Thais being scared to use Uber?

[wump]

Title says it all. I've tried to explain that I don't care about the money, but if I use the mafia taxis (talking about Pattaya here) they will stay here forever. Are Thais really that scared of a possible confrontation? For sure the mafia won't shoot any passenger and would only hurt the driver?

 

Edit: Or maybe is it just about taking the easy way out? "Farang pay anyway, why risk anything"

[observer90210]

the regular taxis are a bunch of thieves and cheats in Thailand and quite a few countries in the world....if Uber has become a multi billion $ venture practically overnight, there is a reason for that.....long live Uber..and I will use it as long as it exists, anywhere anytime....to hell with the taxi mafia gangs...

©

[Chou Anou]

Ha!  I wouldn't be too sure about that "not hurting the passenger" idea, especially if the passenger is a farang.  Everyday Thais will often try to collect damages from a farang passenger in a taxi that's involved in an accident with their car (that's why, in case the taxi you're in ever has an accident, you throw a few hundred baht at the driver and get the hell out of there, FAST)...so why would the mafia hesitate at injuring a farang passenger in a taxi encroaching on their territory?

 

Anyway, Uber is not long for this world...they're taking a real publicity beating in the US right now for their unfair treatment of drivers, sexist comments by board members, and high incidence of drivers raping passengers.

[wump]

I don't care if Uber becomes the new Nestlé or anything. It's not that much of an effort copying the app and having a new competitor. Uber just has a lot of back-up $$ and you can basically get free rides in Pattaya. Getting rid of the mafia should be first priority.

[TonyClifton]

26 minutes ago, Chou Anou said:

high incidence of drivers raping passengers.

High incidence?  How many rapes = high? 

 

1?

2?

3?

 

Do tell us how many rapes have occurred at the hands ... er Ummm ... of an Uber driver?  

[wump]

Pretty bad reputation in the UK but never heard of it in Thailand? Oh wait, please don't give the mafia any ideas for bad Uber publicity.

[jeab1980]

Never used uber and never will. Meter taxi is fine for me

[SiamBeast]

Last time my wife took an Uber, the driver asked her to sit at the front to avoid trouble at police checkpoints.

[TonyClifton]

I haven't used Uber in Thailand.  I use Grab.  I will never take a taxi in Bangkok again.  Grab drivers are nice, courteous and most of them use GPS.  The cost is higher than a filthy taxi-meter but getting into a clean car can't be beaten.  Took Wifey Clifton to the train station with a huge suitcase filled with crap for Issan but called a larger Grab and a nice woman driving a Fortuner showed up.  There was plenty of room for the bag and 4 of us.

 

No worries to jeab1980, you can have all the taxi-meters I won't take.

[wump]

You guys should distinguish between Bangkok and Pattaya.

 

Bangkok: Grabtaxi: Normal taxis with a bit of comfort.

Pattaya: Before the introduction of Uber Grab had mafia pricing and only used mafia taxis. Now they lowered the prices and even offer private cars like Uber (called GrabCar). You can choose between mafia taxis and private cars. The taxis booked via the app are about 20-50% cheaper than negotiating on the road. GrabCar saves you a further 20%. 

 

Going 4 km in Pattaya for 80 Baht (without any discounts) about a year ago? Unthinkable.

[rennie1988]

I would be more scared to use a regular taxi than Uber. At least the Uber won't rip you off. I'm sure that the Uber drivers in Pattaya are very aware of the dangers, they're not going to roll the windows down and announce they're an Uber driver. Just be discreet and it shouldn't be a problem.

 

When fridges were invented the men selling ice for a living got angry. The answer wasn't to ban fridges.

[bbi1]

6 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

I haven't used Uber in Thailand.  I use Grab.  I will never take a taxi in Bangkok again.  Grab drivers are nice, courteous and most of them use GPS.  The cost is higher than a filthy taxi-meter but getting into a clean car can't be beaten. 

Bro, you have absolutely no idea do you? Grab Taxi ARE taxi drivers. You are getting inside a regular taxi. I've gotten into many taxis then I see the Grab Taxi thing promoted all over the inside of their taxis.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 hours ago, Chou Anou said:

Anyway, Uber is not long for this world...they're taking a real publicity beating in the US right now for their unfair treatment of drivers, sexist comments by board members, and high incidence of drivers raping passengers.

 

Yah, not like that never happens here with the regular taxi mafia drivers....

 

Ohh...well....there was that incident at Don Mueang a couple months back.... and..... and.... and.....

 

BTW, with Uber, you, and the company,, and the police if need be have a clear and accurate record of just who the driver is.

