Chiang Mai authorities investigating Uber complaints
The Chiang Mai Land Transport Office has received at least 10 complaints about the Uber driver service on a daily basis in the past few weeks and officials have to investigate all complaints or they will be punished for negligence of duty, said office head Chanchai Kilapaeng on Saturday.
He said 20 people were subjected to questioning so far and a handful were fined for misusing their vehicles.
Chanchai’s spoke after a man complained on www.CM108.com that he was unfairly labelled an Uber driver and fined Bt2,000 for using a vehicle for a purpose other than what it was registered for with the land transport authority.
It was believed that Chiang Mai has at least 400-500 people who provide a transport service under the Uber ride-sharing model, which authorities consider illegal and have carried out sting operations in Chiang Mai and in Bangkok to fine the Uber drivers Bt2,000.
Chiang Mai’s Red Car and taxi drivers, who regard Uber and Grab drivers as illegal competition, are helping authorities catch them by taking photo evidence.
The issue led Uber to issue a statement on Thursday calling on the public to sign a petition to support its service, which it insists is a ride-sharing service and not a taxi service.
Deputy Transport Minister Pichit Akrathit on Friday said that the Transport Ministry would have a meeting in a couple of weeks to discuss a legal hurdle in which Uber claimed it could not register as a public transportation because Thai laws were outdated.
