Gaybutton Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Taxi Drivers Demand New Fare Tariff AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK Licensed taxi drivers are demanding a revised fare structure and are defending their strike at Suvarnabhumi airport last Thursday. Legal taxi driver Pathaweee Meerat said the continuing presence of illegal operators at both Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports is forcing registered drivers to demand verbally agreed fares for long-distance trips instead of using meters. Drivers working at Suvarnabhumi airport went on strike on Thursday, calling for changes to the new taxi fare structure imposed on June 18 for metered taxis. They said the new metered fare was unfair when making long-distance trips from the airports to provinces other than Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Pathum Thani. The Transport Ministry on Friday agreed to let taxi drivers bargain with passengers for inter-provincial trips. But the permission will not be granted permanently until the transport minister signs a regulation excluding long-distance trips from the ministry's taxi fare regulation. The permission will be temporary, as authorities are working out a new fare structure for long-distance trips to the provinces. Legal taxi drivers accuse illegal operators of snatching passengers from them, causing them to lose income. They said they had tried in vain to bring the matter to the attention of executives of the airport since Suvarnabhumi opened two years ago, but the problem continues. Illegal taxi drivers were criticised for damaging the country's image and the reputation of legal cabbies by overcharging foreign tourists. One licensed driver said the illegal taxi problem had not been tackled seriously because authorities and influential figures were involved. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 Question: Do the Pattaya taxis refuse to use meter because the fare is too low or is it because the baht bus mafia won't let them? I see more taxis sitting at various places around town than driving with passengers. Quote
Guest lester1 Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 The taxis seen hanging around are probably not Pattaya taxis. They will be BKK taxis that have been used to bring customers down from the airport or city and are waiting for an agency to give them a return fare. As far as I know these will not be allowed to take passengers around Pattaya, the baht buses have a monopoly on that score. On the airport taxi problem, I am always amazed that TAT, taxi drivers and the bosses who run them can shoot themselves in the foot again. If the article says that taxis can now come to a verbal agreement with customers as to longer trips, then this is exactly what the drivers want. It becomes much easier to rip passengers off. For customers, the last thing they want is some sort of hassle with a taxi when on the last tiring leg of their trip so they will probably pay up, once more assigning Thailand to Third World status and probably thinking why cant they even organise something simple like a metered taxi service. You can bet your bottom dollar that soon taxis all over Bangkok will be trying it on with farang passengers for even short journeys. Taxis and BKK have always lived in conflict, nothing seems like changing. the longer it continues, the longer the people 'behind the scenes' will profit. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 The taxis seen hanging around are probably not Pattaya taxis. Yes, they are, in fact, Pattaya taxis in front of The Avenue, for one place for sure.. Quote
Guest Steve1903 Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 What's wrong with agreeing to a set fare rather than going on the meter? As a UK cabbie, we do this all the time for "distance" hires. The guys I feel sorry for are the drivers in the bangkok city centre. Sitting at red light after red light, money earning time passing away and the meter at a standstill. At least over here when we're at a traffic light the meter ticks merrily onwards. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 What's wrong with agreeing to a set fare rather than going on the meter? What is wrong with a set price is the prices they are asking are crazy. They want 250 baht to go from The Avenue to View Talay Condo 2. I can travel by taxi with a meter in BKK a helluva long way for 250 baht. Quote
Gaybutton Posted October 7, 2008 Author Posted October 7, 2008 What is wrong with a set price is the prices they are asking are crazy. I agree with lvdkeyes on this one. You can take a taxi-meter from Pattaya to the airport for a standard price of 800 baht, a distance of about 100 miles. 250 baht for a ride of about 4 miles seems a little steep to me, especially when the metered price would be about 50 baht. I would have no objection to negotiated prices if reasonable, fair prices were being charged, but I sympathize with the passenger as much as I do with the taxi driver. Certainly I understand that fuel prices are quite high these days, although the taxis use LP gas at a far lower price, but I don't see charging rip-off fares as either reasonable or fair. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 The guys I feel sorry for are the drivers in the bangkok city centre. Sitting at red light after red light, money earning time passing away and the meter at a standstil Having sat in more Bangkok traffic jams than I care to remember, I can confirm that the taxi meters do charge by both time and distance. Quote
Guest lvdkeyes Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 This brings me to to my original Question: "Do the Pattaya taxis refuse to use meter because the fare is too low or is it because the baht bus mafia won't let them?" Quote
