PHUKET: The plan for the future of taxis at Phuket International Airport is to be revealed by Airports of Thailand managers on Phuket in two days, a meeting heard today.
Efforts to convert taxis at Phuket airport to an orderly Bangkok-style system with drivers queuing to pick up newly arrived passengers have so far failed.
As with the rest of Phuket, the drivers appear to be in control and manage the system to suit themselves. Fares remain exorbitant. Tourists constantly complain about poor service and thuggish behavior.
AoT officials from Bangkok will be on Phuket to announce the plan on Thursday.
Today's regular weekly Phuket campaign update, this time at the Land Transport Department office was underpowered with the absence of a representative from the Department of Special Investigation.
The DSI is supposed to be leading the push to end corruption on Phuket and to reform public transport so that the island produces a ''Phuket model'' for application in other tourist destinations in Thailand.
Vice Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada usually chairs the weekly meetings. He was also absent for the first time.
Phuket Land Transport Department specialist Jaturong Keawkasisaid told the gathering that AoT aimed to put GPS in all the taxis and limousines, but it had yet to be made clear when this would happen.
Only 43 percent of Phuket's taxis had registered so far, he said. Over the next three months, that figure was expected to rise to 70 percent.
He said there had been two incidents of blockades by taxi drivers reported to the Crime Crisis Centres, one at a Kamala resort and the other at a resort in Rawai.
The case in Kamala involved an Australian expat visiting a friend and the case in Rawai involved a Thai man who was barricaded in for two hours by irate taxi drivers when he went to pick up his sister at the resort.
In a statement compiled by the Tourism and Sport Ministry, it was revealed that Phuket's Marine 5 Office has prepared jet-ski contracts in four languages - English, Russian, Chinese and Thai - and will issue them to operators.
Efforts to convert taxis at Phuket airport to an orderly Bangkok-style system with drivers queuing to pick up newly arrived passengers have so far failed.
As with the rest of Phuket, the drivers appear to be in control and manage the system to suit themselves. Fares remain exorbitant. Tourists constantly complain about poor service and thuggish behavior.
AoT officials from Bangkok will be on Phuket to announce the plan on Thursday.
Today's regular weekly Phuket campaign update, this time at the Land Transport Department office was underpowered with the absence of a representative from the Department of Special Investigation.
The DSI is supposed to be leading the push to end corruption on Phuket and to reform public transport so that the island produces a ''Phuket model'' for application in other tourist destinations in Thailand.
Vice Governor Jamleran Tipayapongtada usually chairs the weekly meetings. He was also absent for the first time.
Phuket Land Transport Department specialist Jaturong Keawkasisaid told the gathering that AoT aimed to put GPS in all the taxis and limousines, but it had yet to be made clear when this would happen.
Only 43 percent of Phuket's taxis had registered so far, he said. Over the next three months, that figure was expected to rise to 70 percent.
He said there had been two incidents of blockades by taxi drivers reported to the Crime Crisis Centres, one at a Kamala resort and the other at a resort in Rawai.
The case in Kamala involved an Australian expat visiting a friend and the case in Rawai involved a Thai man who was barricaded in for two hours by irate taxi drivers when he went to pick up his sister at the resort.
In a statement compiled by the Tourism and Sport Ministry, it was revealed that Phuket's Marine 5 Office has prepared jet-ski contracts in four languages - English, Russian, Chinese and Thai - and will issue them to operators.
"In a statement compiled by the Tourism and Sport Ministry, it was revealed that Phuket's marine 5 Office has prepared jet-ski contracts in four languages - English, Russian, Chinese and Thai - and will issue them to operators."
We hope that Khun Puriphat will write black on white that all jet-ski drivers will need a boat driving licence as stipulated by the law.
Posted by Whistle-Blower on October 8, 2013 17:24