PHUKET: New taxi services Uber and GrabTaxi are beginning in Phuket and Pattaya as the revolt against monopoly service continues.
Uber is announcing its arrival on Phuket - but at fares that do not inspire - while GrabTaxi is reportedly targetting Pattaya.
The arrival of the smart phone app based services comes as users continue to complain that the meter taxi fare rates on Phuket are too high - and that green-plate taxis still appear to gain too many customers at Phuket International Airport.
Phuketwan's test of a meter cab this week from the airport to Phuket City produced a meter fare of 620 baht, 220 baht up on the same trip made 12 months ago.
The driver said he rented the vehicle from a policeman at 800 baht a day. ''This system doesn't support real locals,'' he told us.
Ninety percent of the meter drivers rent from large owners, the driver said.
In switching to favor meter taxis over set-fare taxis, the Phuket authorities appear to have simply changed one method of overcharging customers to another.
The rates are still far too high to allow Phuket residents to consider them as an option in an emergency, and still far too high for angry tourists who note that taxis in Bangkok are much, much more reasonable.
Why Thailand's government has allowed the switch from set-fare monopoly vehicles to meter taxis without cutting the cost is a mystery.
Phuket's taxis have traditionally charged double the real fare so that customers also paid for the trip the taxi made empty, back to base.
The old fares on Phuket should have been cut in half with the switch to favoring meter taxis. Instead, the fares appear to have increased.
High fares on the holiday island encourage young men to become drivers rather than go on with their studies, disturbing the social balance and working against all of the sensible social aims that the National Council for Peace and Order has been seeking to implement.
Observers have also pointed out that the set-fare taxis are still attracting business at counters inside the airport, before newly arriving customers leave the building and spot the meter taxi stand.
The conclusion: Phuket's taxi system has moved from being one kind of basket case to another kind of basket case - all without logic, and at increased fares.
The taxi system on Phuket remains a turnoff for tourists, and an unhealthy reflection of the disregard for the needs of residents.
The arrival of Uber and Grabtaxi only complicates matters and continues to take the taxi system from bad to worse.
This is another issue the new governor of Phuket will be left to face because of the misjudgements of a long list of his predecessors.
Uber is announcing its arrival on Phuket - but at fares that do not inspire - while GrabTaxi is reportedly targetting Pattaya.
The arrival of the smart phone app based services comes as users continue to complain that the meter taxi fare rates on Phuket are too high - and that green-plate taxis still appear to gain too many customers at Phuket International Airport.
Phuketwan's test of a meter cab this week from the airport to Phuket City produced a meter fare of 620 baht, 220 baht up on the same trip made 12 months ago.
The driver said he rented the vehicle from a policeman at 800 baht a day. ''This system doesn't support real locals,'' he told us.
Ninety percent of the meter drivers rent from large owners, the driver said.
In switching to favor meter taxis over set-fare taxis, the Phuket authorities appear to have simply changed one method of overcharging customers to another.
The rates are still far too high to allow Phuket residents to consider them as an option in an emergency, and still far too high for angry tourists who note that taxis in Bangkok are much, much more reasonable.
Why Thailand's government has allowed the switch from set-fare monopoly vehicles to meter taxis without cutting the cost is a mystery.
Phuket's taxis have traditionally charged double the real fare so that customers also paid for the trip the taxi made empty, back to base.
The old fares on Phuket should have been cut in half with the switch to favoring meter taxis. Instead, the fares appear to have increased.
High fares on the holiday island encourage young men to become drivers rather than go on with their studies, disturbing the social balance and working against all of the sensible social aims that the National Council for Peace and Order has been seeking to implement.
Observers have also pointed out that the set-fare taxis are still attracting business at counters inside the airport, before newly arriving customers leave the building and spot the meter taxi stand.
The conclusion: Phuket's taxi system has moved from being one kind of basket case to another kind of basket case - all without logic, and at increased fares.
The taxi system on Phuket remains a turnoff for tourists, and an unhealthy reflection of the disregard for the needs of residents.
The arrival of Uber and Grabtaxi only complicates matters and continues to take the taxi system from bad to worse.
This is another issue the new governor of Phuket will be left to face because of the misjudgements of a long list of his predecessors.
Well said.I had to pay 900 baht from Rawai to the airport last week.
Posted by Bushie on October 4, 2014 09:36