PHUKET: The Superintendent of Patong's Kathu Police Station, Colonel Jirapat Palchanaphan, has been spending time this week talking to groups of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers.
The message he has been passing on is that change is coming for Phuket, and that Patong's streets need to be cleared of an excess of tuk-tuks before thev end of the month.
That's the deadline set by Phuket Police Commander Major General Ong-Art Phiwruangnont and Region 8 chief, Major General Panya Mamen. Police have been told to stop supporting the tuk-tuk queue leaders.
Major General Ong-Art said this week that the old system needed to be demolished and replaced with a more effective structure, Major General Panya agrees.
Decreasing the power of the leaders, he says, is essential to the process of reform. But locals are not so sure that change is possible.
Settapat Buarean, the taxi stand leader at Jungceylon, oversees about 300 tuk-tuks and 100 taxi at Jungceylon shopping mall.
He says everything is in readiness in Patong as the high season for tourism continues.
The changes that are coming, he says, will have much greater impact on Patong's beach road than on Jungceylon's drivers.
The drivers there are nearly all local people, he said, and they tended to resist new ideas, especially those that are introduced by Bangkok
''The drivers will still be on Patong, probably still doing it their way, long after the police have moved on, he said.
The message he has been passing on is that change is coming for Phuket, and that Patong's streets need to be cleared of an excess of tuk-tuks before thev end of the month.
That's the deadline set by Phuket Police Commander Major General Ong-Art Phiwruangnont and Region 8 chief, Major General Panya Mamen. Police have been told to stop supporting the tuk-tuk queue leaders.
Major General Ong-Art said this week that the old system needed to be demolished and replaced with a more effective structure, Major General Panya agrees.
Decreasing the power of the leaders, he says, is essential to the process of reform. But locals are not so sure that change is possible.
Settapat Buarean, the taxi stand leader at Jungceylon, oversees about 300 tuk-tuks and 100 taxi at Jungceylon shopping mall.
He says everything is in readiness in Patong as the high season for tourism continues.
The changes that are coming, he says, will have much greater impact on Patong's beach road than on Jungceylon's drivers.
The drivers there are nearly all local people, he said, and they tended to resist new ideas, especially those that are introduced by Bangkok
''The drivers will still be on Patong, probably still doing it their way, long after the police have moved on, he said.
From Settapat Buarean :"The drivers will still be on Patong, probably still doing it their way, long after the police have moved on, he said."
This is the only fact in the whole saga.
Posted by James on November 9, 2013 12:23