We are a big hit in Chiang Mai – says Uber

[webfact]

We are a big hit in Chiang Mai – says Uber

BY STAFF WRITER 

 

Amy Kunrojpanya from Uber. Image: Manager Online

 

CHIANG MAI: -- Uber said yesterday that their trial service in Chiang Mai is a big hit as they expand their service in the northern city.

 

Asia Pacific representative Amy Kunrojpanya said that the fledgling service had been very well received by locals and tourists alike.

 

The service started in Chiang Mai on November 1st and in the first two weeks Uber are very pleased with the take up of people using the service.

 

Full story: http://tech.thaivisa.com/we-are-a-big-hit-in-chiang-mai-says-uber/18559/

 

-- THAI TECH 2016-11-16

[siam2007]

just curious what fares they charge. As imposed by the Taxi Mafia, read: 250 Baht minimum for trips as short as 1 Km? Anybody used UBER there recently? If they r allowed to operate at regular rates at places such as Phuket, Samui or Pattaya, this would be the moment when I start to believe in the country again

[CNXBKKMAN]

11 minutes ago, siam2007 said:

just curious what fares they charge. As imposed by the Taxi Mafia, read: 250 Baht minimum for trips as short as 1 Km? Anybody used UBER there recently? If they r allowed to operate at regular rates at places such as Phuket, Samui or Pattaya, this would be the moment when I start to believe in the country again

 

Go to the Uber site and put in a destination. I checked the other week , old city to the railway station i think it was 40 something baht for the cheapest service. I have not used it yet though but it looks to be cheaper than using a songtaeow.  These threads about Uber were always closed down because "Uber is illegal in Thailand" so its surprising TV have started this topic.

[siam2007]

3 minutes ago, CNXBKKMAN said:

 

Go to the Uber site and put in a destination. I checked the other week , old city to the railway station i think it was 40 something baht for the cheapest service. I have not used it yet though but it looks to be cheaper than using a songtaeow.  These threads about Uber were always closed down because "Uber is illegal in Thailand" so its surprising TV have started this topic.

 

 

well this time the topic has been started by the THAIVISA team themselves, so there must be some legitimacy behind UBER starting to operate again. Which would be awesome news indeed

[Bassosa]

Tried Uber the other day. Pick up in Nimman was swift, literally in minutes and trip to the San Sai New golf course was only 110 baht. Much better than a taxi or private driver! So far so good.

 

But then I tried to get an Uber driver to pick me up from the golf course. No luck. Left me standing. Tried for a good 1.5 hour while I was enjoying my post-round beer. Had to get my girlfriend to come and collect me in the end.

 

Sent a note to Uber (twice) about failure to get a ride but they never bothered responding.

 

My driver complained by the low fees. Said he couldn't make a living. Also offered to wait around and bring me back to Nimman for....250 baht, bypassing Uber.

Edited November 16, 2016 by Bassosa

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, Bassosa said:

Sent a note to Uber (twice) about failure to get a ride but they never bothered responding.

Should you be surprised. Not responding is quite common here. I have heard of Uber but no big rollout trying to stay under the taxi mafia radar I guess. I hope it is better promoted than the bus service to nowhere that started a couple years ago what a fiasco. If I was the Uber lady I would keep a low profile here one never knows when a red truck could be her demise a hit and run possibly. 

[notbkk]

Not surprised. Public transport in Chiang Mai non-existing. Ridiculous

[thhMan]

Deep down, I am very happy that this is happening and that the Taxi service is getting a shakeup as there is nothing worse than getting in a Taxi, telling the driver where you want to go, getting refused, then getting out to wait for the next Taxi

 

Just like the USA elections... Sometimes you need a change to see how bad the old system is

[JomtienEats]

4 hours ago, Bassosa said:

Tried Uber the other day. Pick up in Nimman was swift, literally in minutes and trip to the San Sai New golf course was only 110 baht. Much better than a taxi or private driver! So far so good.

