Motorcycle taxi "protection" costs $8.2 billion annually!

[Guest fountainhall]

(APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE - THE TITLE SHOULD READ BT. 8.2 BILLION! I am never sure why titles cannot be edited after posting. Perhaps this could be changed in future.)

 

Even after living in Thailand for more than 10 years, some things still surprise me – even though I know they shouldn’t. I had heard of the motorcycle taxi mafia and just thought nothing more about it. But a small article in today’s The Nation puts the whole issue into its very Thai perspective.

 

It would appear there are about 5,500 groups of drivers around the country. More than 1,000 are not officially registered. The rest include about 190,000 registered riders. It seems all riders, whether registered or not, pay Bt. 120 per day to mafia “protectors”. This results in a staggering total of Bt. 684 million each month – or Bt. 8.2 billion per year!

 

These facts are the result of an investigation by Wan Changthongmadan, the son of Deputy PM Chalerm, who is now an adviser to the Minister of Transport. Wan yesterday made an inspection of several motorcycle taxi groups, including one on Sukhumvit.

 

Even those who pay up on time still find that the "protectors" will despatch unregistered riders to pick up passengers and cut their monthly income.

 

And who are these so-called “protectors”?

 

Wan and Chalerm Changthongmadan, head of the Association of Taxi Motorcyclists of Thailand, vaguely identified who the protectors were. "This queue [in Sukhumvit] is located in areas under the influence of a retired Army general and military officers come to collect the fee," he added.

 

They did not mention the role of local police or traffic police who were supposed to tackle the problem.

 

http://www.nationmul...s-30175085.html

 

And this is just one corrupt 'business'! If The Nation’s article is anywhere near accurate, it gives a pretty good idea of the monstrous scale of corruption throughout the country.

[Rogie]

It seems all riders, whether registered or not, pay Bt. 120 per day to mafia “protectors”. This results in a staggering total of Bt. 684 million each month – or Bt. 8.2 billion per year!

 

I wonder if that figure of 120 Baht applies everywhere or just in inner Bangkok. In a fair world (and if you are going to have corruption as standard, may as well make it fair!), those riders working in more profitable areas ought to pay more than those in 'sleepy' areas. There's always a long line of riders right outside the Pinnacle Hotel in Soi Ngam Duphli / Lumphini and whoever is in charge keeps them moving - they don't seem to hang about; contrast that with some places in Pattaya (around the corner from Two Guy's Guesthouse for example) where a few old sofas strewn around make for a comfortable siesta.

 

Although I have used m/c taxis in Pattaya in the past, I've never done so in Bangkok. The mere thought of whizzing along some of Bangkok's busiest roads would be enough, I hope, to dissuade me to ever do that, especially when meter taxis are so plentiful, unlike Pattaya - another hobby-horse of mine, but I'll leave it at that. I wonder how much owners of baht buses (songthaews) pay in places like Patttaya and Phuket. Once you start digging I suspect it's a bottomless pit, all these protection rackets.

[Guest thaiworthy]

I wonder if that figure of 120 Baht applies everywhere or just in inner Bangkok.

 

It seems seldom more noticeable than in Phuket. They will take you for 200 baht no matter where you go. I think perhaps the likelihood of where this fee applies depends on where the tourists are. If you use Phuket as a model since tourists abound, it is logical to assume the fee would apply to all drivers in the popular areas or wherever people congregate in great numbers.

 

The strategy cited in the article appears noble. if enough people refuse to pay the fee, especially amongst drivers in a particular area, the "protectors" might just take their extortion elsewhere. How effective that strategy proves to be remains to be seen.

[Guest]

They will take you for 200 baht no matter where you go.

Much better to let them take someone else for 200 baht and benefit from the exercise.

[Rogie]

It seems seldom more noticeable than in Phuket. They will take you for 200 baht no matter where you go.

 

Are we not talking at cross purposes here?

 

Are you saying the going rate for protection in Phuket that each m/c rider pays is 200 baht, or is that what a customer is expected to pay?

 

Sorry! having re-read it I see what you're saying - if the customer has to pay through the nose in any given location that's a good indication of where the rich pickings are to be found for those ever-so omnipresent 'protectors'.

 

Much better to let them take someone else for 200 baht and benefit from the exercise.

 

Agreed

[pong]

time again for some more info about how it works:

those racing in the main streets are just a tiny fraction of those motocys.

In BKK here around 70-80.000 ONLY do work in the very same soi-sometimes not more as a few 100 mtrs or sometimes kms long. Like in Suan Plu. Most of you seem simple to have no idea how suburban BKK looks like, works or functions-thats why I refer to that Silom ghetto cocoon isolated thinking. Yes-they also pay high sums for those orange vests- but not 100/150/day-so that grand total is just wishful thinking for some boysinbrown..

Phuket is most notorious for its gaint ripoffs and unbelievable transpo mafia (aiming at the tourist who takes it to be forced to cough up anyway)

There is near always a shield hanging out with fares- used to be from 5 bt, but thats too low now (but hey-buses cost from 6,50 bt for as long as you can manage to go in them). For around 1km-and brought to your housedoor from the pak soi=mouth of the soi, its about 10-12 bt now. I still not quite get it at how it works in the morning, when everyone wants to go from home to the main road.

[Guest fountainhall]

they also pay high sums for those orange vests- but not 100/150/day-so that grand total is just wishful thinking for some boysinbrown.

 

I don't quite understand your post re Bangkok. Residents have a pretty good idea of the motorcycle taxi soi system - although clearly non-residents and tourists will be less familiar.

 

I wonder if you read the article, though. Obviously I can not vouch for the facts in it, but it did not mention the orange vests. If these are given out to the officially registered drivers, I have no idea what that fee is. The article talked about the bribes of Bt. 120 per day payable to the"mafia". This is in addition to the registration fees. And whilst the figure of Bt. 8.2 billion per year is just an official estimate, it is not likely to be a gross over-estimate. So how is that "wishful thinking for some boysinbrown", I wonder?