Bangkok: Fine for cabbies refusing service

**StrontiumDog** · 27-08-2012, 10:00 PM

Fine for cabbies refusing service | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

Fine for cabbies refusing service

Published: 27/08/2012 at 09:16 PM
Online news:

Traffic police will introduce a new penalty for taxi drivers who refuse service to passengers by arresting and fining them without a prior warning, effective from Sept 1.

Unhappy passengers could now petition the police directly without having to submit their complaints to the Department of Land Transport as before.

The complainants must inform police of the registration number of a taxi whose driver refuses to take them where they want to go, said Pol Col Weerawit Wajjanapukka, chief of the Traffic Police Division’s ticket information centre.

The new regulation will take effect on Saturday, bringing the total number of traffic penalties that allow immediate arrest to 13.

Pol Col Weerawat said refusal of service caused immediate hassles and difficulty for passengers in need of a taxi service and police officers now will not issue a warning to first-time offenders but arrest them.

Photo by Post Today

-----

Crackdown on cabbies - The Nation

Crackdown on cabbies

August 27, 2012 6:05 pm

Cabbies who refuse to take passengers can now be arrested if those affected call the 1197 hotline or visit Thai Traffic Police and provide the taxi's licence plate number.

Pol Colonel Weerawit Watjanapukka of the Traffic Police Command said police would issue warnings for petty traffic violations instead of tickets from September 1.

Those who receive these warnings will face the maximum fine if they repeat the offence, he added.

**Rural Surin** · 27-08-2012, 10:33 PM

How endearing and Fatherly of the state.
Of course, in the best interest of the community.

So much for operating your business as you see fit.

**klong toey** · 27-08-2012, 10:39 PM

Will not be many taxi on the road then.

**Seekingasylum** · 27-08-2012, 10:47 PM

Excellent news and not before time.

Taxi drivers are like taxes, rain and the police. WE hate them but can't do without them. Here in Bangkok their caprice has been getting beyond a joke. Once having accepted the fare a driver changed his mind without explanation and ejected me and my wife in a spot which was infinitely worse than if he had denied the offer of a fare in the first place. Had I been armed I would have shot him but only in the head because I wouldn't have wanted to kill the chap.

**Lorenzo** · 27-08-2012, 11:05 PM

Many cities have this rule for taxis. New York for one. They are licensed to serve The public not select.

**DJ Pat** · 28-08-2012, 12:01 AM

Never had this problem with taxis, only twice at Kao San Road for obvious reasons.

**parryhandy** · 28-08-2012, 12:56 AM

Customers word against the drivers, where is the proof ?

**StrontiumDog** · 28-08-2012, 02:05 AM

I'd better save that number to my phone, going to be using it a lot...like every time I'm on Sukhumvit late at night.....

**Wizard of Oz** · 28-08-2012, 04:07 AM

It's about time! I can hardly walk and need taxi's all day when in BKK. I've been refused rides so many times it's not funny. When the hotel takes me in the Tuk Tuk to Emporium at the end of the street, I have to take a taxi back, yes it's only a few hundred meters but I cannot walk that distance. Many taxi drivers refuse to take me, stupid, because the one that takes me for a 2 minute ride ends up with 100 baht! Taxi's are there to serve and not choose and pick! Sure if you see me I look like a strong middle aged man capable of running back to my hotel in no time, when you see me walk I look like a 95 year old. I just want to get into the first taxi without the hassle of explaining where I want to go and why I need a taxi to take me there. Nowadays I just ask the hotel to come and pick me up. Sick and tired of discussions with taxi drivers.

**Patrick** · 28-08-2012, 08:19 AM

I make allowances when a Taxi refuses to take me to my destination around 3.30 or so in the afternoon because Drivers have to return the vehicle to the place where they hired it around 4.00pm or risk a fine or other penalty.

Any other time of day however I will certainly be calling 1197!

Patrick

**BobR** · 28-08-2012, 08:51 AM

A little empathy for the drivers would be nice, when I ask them to take me somewhere like Pantip, to which I could actually walk faster because of the traffic I offer them extra, walk or take a motorcycle taxi.

Everyone has to make a living, if they're stopped in traffic they deserve reasonable compensation for their time and frustration.

**Exige** · 28-08-2012, 08:56 AM

Never had one refuse to take me for a ride.....