 

But then I tried to get an Uber driver to pick me up from the golf course. No luck. Left me standing. Tried for a good 1.5 hour while I was enjoying my post-round beer. Had to get my girlfriend to come and collect me in the end.

 

Sent a note to Uber (twice) about failure to get a ride but they never bothered responding.

 

My driver complained by the low fees. Said he couldn't make a living. Also offered to wait around and bring me back to Nimman for....250 baht, bypassing Uber.

 

Maybe try Grab Taxi for the way back - they charge 50B pickup fee so maybe worth their while to go out of their way a bit.

 

I do hope that Uber or Grab (or both) succeeds but they are going to have to subsidize the early stages a lot to get their numbers up to a point where it becomes viable for drivers and passengers.

 

[Bassosa]

Yeah I hope they make it too...

[Sig]

No surprises at all if they are successful here. The taxi services suck, putting it lightly, and the Red Songtaew's, or any other color for that matter, are pricey. A friend of mine used Uber last night. Nawarat Bridge to Payap University - 100 baht! No songtaew will ever go for less than 150. Many say they want 250. They need some serious competition and I'm sure glad to see it coming!

Edited November 16, 2016 by Sig

[Chicog]

No dual pricing then?

[Chicog]

9 hours ago, Bassosa said:

Tried Uber the other day. Pick up in Nimman was swift, literally in minutes and trip to the San Sai New golf course was only 110 baht.

 

How far is that in Km?

[ricklev]

I use Uber and UberX in Bangkok daily. It will change life in Chiang Mai for anyone who regularly uses public transportation and can use a mobile app.

[kilt]

I love Uber. Haven't used it in Chiang Mai yet but use it in Bangkok and many other cities worldwide.

Grabtaxi is also very good. Grabtaxi has an option to add a "tip" when booking so if you are in a remote area, or it's raining, or traffic is bad... adding a decent tip usually results in a timely pick up.

[elektrified]

11 hours ago, Sig said:

No surprises at all if they are successful here. The taxi services suck, putting it lightly, and the Red Songtaew's, or any other color for that matter, are pricey. A friend of mine used Uber last night. Nawarat Bridge to Payap University - 100 baht! No songtaew will ever go for less than 150. Many say they want 250. They need some serious competition and I'm sure glad to see it coming!

Songtaews are pricey? The last time I took one (about 5 years ago) , it cost 17 Baht to get from Kad Luang to Mae Jo University! Are you joking? I'm fairly certian the price has not gone up.

[Bassosa]

Seems like their customer service needs sharpening up too. I got a response from them 14 days (!) after I complained about getting stuck in San Sai. At that time I was kind of hoping someone would step in right away and get me some transport but I guess this is better than nothing.

 

Let's see how they deal with my help request/complaint.

[mike324]

 

22 hours ago, Bassosa said:

Tried Uber the other day. Pick up in Nimman was swift, literally in minutes and trip to the San Sai New golf course was only 110 baht. Much better than a taxi or private driver! So far so good.

 

But then I tried to get an Uber driver to pick me up from the golf course. No luck. Left me standing. Tried for a good 1.5 hour while I was enjoying my post-round beer. Had to get my girlfriend to come and collect me in the end.

 

Sent a note to Uber (twice) about failure to get a ride but they never bothered responding.

 

My driver complained by the low fees. Said he couldn't make a living. Also offered to wait around and bring me back to Nimman for....250 baht, bypassing Uber.

 

I have to say, it is indeed hard for uber drivers to make money as most of their cars run on petrol not NGV, so they actually profit very little

[ricklev]

The way it will eventually work is that, when demand for rides exceeds drivers, prices are temporarily increased by 10 to 200 percent (rarely more than that in Bangkok)  to encourage more drivers to come out. The app warns the rider that prices are increased and by what percent before the rider confirms the booking.

 

That's a big part of Uber's business model.  They call it surge pricing.  It's very common now in Bangkok, depending on area and time.

