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.. UN-METERED TAXI - Blacklisted


brutox

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Thai officials blacklist un-metered taxi driver at Suvarnabhumi .. http://m.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1180081/no-meter-cabbie-blacklisted.

 

The digital age is preventing these crooks from getting away with this crap .. he stooged this passenger only on Thursday .. 3 days later, he is blacklisted.

 

Sure, he is only one, but I am sure his blacklisting was widely circulated throughout the taxi ranks .. an example.

 

I don't know if others have noticed, but the taxi services have improved decidedly since the taxi mafia was replaced with an automated queuing system.

 

This government is changing things at a street level everyday people can see .. I believe this is but a small outward sign of a big inward change.

 

These changes are happening throughout Thailand and are I believe coming to Pattaya .. watch for them.

 

My bet is that Walking Street's illegal occupants of government land must be on their radars.

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I did some property investment and development in Korea in the late 90's .. the institutional corruption was widespread.

 

After a long absence, I returned to Korea in about 2008 to conduct some investment due diligence, and the line item I obscurly reserved in my proforma for corruption was no longer necessary.

 

I was stunned at how radical the change was.

 

My Korean partner explained that the arrival of the smart phone and the Internet exposed corruption from the street-level up, and almost eliminated it.

 

Korea had then become (perhaps still) the most Internet-connected country on the planet.

 

Yes, Pattaya_Brian, technology strikes back.

 

This is not the only example of how social media has empowered the marginalized small guy here to force changes for the better, which would otherwise have fallen on the deaf ears of authorities charged with keeping civil order.

.

 

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Making sure they have a meter is only half the battle. 

Making sure they use it is the other half.

Many have refused to use the meter (uhh-meteh bloken) until I threatened to get out and report them, and actually did get out of one. 

They are one of the many reasons I am a fan of bellbus, but if hitting Bangkok first, it is always a hassle it seems.

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just made a 10 hour trip to patts from surin city, food incl...400bht P/P .. arrived patts was quoted 300 for a 15 min ride...took motocy  for 60bht each = 120..glad to be back in the boonies i can tell you. 

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Making sure they have a meter is only half the battle.

Making sure they use it is the other half.

Many have refused to use the meter (uhh-meteh bloken) until I threatened to get out and report them, and actually did get out of one.

They are one of the many reasons I am a fan of bellbus, but if hitting Bangkok first, it is always a hassle it seems.

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I hear you George810, I hear you.

 

That receipt you get from the automated machine at Suvarnabhumi (or, handed to you you at Don Mueang) has the taxi's ID on it.

 

If they mess with you .. that .. is the hammer.

 

Some drivers want me to hand this receipt to them, which I do not do .. I will hold it up close enough for them to read, with an obvious, firm grip on it .. they know then, that I know.

 

The only reason they have to see it is to match the # on the receipt with the taxi bay in which they are parked .. (only the most moronic passenger would get that wrong) .. I think they are looking to make themselves untraceable if there is an "unfortunate misunderstanding".

.

 

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I still been using arrival level taxis although hard now to get through one way barriers and still 59 percent of time end up rejecting set fees

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Unfortunately, even if you get that slip of paper, that's no guarantee the individual driver won't try to pull a fast one on you, as happened to me over a year ago on my visit to Bangkok. The driver tried to not use the meter, but after several minutes of arguing, he finally relented.

GFE: Gull Friend Experience

 

Official Pattaya Song

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You been around, QuotaMan, and know to stand your ground.

 

But, I guess there are targets for whom the taxi drivers are looking and know can be victimized .. those who have not been around and know no better, and those who are incapable of standing their ground.

 

I think the government has gone about as far as they can reasonably go to protect passengers from crooked taxi drivers .. at some point, passengers have to look after themselves.

 

I can imagine some enterprising, creative young guy coming up with an app that could take it to the next level .. something tying the taxi itself to the taxi driver himself to the taxi driver's taxi permit to the fare to the route taken .. hit a button, and the bag you left in the taxi is retrievable .. or, the taxi driver who screwed you is reported to the authorities .. or, the driver who is illegally driving under someone else's taxi permit is reported .. too much, maybe .. at some point we have to take responsibility for ourselves.

 

I think the government has it about right on this, still comfortably short of nanny state.

.

 

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You been around, QuotaMan, and know to stand your ground.

 

But, I guess there are targets for whom the taxi drivers are looking and know can be victimized .. those who have not been around and know no better, and those who are incapable of standing their ground.

 

I think the government has gone about as far as they can reasonably go to protect passengers from crooked taxi drivers .. at some point, passengers have to look after themselves.

 

I can imagine some enterprising, creative young guy coming up with an app that could take it to the next level .. something tying the taxi itself to the taxi driver himself to the taxi driver's taxi permit to the fare to the route taken .. hit a button, and the bag you left in the taxi is retrievable .. or, the taxi driver who screwed you is reported to the authorities .. or, the driver who is illegally driving under someone else's taxi permit is reported .. too much, maybe .. at some point we have to take responsibility for ourselves.

 

I think the government has it about right on this, still comfortably short of nanny state.

.

 

I agree, they've done as much as they can.

 

The scammers will always find a way through the cracks, unfortunately not much can be done about it.

