Best taxis - their drivers and many colours

If I have a choice in the matter it will be a new Toyota, leather interior, one colour - old driver because he will know where he is going.

A mate once said the best place to sit in a taxi is behind the driver because if he has a gun in the glove box he will have to turn all the way around to shoot you and might sprain his neck.

I think this is bollocks in a safe city like Bangkok - if I am alone I always sit in the front and if I am in the mood I'll chat away in Thai, leave a tip and say 'Chok dee Khrap', subconsiously check my pockets and the seat and shut the door firmly but nowhere near a slam and give the roof a friendly pat.

Oh yeah, and I like the green ones best which have the beige interior.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

f I am in the mood I'll chat away in Thai, leave a tip and say 'Chok dee Khrap'

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Speak a little Lao to them! They will appreciate it. Gotta believe 80% of the taxi drivers in Bangkok are from Roiet.:)

From Thai-Blogs

Sakdipat - Taxis in Thailand
Taxis in Thailand

Written by SaKdIpAt https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2007/11/77.jpg
There are many kinds of taxis in Thailand. Two of the kinds I would like to talk about today are the motorcycle taxis and car taxis. Many people would probably have been on them but may not have noticed the identifications of these taxis. I use their services all the time but it took a while to figure out how they function and how I would know which is owned by whom.

First, I would like to talk about normal Bangkok taxis. A lot of people may notice the color of these taxis and not knowing why they’re different from other colors. Well, they are! Most taxis we see around Bangkok are Green-Yellow taxis. These taxis are privately owned. This means that every one of these Green-Yellow taxis are owned by an individual. These taxis run on a daily basis. In Thailand, only a few manufacturers allow their cars to be converted into a taxi. These manufacturers include Toyota, Nissan etc. Honda cars are not permitted to be converted into a taxi. However, there are huge numbers of taxis running around Bangkok and most of them are Toyota Collora. Toyota, Camry and Soluna are not permitted to be used as taxis.

These cars will have to be converted by a legalized garage. As we all know, taxis have to last much longer than normal cars. After this process, a taxi showroom is generated. In Bangkok, most taxis are Limo (Collora) and the standard price of these Limos are between 6,00000-7,00000 baht. These days petrol is extremely expensive so most taxis turn to use Gas which additional installation will have to be initiated.

I’ve been talking to taxis about how many hours they’ll have to work to cover the investment they put in. Some of them told me it could take up to 5 years on a 5 day working basis. Some said it takes them around 3-4 years. This difference depends mainly on luck and the amount of miles they travel. They also added that customers tend to choose the look of taxis. The newer the better! Some drivers use a 6-year old taxi and said nobody really gets into his car because the air is not chilling and the seats are not comfortable. I feel sorry for these drivers.
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2007/11/78.jpg
Another kind of taxi is the Red-Blue taxis. These taxis are owned by a particular taxi garage. Meaning that there is an owner who invested some money to buy maybe 20 taxis and open up a garage to fix these taxis. There are many of these investors around. These garages operate by a manager (called “Tao-Gae” meaning old man). He fixes the time schedule of a taxi. For example, a taxi runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There might be 40 taxis in his control. Some are new and some are old. A driver comes in and requests for a new taxi. This kind of taxi could cost him 1200 baht a day. In 12 hours, he’ll have to make more than 1200 plus fuel to cover his rental cost. However, he can go for a cheaper and older taxi which might cost him 700 baht. This request would be booked in advance and the driver will have to be a regular driver in order to work for the owner.
Also these days there are also special licensed taxis. By saying this, I mean there might be an all green colored-taxi or all yellow colored-taxi etc. These taxis have a company of its own.

For example, the green taxis are owned by a particular famous person who authorized 20 taxis and opened a garage. This person has the rights to use another color taxi. In addition, meter charge is 35 baht. First 2 kilometers will remain at 35 and it costs approximately 3 baht every kilo. Radio taxis (if called) are charged an additional 20 baht. If you call one from the airport, an additional 50 baht is charged. Only the authorized taxis are allowed to enter the BKK international airport.

Another kind of taxi in Thailand is the Motorcycle taxi. Motorcycle taxis are very common in Thailand. They are fast, convenient and cheap. As we all know, motorcycle are very convenient for short distance travel. So, almost every house would have one. In Phuket, a house would have an average of 2 taxis. In Bangkok, most people use these taxi services instead. Nearly every 200 meters there is a “station” (called “Vin” in Thai). These stations are unique. This means, they would have a name of their own. A station has around 20 or more motorcycles depending on how big the station is. Every driver would have a vest and it is the key identification of these stations. A vest could cost around 10,000 baht. After buying one, you can become one of the members of these stations. A vest would have a unique color and a name. A station should always have someone there to be ready for service. Also at the station, there would be a price list. The price of destinations would be written on the list to be fair. However, the prices are not very different between Vins. I guess it is like marketing and there are rivalries.

Sakdipat - Taxis in Thailand

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Gentleman Scamp

old driver because he will know where he is going.

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I have found some of the old blokes worse drivers than the young ones.

I remember about 7 years back now me and my mate was heading out on a Friday night from Khao San way and we grabbed a taxi up to Ratchada Hollywood's. We got a young taxi driver and he soon pulled out a coupon for Hollywood's, it was for a free bottle of Black if you came with three people.

Noticed at this point the taxi driver was all dressed up for a night on the town so he done well finding us and since we got a free bottle of whiskey and only had to pay mixers we took him along with us, had a top night.

Taxi driver was so drunk afterwards that my mate drove the taxi back. Well up until we saw the red flashing lights of a police stop, then it was a quick pull over whilst they changed seats.

Possibly not a relevant story but I like to tell it.:)

^ Splendid story Mads!

I had a dream about a year ago that I was a 142ft tall giant in Bangkok and I was picking up the different colour taxis and licking them then putting them back down again.

What does that mean?

To dream that you turn into a giant, indicates feelings of inferiority.

An Online Guide To Dream Interpretation

Last year on my last night in Bkk we got in a nice shiny pink taxi, at the first set of lights we waited and when they turned green we didn't move i looked at the driver and thought he'd died my mate shook him and he woke up! I was scared shitless and kept on having to shake him as he dozed off a few more times while driving.
Looking back i suppose if i wasn't so pissed we would have got out and found another cab but the brain don't work too good after a day of singha and sang-som.

Pink taxi's are for pooves.

The young guys can be a bit scary. I couple of times I have made the mistake of suggesting that I am in a bit of hurry on the way to the airport. They have then gone screaming off at 170 Km/h along the freeway. The cars we are weaving betwen seem to stretch and morph like the stars and galaxies when the Millennium Falcon makes the jump to lightspeed. No seatbelts in the back of a Thai taxi means my bowel control is put to a severe test.

^^Shit bag, i have never been in another pink taxi since! ;)

You should only take pink taxis on Tuesdays. Then it's not gay.