 

However, even with surge pricing, I do occasionally get a message that says no UberX cars are available.

 

But Uber has been working on the complex algorithms of pricing, demand and driver compensation from the very beginning.  It functions well in most markets thus making Uber worth 20 to 60 billion dollars, depending on who is valuing it.

 

Uber is just an app that matches private owners of cars with people who want a ride.  Uber then keeps a percentage of the fare.  Uber doesn't own any cars and argues that it doesn't employ any drivers.  

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by ricklev

[Sig]

16 hours ago, elektrified said:

Songtaews are pricey? The last time I took one (about 5 years ago) , it cost 17 Baht to get from Kad Luang to Mae Jo University! Are you joking? I'm fairly certian the price has not gone up.

Did you happen to read beyond the first sentence I wrote? It appears not.
I don't know the place you mentioned, "Kad Luang", and have no idea how far that might be from Mae Jo University, but perhaps it could be a local songtaew on a regular route that had that price (5 years ago). Try going off of a regular route outside of the center of town. It won't be 17 baht. I gave an example of how much cheaper Uber is than the songtaew already, that you don't appear to have read. But I'll give another that is even worse. I tried to get a songtaew from the Arcade Bus Station to Payap University, a 3 km, 5 or so minute drive, and nobody would go for less than 150 baht. I asked 4 songtaews and 2 taxis. 150-250 were the insane prices they wanted. It was a slow time of day and no traffic. They seem to prefer sitting around picking their noses than making a reasonable fare. A motorcycle can be rented for the same price for an entire day!
One more. The regular charge by songtaews at the gate of Payap University for bringing students to BigC, about a 15 minute walk or a tad over 1 km, is 80 baht! These guys are nuts and deserve to be driven out of business by Uber as far as I'm concerned. 17 baht.... dream on.

[Sig]

On 11/16/2016 at 10:03 PM, Chicog said:

 

How far is that in Km?

Didn't see an answer, so thought I'd answer. Not sure where in Nimman he was talking about, but from there to San Sai New golf course for 110 baht seems really cheap. I'm not surprised his driver was complaining about low fees! That distance has got to be 10km or maybe more. 110 baht seems VERY cheap. I don't normally tip drivers, but I would have tipped that guy. I wonder what a songtaew or meter taxi would charge....

[balo]

I only pay 20 baht , if you know where the red, yellow and white songtaews are heading, just follow the route and jump off and walk the rest of the distance,. Works for me, and most Thais.

 

I live in Nong Pa Khrang and use the white songtaew , it's a distance of 5 km to the city centre.  20 baht. 

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by balo

[Wilted Flower of Scotland]

22 hours ago, elektrified said:

Songtaews are pricey? The last time I took one (about 5 years ago) , it cost 17 Baht to get from Kad Luang to Mae Jo University! Are you joking? I'm fairly certian the price has not gone up.

The only time I ever thought they were expensive was to go to the airport,which seemed a standard charge of 150 baht from anywhere around the city!

[Wilted Flower of Scotland]

5 hours ago, Sig said:

Did you happen to read beyond the first sentence I wrote? It appears not.
I don't know the place you mentioned, "Kad Luang", and have no idea how far that might be from Mae Jo University, but perhaps it could be a local songtaew on a regular route that had that price (5 years ago). Try going off of a regular route outside of the center of town. It won't be 17 baht. I gave an example of how much cheaper Uber is than the songtaew already, that you don't appear to have read. But I'll give another that is even worse. I tried to get a songtaew from the Arcade Bus Station to Payap University, a 3 km, 5 or so minute drive, and nobody would go for less than 150 baht. I asked 4 songtaews and 2 taxis. 150-250 were the insane prices they wanted. It was a slow time of day and no traffic. They seem to prefer sitting around picking their noses than making a reasonable fare. A motorcycle can be rented for the same price for an entire day!
One more. The regular charge by songtaews at the gate of Payap University for bringing students to BigC, about a 15 minute walk or a tad over 1 km, is 80 baht! These guys are nuts and deserve to be driven out of business by Uber as far as I'm concerned. 17 baht.... dream on.

