Thailand to compete with Uber

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Gaybutton
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Thailand to compete with Uber

Post by Gaybutton »

Also, if you prefer a motorbike taxi, I'd like to see, either included with this app or on a separate app, a way to call for a motorbike taxi.
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Thailand will attempt to take on Uber with ‘Taxi Ok’ app

July 7, 2017

Thailand will attempt to take on Uber with ‘Taxi Ok’ app

The Department of Land Transport (DLT) plans to launch its own uber taxi app “DLT Taxi Ok” by next year, and drivers who wish to be members must pass the department’s background check and install security cameras in their cars.

Under the “Taxi Ok-Taxi VIP” project, Thailand is scrambling to raise the standard and credibility of its taxi drivers, who are known for endless misbehavior from rejecting and overcharging passengers to threatening and sexually assaulting them.

Drivers who want to participate in the “Taxi Ok” project must not have criminal records, and their taxis must not be older than two years and be registered as public transportation. Once accepted, they must install a GPS tracking device in their car, CCTV camera, and an emergency button that will send a signal from the passenger to the app center.

For “Taxi VIP,” riders are promised more premium service than normal taxis, but it is unclear exactly what the services are aside from the safety measures above.

The Transport Ministry expects to issue regulations by September, Bangkok Post reported.

Sanit Promwong, the director-general of DLT, previously said Uber and Grabcar drivers could also participate, but they must act according to the laws, according to Thai News.

Currently, there are laws regulating ride-sharing services such as Uber and GrabCar. The DLT has been fining Uber drivers up to THB2,000 for using private vehicles to provide public transport.

http://pattayaone.news/en/thailand-take ... axi-ok-app
fountainhall

Re: Thailand to compete with Uber

Post by fountainhall »

I'm all for tightening the laws, even if it means fares have to go up a bit. I do think Bangkok drivers are paid too little anyway. That said, the only real problems I have with Bangkok taxi drivers are -

1. They frequently refuse to take you where you want to go. In my experience, instances of these arbitrary decisions have been getting worse.

2. In heavy rain, it is common to see taxis with one or more passengers and the meter switched off. Obviously a higher fare has been negotiated.

I am also fed up with doctored meters coming home from BKK. Maybe because I travel more regularly than many readers, this happens more often. No way am I paying Bt. 550 plus tolls late at night when the meter and surcharge should be no more than Bt. 320. But I now know how to handle these guys. I tell him the meter is broken. Invariably he'll say it's not. So I get my phone out, take photos of the meter, a nearby landmark, the driver's identity certificate and often the driver himself. At a red light, I'll show him the pics. Most times he'll turn off the meter and ask me to pay what i usually pay! If he starts to argue, once home I just leave the cash on the passenger seat and get out. With the condo security guard hovering, there has never been a fuss!
thaiworthy

Re: Thailand to compete with Uber

Post by thaiworthy »

Good strategy for you. I could never manage all that. I would never notice a doctored meter if I saw one. I don't think I'd have the balls to confront them about that. But one time, on New Year's eve, the driver ran his meter after some gibberish story about where I was trying to go. Past the security gates he dropped me off and asked for 150 baht when the meter showed 50. Why run the meter if his gibberish story was about the fare? I paid him and noted his information and he sped off like a bat out of hell before I even had my foot out the door. They bargain in Thai, but at the end of the journey and it's time to pay the extortion, all of the sudden their English becomes very good!

In heavy rain, I wait till it stops and use a motorbike taxi like I usually do. They don't argue or refuse to take you places. There's good and bad to it, such as speeding, narrow misses with pedestrians, dogs, and driving on wet roads. Some take off before I am even on the bike. Transportation is fraught with all kinds of ills, and the problem with the Skytrain is running into young Thai girls with their nose in their cell phones colliding with everyone in their path. Despite all this I like getting around on my own. Otherwise, the bf has a car.

So be it, if this is what it takes to live in this country. Nothing is without its trials and tribulations. But now, I am willing to try Uber if I can avoid these problems in the future.
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