PHUKET: Thailand's Transport Minister is flying Nok Air today to visit Phuket for an update on traffic issues that is likely to include progress in taming the holiday island's taxi and tuk-tuk drivers.
Air Chief Marshall Prajin Jantong, who is also Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force and Deputy Head of the National Council for Peace and Order, is the most senior officer to visit Phuket since the military takeover of May 22.
The light rail-tramcar from Phuket International Airport to Phuket City is likely to be at the top of a list of points for discussion when he meets with departing Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud and other officials today.
Inevitably, the exorbitant fares of Phuket's taxis are likely to be raised. If Air Chief Marshall Prajin is flying Nok Air, then Thailand's present government is clearly demonstrating its concern about the cost of transport.
With the fares in Phuket's new meter taxis still way above the fares in Bangkok taxis, Phuket's residents still cannot afford to hail a cab even in an emergency.
The government has the power to intervene to slice the fares to a fairer level, but time is running out. The new schedule is before the authorities in Bangkok for approval now.
Tourists who visit Bangkok first then continue on to Phuket are quick to note the difference in taxi fares, which many rightly realise is yet another holiday island rip-off.
Action by Region 8 police has begun to deal with the intimidation and exploitation that Phuket's taxi gangs used as a weapon against resorts, tour companies and individuals for many years.
But the fares remain far too high and still encourage too many of Phuket's young men to buy a car and seek an easy life behind the wheel of a taxi at money that rivals or exceeds the earnings of graduates.
The excesses of the taxi monopoly has perverted the culture of Phuket and encouraged a generation of young men to skip serious education in favor of a sheltered life at good money, with tourists paying for it all.
The military should restore social sanity on Phuket by ruling in favor of fair fares that will give some residents the chance to be able to afford a taxi for the first time in their lives.
Air Chief Marshall Prajin Jantong, who is also Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force and Deputy Head of the National Council for Peace and Order, is the most senior officer to visit Phuket since the military takeover of May 22.
The light rail-tramcar from Phuket International Airport to Phuket City is likely to be at the top of a list of points for discussion when he meets with departing Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud and other officials today.
Inevitably, the exorbitant fares of Phuket's taxis are likely to be raised. If Air Chief Marshall Prajin is flying Nok Air, then Thailand's present government is clearly demonstrating its concern about the cost of transport.
With the fares in Phuket's new meter taxis still way above the fares in Bangkok taxis, Phuket's residents still cannot afford to hail a cab even in an emergency.
The government has the power to intervene to slice the fares to a fairer level, but time is running out. The new schedule is before the authorities in Bangkok for approval now.
Tourists who visit Bangkok first then continue on to Phuket are quick to note the difference in taxi fares, which many rightly realise is yet another holiday island rip-off.
Action by Region 8 police has begun to deal with the intimidation and exploitation that Phuket's taxi gangs used as a weapon against resorts, tour companies and individuals for many years.
But the fares remain far too high and still encourage too many of Phuket's young men to buy a car and seek an easy life behind the wheel of a taxi at money that rivals or exceeds the earnings of graduates.
The excesses of the taxi monopoly has perverted the culture of Phuket and encouraged a generation of young men to skip serious education in favor of a sheltered life at good money, with tourists paying for it all.
The military should restore social sanity on Phuket by ruling in favor of fair fares that will give some residents the chance to be able to afford a taxi for the first time in their lives.
"fair fares that will give some residents the chance to be able to afford a taxi for the first time in their lives." and some others to work for the first time of their life.
Posted by Rupert on September 28, 2014 10:11