Taxis to be installed with devices in bid to boost safety and service 

By The Nation

 

File photo

 

All taxis will soon be required to install safety devices as part of the “Taxi OK and Taxi VIP” campaign aimed at overhauling the taxi industry and increasing passenger safety. 

 

The new regulations under the campaign require taxi operators to install a GPS Tracking device to monitor speed, a CCTV camera, an emergency button, and a digital monitor in their taxis for safety reasons.

 

Details of the drivers and their vehicles will be linked to the Department of Land Transport GPS centre and their operators’ data systems for monitoring. 

 

A mobile application “DLT Taxi OK” will also be launched soon to prevent taxi drivers from refusing service to passengers or not using the fare meter. The officials are expecting the application to improve the overall quality of Thai taxi services.

 

Permanent secretary at the Transport Ministry Chartchai Tipsunave told a seminar held on Friday that he expects the ministry to implement these measures by the end of the year. 

 

Under the campaign, new taxi drivers and operators will be required to install all the prerequisite devices while current taxi drivers and operators will be asked to join the campaign voluntarily.

 

Taxi operators whose licences are set to expire in a couple of years will be exempted from the measures, he added.

 

Witoon Neawpanich, president of the Taxi Cooperatives Network, said taxi drivers are willing to comply with the new regulations. However, he voiced concerns over the installation costs, which could be as high as Bt20,000.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30313017

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-04-22

Excellent! Robot taxi drivers!

Well why haven't taxi clubs or whatever years ago created self-regulation and disciplined the rogue operators to keep their industry away from needing these devices and their costs?

Quote

 

Under the campaign, new taxi drivers and operators will be required to install all the prerequisite devices while current taxi drivers and operators will be asked to join the campaign voluntarily.

 

Taxi operators whose licences are set to expire in a couple of years will be exempted from the measures, he added.

 

 

Ya right. You can pretty well see how this is really going to shake up the current industry. 

maybe someone riding SHOTGUN would be a start.

Seeing the headline I thought ,each taxi was going to be installed

with a Taser for the passengers.

regards Worgeordie

it will work just as well as the Meters in the Pattaya taxis

20 minutes ago, lonewolf99 said:

it will work just as well as the Meters in the Pattaya taxis

Pattaya taxis have meters? Never knew that, always thought box on the dash was a digital clock that needed re-setting!

Sorry, meter no working.

 

Sorry, GPS no working

 

Sorry camera not working.

 

Sorry emergency button not working.

 

Sorry, picture on licence not me. No problem, we both come from Buriram.

Got most of those things as a requirement for taxis here in planet Perth. Doesn't stop the new arrivals from trying it on. The trick is enforcement of the regulations, something the Thai bureaucracy is not noted for.

Good move!

Im in hope that this move will be implemented and adhered too by such a fickle nation?

But! Yet to be seen...


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

3 hours ago, JAG said:

Sorry, meter no working.

 

Sorry, GPS no working

 

Sorry camera not working.

 

Sorry emergency button not working.

 

Sorry, picture on licence not me. No problem, we both come from Buriram.

Sorry, safety belt in back no work.

 

Total Rubbish -

- The DLT already have an APP... It doesnt work.

- The DLT already have a complain line. No one answers (yet they quote just a 1% complain percentage !) - My Wife has tried to call numerous times. 

 

And the biggest joke... Installing this device is Voluntary... So, the DLT want an industry of notoriously lazy scam artists to volunteer to install a piece of tech which forces them to be honest?....  

 

through all this bumf, whenever I read one of these announcements, what I really read is... "WE DON'T REALLY GIVE A £$%&" !!!

 

Just this week I have refused to enter two taxi's... One pulled over for me, but it was so beaten up it looked like it was about to fall apart. The other, the driver was so obviously drunk, you could smell it, he couldn't even focus on me or speak clearly... 

 

This small device ?...  hopefully its a 'brain' for the drivers and those making decisions at the DLT.

All they need to install is better drivers.

1 minute ago, mrfill said:

All they need to install is better drivers.

 

Honest & Better drivers...   and seat belts in the rear... 

 

... its hardly a 'big ask'.... 

Oh so all current drivers are only asked to volunteer for the news system  So why have it then How many drivers are going to do that 

 

 Very Few 

 

You need to make it mandatory for all drivers to instal the system PERIOD  Installation should be required as their Car Plate is ready to expire

 

Someone comes up with a good idea then they have it fall apart with the so called implementation period 

 

So typically THai 

It's voluntary for current drivers. So, it solves absolutely nothing. We have all wasted our time reading this news.

Under the campaign, new taxi drivers and operators will be required to install all the prerequisite devices while current taxi drivers and operators will be asked to join the campaign voluntarily.
 
Taxi operators whose licences are set to expire in a couple of years will be exempted from the measures, he added.

 

So net-net, BOTH taxis will be equipped as described.

 

Honestly, no clue what problems they're trying to address here? Or how effective these measures will ultimately be?

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Honest & Better drivers...   and seat belts in the rear... 

 

... its hardly a 'big ask'.... 

Really?

So.. what they are actually saying is that their culture is so great that they cant trust their own citizens...  ~sic~

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

Sorry, safety belt in back no work.

 

What seat belt in the back?

How about something to stop the drivers ripping passengers off???

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

through all this bumf, whenever I read one of these announcements, what I really read is... "WE DON'T REALLY GIVE A £$%&" !!!

 

It's the very familiar, often repeated theme here: APPEAR to be doing something, without actually doing ANYTHING!!!

 

That is the heart of the NON-enforcement culture here.

 

But it makes for nice-sounding news headlines...

 

I took three taxi trips in BKK in the past two days:

 

In one trip, as soon as I got in, the driver told me (to my pleasant surprise) to fasten my seatbelt, which I did.

 

In the other two trips, the drivers said nothing. And after waiting a bit to see, I fastened the belt on my own.

 

But at least, the taxis I was riding in HAD working rear seat belts. After so many years living here, I'd kind of gotten into the habit of never even looking or trying, because rear seatbelts in taxis so often are simply non-existent.

 

I'm sure that a lot of drivers will voluntarily install these devices...NOT!

So, we have to wait for all the current drivers to die?

Doesnt Uber provide basically the same by default? Seems a lot easier and cheaper for the taxi drivers to just download the Uber app onto phones they already own and just become Uber drivers.

However, with the Uber rating system, it would be interesting to see how many would last a week...

Sent from my SM-J710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

"new taxi drivers and operators will be required to install all the prerequisite devices while current taxi drivers and operators will be asked to join the campaign voluntarily."

 

<deleted> ????

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I took three taxi trips in BKK in the past two days:

 

In one trip, as soon as I got in, the driver told me (to my pleasant surprise) to fasten my seatbelt, which I did.

 

In the other two trips, the drivers said nothing. And after waiting a bit to see, I fastened the belt on my own.

 

But at least, the taxis I was riding in HAD working rear seat belts. After so many years living here, I'd kind of gotten into the habit of never even looking or trying, because rear seatbelts in taxis so often are simply non-existent.

 

 

You have no sense of adventure. ?? What you have to do is stick your hand down between the back of the seat and the back cushion.

I have never tried it myself but let's face it, you might find something 'interesting' .

?

I'd be in favor of a little price hike in order to have better service. Perhaps start the meter at 50 baht and increase the fare slighly, I think 15% should do it. A close friend of mine is a taxi driver, and most refuse fares because they know that they will make zero penny with that ride.