**goostewart** · 28-08-2012, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by BobR

Everyone has to make a living, if they're stopped in traffic they deserve reasonable compensation

Bob, the only problem with that is that the taxis are actually a cause of a lot of the traffic in Bangkok. The way they drive, the incessant lane-changing (especially when there is a jam), the slow crawling on the left, the waiting at random spots etc. I am not saying they are the only cause of traffic, but they are a contibuting factor. Taxis need to be regulated more (along with the van drivers, the bus drivers, the...oh fuck it - all of the twats on the road...).

**Bangyai** · 28-08-2012, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by BobR

A little empathy for the drivers would be nice, when I ask them to take me somewhere like Pantip, to which I could actually walk faster because of the traffic I offer them extra, walk or take a motorcycle taxi.

Everyone has to make a living, if they're stopped in traffic they deserve reasonable compensation for their time and frustration.

I agree. As others have mentioned , if it's a rental that they have to return by a certain time or get fined then it doesn't bother me if they refuse.

Secondly, if you were a cabby and 3 drunken youths hailed you late at night and asked for a ride to the boonies...would you want to take them ??

What would be a lot more useful is a complete ban on taxis parking at bus stops waiting for fares. This has proven to be dangerous as the buses have to park well away from the curb. It also causes traffic jams as a result of road constriction. A real pain in the arse where I live.

**Lorenzo** · 28-08-2012, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by Exige

Never had one refuse to take me for a ride.....

Surprising! A taxi refusing to go to your destination is standard fare in BKK.

**Roger Lee** · 28-08-2012, 02:24 PM

My one trip to Bangkok I was staying at the Sathorn Marriott and yes hailing a cab and getting them to take you back there during rush hour was a trick. A 200 baht offer usually did the job. Funny though, one time the driver was a cop driving the cab, 200 baht changed his mind about taking me real quick, and off the meter no less.

**English Noodles** · 28-08-2012, 02:38 PM

Would have thought it up to the driver if they wish to accept a fare or not.

**ribblerat** · 28-08-2012, 03:18 PM

Be nice if they actually enforced meter usage as well , i'm sick of getting quoted some ridiculous amount like 200 Bht off the meter for what would be say a 80- 90 Bht fare on the meter .....

Yes it would be nice for Bangkok Taxi drivers to actually behave and act like Taxi drivers , use the meter and actually take you where you want to go , when you want to go .....

At the end of the day they do tourism a disservice by acting in this way ...

**English Noodles** · 28-08-2012, 03:25 PM

To be fair to the taxi drivers of Bangkok, I have rarely had a problem with them, and some are outstanding in service.

**Dillinger** · 28-08-2012, 03:34 PM

I dunno, ive had a few fukkers that would go all around the reekin for the sake of 40 friggin baht.

I sympathise for those cabbies who have come to the end of their long shift though and just wanna go to bed

**spark** · 28-08-2012, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by English Noodles

To be fair to the taxi drivers of Bangkok, I have rarely had a problem with them, and some are outstanding in service.

Agree! The taxi meters in BKK must be one of the cheapest in the world, at least when considering the jammed streets. A taxi fare here is actually cheaper than what I would pay in gasoline for going the same distance back home. I totally understand why they want to refuse heading straight into a complete stop. So I dont think they are not driving around just to refuse passengers, but sometimes they might want to make a few satangs aswell..

**Bobcock** · 28-08-2012, 04:07 PM

Personally I think that anyone who uses this number to complain is a bit of a cvnt. If a taxi driver doesn't want to take me, I don't wanna go in his cab, so we both happy.

Leave the whining about it to some poncy wannabee Hi-so Thai who thinks that the rest of the nation is there to service him/her.

I've got bigger things to worry about.

**Exige** · 28-08-2012, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Lorenzo

Originally Posted by Exige

Never had one refuse to take me for a ride.....

Surprising! A taxi refusing to go to your destination is standard fare in BKK.

What I meant is that. When they refuse, you offer more to sweeten the prospects of being taken for a ride.

**Flight19** · 28-08-2012, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by BobR

A little empathy for the drivers would be nice, when I ask them to take me somewhere like Pantip, to which I could actually walk faster because of the traffic I offer them extra, walk or take a motorcycle taxi.

Everyone has to make a living, if they're stopped in traffic they deserve reasonable compensation for their time and frustration.

Agreed, and that's why the meter keeps running.

It's their fucking job, and if they don't want to do it, they should get fired so that someone who actually wants to work can do it in their place.

**Bobcock** · 28-08-2012, 05:13 PM

you tell 'em Flight19, wish you were my boss....

Thread: Bangkok: Fine for cabbies refusing service

Thread Tools

Display

Bangkok: Fine for cabbies refusing service

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

Posting Permissions