You do realise that you NEVER ask a Songtaew the price,just where they are going then give them 20 baht when you disembark?

[Bassosa]

8 hours ago, Sig said:

Didn't see an answer, so thought I'd answer. Not sure where in Nimman he was talking about, but from there to San Sai New golf course for 110 baht seems really cheap. I'm not surprised his driver was complaining about low fees! That distance has got to be 10km or maybe more. 110 baht seems VERY cheap. I don't normally tip drivers, but I would have tipped that guy. I wonder what a songtaew or meter taxi would charge....

 

Yeah I did tip, partly because I want Uber to succeed. I like the service and it could really be a game changer.

 

Got a response to my complaint/question about not being able to get a ride. Apparently it was my fault, I should have checked the app 15 minutes before I was ready to ride. Then I would have gotten a feel for wait time and availability.

 

PROBLEM SORTED!

 

For the record, wait time was indicated at 6 mins. A car was actually on the move towards me but bailed out.

 

Pfff, Uber's got some way to go......

 

 

 

 

[siam2007]

as anywhere in the Kingdom where the Tsunami of clueless Chinese mainland tourists reaches the shores, prices for everything go up quickly. Transportation is no exception

[Sapporillo]

As for the guy who mentioned that the driver said he can't make a living: this is Uber's business model, at least in the US and in Europe. I've worked as an administrator in a taxicab company, and I've seen it happening: the customers start using the cheaper Ubers, so some (a few at first) drivers join Uber. At the beginning, the think they make good money, until their cars need major repairs or have to be changed, then they realize that they better stay at home. By that point in time, Uber is sufficiently popular that new (and more) drivers will join them, and with today's pool of unemployed people desperate to make a buck, there's no shortage of candidates willing to join them. All you need is a car and a driver's license... Of course, the ultimate goal is to have them replaced by autonomous taxicabs, which is just a few years away now. 

Btw this is not a rant or something like that, I'm not against autonomous cars at all. At least you won't have to ask them three times to switch on the meter...  

[Sig]

15 hours ago, Wilted Flower of Scotland said:

You do realise that you NEVER ask a Songtaew the price,just where they are going then give them 20 baht when you disembark?

That's good way to get yourself into a lot of unnecessary trouble. And if you happen to get a driver who doesn't whip out his machete or otherwise go bezerk on you for your completely condescending, rude behavior that he has had one too many times from farang who think they know better, you will just be cementing the distaste for foreigners into the mind of what otherwise may be a very kind person. Besides that, why would you want to rip off a guy like that? Believe it or not, they have a system, whether you or I like it or not, and it isn't all based on seeing how much they can rip off the foreigner. I talked with a driver for a while about it one day. Maybe you think 20 baht is ok because you have never been outside of the confines of the moat or taken a ride off of a regular route? Your comment helps me understand why it seems that a good number of drivers are not very pleasant to me when first approaching them, but they often relax and open up when I speak Thai with them. I've also spoken with a number of Thai locals to get an understanding of prices. I don't only rely on what any given driver may tell me.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Sig

[Sig]

20 hours ago, balo said:

I only pay 20 baht , if you know where the red, yellow and white songtaews are heading, just follow the route and jump off and walk the rest of the distance,. Works for me, and most Thais.

 

I live in Nong Pa Khrang and use the white songtaew , it's a distance of 5 km to the city centre.  20 baht. 

 

 

 

Yep, if you're by a regular route it works well, no doubt.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

and if you are on Yellow going from Chiang Mai Gate to Tesco Hang Dong; you are overpaying by 5 THB.  Uber might be a good way to get to immigration at 3am.  I paid 150 last year from CMU, but them asking 3-400 is not unheard of.