"the drivers are anxious to ensure the local community does not suffer needlessly".. Ha ha ha.. What tripe !!

If they wanted 'the local community' to prosper they wouldn't be 'unhappy that Turismo Asia has a tour desk at the resort' as it would all be putting money into the local economy..

What they mean is they don't want to suffer, from their own bad reputation and too many of them.

Posted by LivinLOS on December 12, 2009 07:34

"Drivers in the Karon-Kata area of Phuket are averaging about one fare a day"

This is by choice isn't it? The price point is designed for sitting around doing mostly nothing all day.

Posted by Philip on December 12, 2009 07:58

I believe they could double their take-home income by reducing fares about 30 percent. Simple economics, and a fair fare for everyone.

Posted by Philip on December 12, 2009 08:37

I wonder how many of these drivers were at the Phuket Airport protest over a year ago?

Inside sources tell me there were more then a few!

Yes one fare a day. That is not the fault of Tui but the fault of supply being larger then the demand.

Who authorized all these Tuk Tuks?

Yes put a desk in the Centara where they can all sit around and watch TV in air con and throw cigarette butts out the front.

At least their fares can be recorded and taxed.

Also will they be able to bring in as many tourist to Phuket as TUI does? To fill up rooms in Centara as TUI does?

Wow they really want a lot of handouts.

Posted by VFaye on December 12, 2009 09:49

I remember a story earlier this year when they actually wanted to apply for MORE Tuk Tuks on the Island, How crazy was that !!

Posted by Local on December 12, 2009 14:32

"Local community" means they can vote here. Only a tiny fraction of Thai living and working in Patong / Kata Karon can vote here. So these "old" Phuketeers found a nice and easy place for not too educated work. And some people like the idea of getting this voting block. Because public service has sometimes its own rewards. Specially on the island of golden opportunities.

One fare a day, that sounds like a big fat lie for fiscal reasons. If this were true, I would team up with all my tuktuk friends in the area and reduce the working time to one day a week per driver. Only one seventh of all tuktuk needed, rest we can sell. So in all we do 7 drives a day and work only one day a week. And the other six days they can clean up the beach and community, get a better education and help their families have a good life. And the freed space will bring extra customer for my local community as they can park again.

Posted by Lena on December 12, 2009 16:16

Hey how about a tax on all tourists who go to Kata and Karon . Lets call it the tuk tuk tax and make all tourists pay when they arrive . This will ensure that all the tuk tuk drivers will never have to work or be rude to any of us again .

Votes, Please

Posted by peter j Notley on December 12, 2009 16:31

Who's collecting all the tuk tuk drivers' licence money? He must be the richest man on the island. What happens to this money? What (or who) is there to stop other thai companies opening up cheaper, more transparent and customer focused alternatives to tuk tuks?

There must be great business opportunity for a forward thinking business man here. How do you break the monopoly? Has anyone tried? I don't know, I'm just asking. What's the story behind this story?

Posted by Jeb on December 12, 2009 20:48

The story behind the story is that when they did try a bus from Karon to Patong the driver was severely beaten.

1 fare a day at 400 baht times 30 days a month comes out to about 12,000 baht. That is more then some college graduates make!

And that is not accounting for any of the tax free commission and likely tax free income.

Posted by VFaye on December 13, 2009 10:09

I have said this many times before, but I will repeat myself. I was nearly thrown out of a Kata tuc tuc on Nanai Rd, well before my destination. Iam a 57 yr old lady ! A few times I have been driven by drunk maniacs, ( worse in the evenings). Needless to say I will never use a tuc tuc again !

Posted by elizabeth on December 13, 2009 13:17

how much rent a bicycle for 1 day in Patong ?

Posted by Darek from Poland on December 13, 2009 16:20

if all tuk tuks are forced to go independent there could be some decent competition and price wars where by the sheer mass of countless tuk tuks would be beneficial. simple market economics.Natural forces would right the prices rather than this monopoly that operates.

Posted by JM Keynes on December 13, 2009 16:38

One fare per day! That says it all. These clowns don't realise that people actually do research on the net before they go on holiday. Any check on the net will throw up all sorts of bad reports on tuk-tuks. No wonder people don't use them.

Posted by Andyman on December 15, 2009 16:01