 

With meter taxis here, a lot of times passengers who hail a taxi on the street don't even pay attention to the ID number inside the taxi or know who the drivers is.... and then some trouble starts... they're out of the cab and the cab is gone, and they have no idea who it was. And needless to say, the licensed driver of the taxi (the one whose name and photo appear on the taxi registration card inside the taxi) often isn't the person actually driving.

 

[jeab1980]

7 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

I haven't used Uber in Thailand.  I use Grab.  I will never take a taxi in Bangkok again.  Grab drivers are nice, courteous and most of them use GPS.  The cost is higher than a filthy taxi-meter but getting into a clean car can't be beaten.  Took Wifey Clifton to the train station with a huge suitcase filled with crap for Issan but called a larger Grab and a nice woman driving a Fortuner showed up.  There was plenty of room for the bag and 4 of us.

 

No worries to jeab1980, you can have all the taxi-meters I won't take.

No as i dont live or visit that dump any more thank go

[williamgeorgeallen]

4 hours ago, rennie1988 said:

I would be more scared to use a regular taxi than Uber. At least the Uber won't rip you off. I'm sure that the Uber drivers in Pattaya are very aware of the dangers, they're not going to roll the windows down and announce they're an Uber driver. Just be discreet and it shouldn't be a problem.

 

When fridges were invented the men selling ice for a living got angry. The answer wasn't to ban fridges.

great quote.

i was driving for uber but the rates are so low it is hard to make decent money. it is great value for customers and far safer. bad drivers get the boot very quickly. uber may come and go but other ride sharing companies will fill the gap.

[jeab1980]

5 hours ago, rennie1988 said:

I would be more scared to use a regular taxi than Uber. At least the Uber won't rip you off. I'm sure that the Uber drivers in Pattaya are very aware of the dangers, they're not going to roll the windows down and announce they're an Uber driver. Just be discreet and it shouldn't be a problem.

 

When fridges were invented the men selling ice for a living got angry. The answer wasn't to ban fridges.

You seriously think the mafia taxis and there hench men dont know who is driving for Uber!!

Only a matter of time before a few killings take place then it will be back to the status quo. 

[hawker9000]

10 hours ago, jeab1980 said:

Never used uber and never will. Meter taxi is fine for me

LOL.   Yeah, and be sure and let us know when you actually FIND one using the meter in Pattaya...

[Rhys]

Just sit in the front seat...

[jeab1980]

8 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

LOL.   Yeah, and be sure and let us know when you actually FIND one using the meter in Pattaya...

Who said anything about Pattaya !!! Threads about uber in Thailand. I know its difficult for some to realise that there is life and taxi's outside of there Pattaya and bangkok dome.

[gillap]

Out of curiosity got a price from uber to go the swamp at 1450 baht!

My regular taxi ride(taxi meter) to the swamp charges me 1050 baht set deal and I regularly give him 1100 baht. So why would anyone want to use uber!

[wump]

Smart boy, regular Bangkok taxis illegally pick up passengers in Pattaya and take them back to Bangkok on the cheap so at least they get a return fare. They already made 1200-1600 coming from Bangkok. 

 

Uber on the other hand only makes these 1450 Baht and has to come back empty as they can't get fares back to Pattaya. 

[impulse]

6 hours ago, rennie1988 said:

When fridges were invented the men selling ice for a living got angry. The answer wasn't to ban fridges.

 

One thing when a new technology displaces an obsolete technology.  

 

It's another when it's not the tech, but rather dodging registration fees, taxes and government imposed limits on the number of competitors that give the upstart their "competitive advantage"  

 

Uber's got deep pockets to fight the legal battles where lone wolf gypsy cabs of the past didn't.  It's not the new tech- gypsy cabs have been around forever and there's not much special about the app.  It's the flagrant disregard for laws and arrogance of being protected from criminal prosecution by the corporate shield and a team of lawyers.  Toss one or two UBER directors in jail as accessories to their illegal activities and see how fast they fold up...  As it is, they may last another year or more before they burn through their investor cash.

 

BTW, just to be clear, I'm 100% behind Grab, which uses legal, registered taxis.  And I'd feel different about UBER if I lived outside of BKK.

 

[Bonefish]

Uber drivers start using scams too (in BKK). You call Uber to pick you up at a well-known location. You see the car coming (licence plate number is on your phone screen, so you know it's him). Wave at him, he ignores you and drives on, makes a huge detour (ou can see that on your phone screen map) and then shows up again, stops and picks you up. Later, when you get the charge and receipt, you find out that he started charging you from the first time he drove by your location, without picking you up. 