Guest Steve1903 Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 Having sat in more Bangkok traffic jams than I care to remember, I can confirm that the taxi meters do charge by both time and distance. Maybe so but it must be helluva slow. I sat in one for an hour, went about 3 miles and the thing hardly moved. GB. 4 miles isnt what I'd call a distance hire and would be metered here. 250 may also seem too much, if nobody pays it they will soon bring it down. 50 does seem awful low to me. For that distance over there I'd have no objection to around 150. Over here, for comparison sake it would be about 560B. Quote
Gaybutton Posted October 7, 2008 Author Posted October 7, 2008 GB. 4 miles isnt what I'd call a distance hire and would be metered here. 250 may also seem too much, if nobody pays it they will soon bring it down. 50 does seem awful low to me. For that distance over there I'd have no objection to around 150. Over here, for comparison sake it would be about 560B. Having lived in Thailand as long as I have, I have long gotten beyond comparing the way things work, including how much things cost, to the way things are and prices in other countries. To me, what a taxi fare would be in a country other than Thailand is irrelevant. To me, the relevant comparison would be comparing taxi fares in Pattaya to fares in other Thai cities. I don't use the taxis in Pattaya, but I do use them in Bangkok. In my opinion, that's the truly relevant comparison. So, here's what I know from personal experience: A metered taxi ride from either the Malaysia Hotel or the Pinnacle Hotel to Silom is 45 baht. A metered taxi ride from Saphan Kwai or Chatuchak to Silom or the Pinnacle or Malaysia Hotel runs from 125 to 155 baht. I'm not sure about this one, but I believe a metered taxi ride from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Silom is about 400 baht. I've never done that, so someone who has will need to either confirm that or correct me. When I compare those prices to a taxi ride from The Avenue to View Talay Condo 2, and the asking price for a non-metered fare is 250 baht, perhaps I'm wrong, but it sure seems to me that unscrupulous taxi drivers in Pattaya are trying rip-off customers. If the taxi fare from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Pattaya is still 1400 baht, then the fare comes out to about 14 baht per mile. The taxi fare from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport is 800 baht, which works out to about 8 baht per mile. The fare from The Avenue to View Talay Condo 2, at 250 baht, works out to about 62 baht per mile. I think the math speaks for itself. Another comparison: If I simply hop on a baht bus, that same ride costs 10 baht. If I hire a baht bus, that same ride is negotiable, but would cost no more than 100 to 150 baht. The taxis run on LP gas. The baht buses run on Diesel, which is much more expensive. I may be wrong, but as far as I can tell the Pattaya taxis are trying to charge at the very least triple the comparative price of anywhere else in all of Thailand. If that's truly justifiable, then it's the latest item on my "I Don't Get It" list. Quote
Guest GaySacGuy Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 I may be wrong, but as far as I can tell the Pattaya taxis are trying to charge at the very least triple the comparative price of anywhere else in all of Thailand. If that's truly justifiable, then it's the latest item on my "I Don't Get It" list. The fares may be high, but the baht buses in Phuket are much worse...and very mafia controlled. It is anywhere from 150 to 250 baht to go anywhere, even a km or two. Every ride is negotiable...not like Pattaya 10 baht rides. And if it starts to rain or gets busy...guess what, the price goes up up up. Phuket is generally more expensive, but the transportation is out of sight. Quote
Gaybutton Posted October 8, 2008 Author Posted October 8, 2008 Phuket is generally more expensive, but the transportation is out of sight. Are there alternatives to baht bus transportation in Phuket, such as motorbike taxis? If so, do you know what kinds of prices they charge? I haven't been to Phuket in nearly four years and I don't remember. We rented a motorbike and that was our sole means of transportation while we were there. If you drive a motorbike, apparently you can actually rent a motorbike for an entire day for close to the same price price you pay, one-way, for a baht bus there. We paid 200 baht per day for renting a motorbike (fuel was our own responsibility). Of course, if you rent a motorbike, now you have to know, or at least be able to figure out, how to get to where you're trying to go and you risk the consequences if an accident occurs. By the way, if you do rent a motorbike, whether in Phuket, Pattaya, or wherever in Thailand, be sure you are carrying at least an International Driving Permit, specified for motorbikes. The police do often stop motorbike drivers to check their paperwork, and in Thailand the police do not need any form of 'probable cause' to stop you. In Thailand the police are permitted to stop motorists at random, without any particular reason. If the police are looking to collect fines, there's little you can do. If you haven't violated any laws or regulations, sometimes it seems as if the police just make up their own and, rest assured, you violated something. Quote
Guest GaySacGuy Posted October 8, 2008 Posted October 8, 2008 Are there alternatives to baht bus transportation in Phuket, such as motorbike taxis? If so, do you know what kinds of prices they charge? I haven't been to Phuket in nearly four years and I don't remember. We rented a motorbike and that was our sole means of transportation while we were there. There are motorbke taxis available, and the prices as I remember run 50 baht on up, and more like 70 at night. This isn't too good an option when it is raining...and it seems to rain quite a bit there. Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 I'm not sure about this one, but I believe a metered taxi ride from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Silom is about 400 baht A few months ago, it was around 320 - 340 Baht. With the new fares, 370 - 400 is about right depending on traffic. These fares include the new higher tolls and the 50 Baht airport surcharge. Quote
