody cares and when maybe someone actually says "ok enough is enough" and does start someting-------- maybe even wants to make a name for himself------- all you can do is come out with the same old stuff you have been preaching for years.Give them a break and if nothing happens ----thats the time for you to start

[Winniedapu]

For heavens sake you pack of winjers.You create that nobody cares and when maybe someone actually says "ok enough is enough" and does start someting-------- maybe even wants to make a name for himself------- all you can do is come out with the same old stuff you have been preaching for years.Give them a break and if nothing happens ----thats the time for you to start

Well, they haven't started to do something. They've started to talk about starting to do something. Time will tell if it eventuates or not but you can't blame folk in here for having been taught to be sceptical.

As for 'give them a break' - why? what did the Thai government ever do for foreigners that wasn't venal?

W

Edited May 30, 2016 by Winniedapu