 

This little scam happened to me twice already, so I stopped using Uber. Uber knows about this, of course, and they will reimburse you if you explain to them what happened. But why even bother? I use meter taxis again.

[observer90210]

15 hours ago, Chou Anou said:

Ha!  I wouldn't be too sure about that "not hurting the passenger" idea, especially if the passenger is a farang.  Everyday Thais will often try to collect damages from a farang passenger in a taxi that's involved in an accident with their car (that's why, in case the taxi you're in ever has an accident, you throw a few hundred baht at the driver and get the hell out of there, FAST)...so why would the mafia hesitate at injuring a farang passenger in a taxi encroaching on their territory?

 

Anyway, Uber is not long for this world...they're taking a real publicity beating in the US right now for their unfair treatment of drivers, sexist comments by board members, and high incidence of drivers raping passengers.

Hi There...I was not aware if the issue in racketing farang passengers in a taxi, when the vehicle is involved in an accident....Thailand is becoming a real rogue country it would seem and looks that a farang needs to watch his back and his cash 24/7 to avoid getting ripped off by the Thai's??!!....not a very pleasent social climate to be around despite the great food and beauty of the scenery????....about time the boys in the military realy start to clean things up and enforce a change of mentalities???

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I've used Uber taxis a number of times in BKK (each time calling them to my home for an outbound trip elsewhere in BKK) and each and every one thus far (knock on wood) has been extremely polite, pleasant, on-time, safe drivers, excellent condition vehicles, no funny business, etc etc.

 

If only the regular taxis operated that way, there wouldn't be a market for Uber. But instead, you've got regular meter taxis who tinker with their meter machines or won't turn them on, who refuse to pick up legitimate fares when they're driving by with their available lights on, who kick passengers out in the middle of a trip if the traffic gets too bad, etc etc.

 

And on my soi, I've got nothing but a couple dozen "meter" taxis who do nothing but sit all day in front of various hotels waiting for trips to the airport or Pattaya. But try to get them to do a meter trip anywhere in BKK, and they look at you like you're from outer space.  The taxi industry here deserves Uber, big time!!!!

 

And their UberEats restaurant food delivery service in BKK is even better. Nominally only a 30 baht delivery fee, but most of the time, they're offering one promotion or another that waives the delivery fee, and the food prices are the same as in the restaurants in person. Amazingly, even the motocy guys who delivery the Uber food have been uniformly pleasant, helpful and even cheerful... and not even looking surly waiting for a tip.....

 

 

[lordblackader]

7 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Bro, you have absolutely no idea do you? Grab Taxi ARE taxi drivers. You are getting inside a regular taxi. I've gotten into many taxis then I see the Grab Taxi thing promoted all over the inside of their taxis.

You're confused, there's two types of Grab all from the same app: Grab Taxi and Grab Car. As you rightly point out Grab Taxi uses licensed taxis, Grab Car (which is what this guy seems to be referring to) is an Uber clone that uses private vehicles. 

[lordblackader]

Can't speak for Pattaya or even Thai's but in Chiang Mai I've stopped using Uber for fear of the vehicle being attacked by psychotic songteaw and tuktuk drivers. We don't have a lot of taxi's in CM to begin with (you can't flag one down) but Grab Taxi has been great, zero dramas, honest drivers with actual working licensed taxis with seatbelts, and they're cheaper than using a tuktuk (Songteaws vary depending on where you are going). 

[nasanews]

I would blame the government for not legalizing Uber, it is good income for locals.

[anto]

3 hours ago, Bonefish said:

Uber drivers start using scams too (in BKK). You call Uber to pick you up at a well-known location. You see the car coming (licence plate number is on your phone screen, so you know it's him). Wave at him, he ignores you and drives on, makes a huge detour (ou can see that on your phone screen map) and then shows up again, stops and picks you up. Later, when you get the charge and receipt, you find out that he started charging you from the first time he drove by your location, without picking you up. 

 

This little scam happened to me twice already, so I stopped using Uber. Uber knows about this, of course, and they will reimburse you if you explain to them what happened. But why even bother? I use meter taxis again.

How can that scam work  ? In Chiang mai Uber quote you a price from  your first application .Price varies with time of day ,but you see the price before the taxi arrives .

[wump]

You only see an estimate in your app. Contrary to Grab (at least in Pattaya) the total fare is not known before the beginning of the trip. You pay the actual time/distance traveled. Apart from that, I don't think this scam would last for long. Why risk your  Uber "licence" for a measly 20 Baht extra?