GFE: Gull Friend Experience

 

Official Pattaya Song

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I've actually found them worse since it went automated. Last time I had to grab one of the airport security guys to persuade one of the taxis to take me using the meter. Never had that problem when the ticket desk was manned. I then had to listen to the driver moaning about how bad his salary was all the way to Sukhumvit.

 

I normally tip anyway but prefer I decide what the tip is rather than the taxi driver before we even set off.

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Due to the problems Iv'e had with the taxi's taken from the BKK taxi stand, I've taken to taking the more expensive airport taxi's when arriving from the US at midnight. 1200 baht but at least I stood a chance of getting there alive.

 

So I told the driver that I didn't care if she drove fast as I was a sports car owner myself.  But I also told her that I would not tolerate texting or talking on a phone while driving.  She told me that she would do neither then showed me the bad news.  The Camry had a limiter on it set at 120 km/hr.

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Due to the problems Iv'e had with the taxi's taken from the BKK taxi stand, I've taken to taking the more expensive airport taxi's when arriving from the US at midnight. 1200 baht but at least I stood a chance of getting there alive.

 

So I told the driver that I didn't care if she drove fast as I was a sports car owner myself.  But I also told her that I would not tolerate texting or talking on a phone while driving.  She told me that she would do neither then showed me the bad news.  The Camry had a limiter on it set at 120 km/hr.

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Hey, Short .. the airport taxi queue is always a risk .. with the automated taxi queue it is not a huge risk anymore, but it won't prevent you from drawing a suicide monkey, or a headstrong moron trying to muscle you into not using the meter, who are just enraging.

 

Your best defence is to speak a bit of Thai .. greet them in Thai, tell them where you are going and tell them right upfront to take the toll road (easy to learn a few important Thai phrases) .. do not let them have the taxi queue ticket .. then sit back and go about your Internet business (no touristy gawking out the window) .. hopefully, they'll quickly determine you are not the tourist they are seeking to fleece.

 

I live in BKK, so on departure flights I use GrabTaxi to collect me at my door, for convenience .. on arrivals to BKK, I have no problems taking a taxi out of the taxi queue.

 

On arrivals to BKK, Short, you might try lighting-up the GrabTaxi app when you deplane to see if any of their drivers are about (their locations are cited on the app's map) .. there are usually a few of them hanging around outside the airport after dropping off their departing fares. 

 

GrabTaxi runs a great little service .. their airport fare is only about THB 250-300+toll to/from mid-Sukhumvit at off-peak hours .. the GrabCar option is about THB 400-500+toll .. the GrabCar Premium option is about THB 600+toll.

 

Using GrabTaxi in BKK for a year+ now, and maybe 100+ trips, I have never been messed with .. not once .. their drivers 'get it'.

 

Technology and the government are combining to bring BKK's notorious taxi crooks under more control .. these solutions will eventually reach the less-tamed Phuket and Pattaya trade areas, where it has long been open season on tourists.

.

 

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Last month I went to Thailand for the first time. Arrived at 3:20 AM. So I know I con't catch any bus at that time. So opted for taxi to Mo Chit bus stand. Got a slip from a lady and when I went to bus stand it was 125thb but this driver is asking for 200thb by saying including booking fee. He keep on showing the slip and asking me to pay 200thb. I am so tired, so to get rid of him I paid. Even the meter works, these guys are looting. 

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Last month I went to Thailand for the first time. Arrived at 3:20 AM. So I know I con't catch any bus at that time. So opted for taxi to Mo Chit bus stand. Got a slip from a lady and when I went to bus stand it was 125thb but this driver is asking for 200thb by saying including booking fee. He keep on showing the slip and asking me to pay 200thb. I am so tired, so to get rid of him I paid. Even the meter works, these guys are looting.

.

If I understand correctly, you took a taxi from the airport to Mo Chit Bus Terminal, for which the meter read THB 125, but the taxi driver wanted THB 200.

 

As an obvious 'mark' (a vulnerable tourist, arriving in the middle of the night), you might well have been taken for THB 75 .. but, if you were being scammed by a Thai taxi driver, it would have most likely been for something more like 500-1,000 baht.

 

But, as a newbie, not yet understanding the conventional taxi practices, you might merely have had an honest misunderstanding, fundj122 .. if I understood this correctly, that's my bet.

 

The airport charges taxi drivers THB 50 service fee for allowing them to pick-up at the airport (the 'booking fee') .. this is passed through to the passenger .. if you took the toll road (say, for another THB 25), the toll road fee would also be passed through to the passenger.

 

The THB 200 fare might have been an honest fare .. not all taxi drivers are scammers, but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

 

In a nation where corruption is so widely practiced, especially against unsuspecting tourists, one cannot avoid being suspicious of any Thai with whom you have any commercial exchange .. even the police .. maybe even, especially the police.

.

 

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I only ever had 1 taxi use the meter to Pattaya under the new system. The price before the system was introduced was THB 1500. The price on the meter plus toll fees was THB 1600. The problem I have is that most drivers will try and quote you a price of THB 2000 or more and I get fed up with having the same argument every time I arrive.
Now I always try the Bell bus or Jomtien bus first. They usually have transport leaving within 45 mins so I get a drink in the adjacent food hall and take the bus, which is usually more comfortable than an old taxi anyway. 
I see it as getting my 1st bar fine down Soi 6 for free.

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fundj, as brutox explained, the amount was reasonable.

 

The margins for the BKK airport taxi stand taxis are very thin.   If they don't try anything on me, I try to tip them very well.

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