Passengers must also protect themselves
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Your correspondent Mr Griffith (Letters, January 31) may very well lament the poor impression given by the numerous dishonest Bangkok taxi-drivers who attempt to rip off tourists and locals alike by refusing to use their metres and instead charge exorbita
Firstly, potential passengers would be well advised to simply refuse to travel in taxis in which the driver won’t use the metre. Luckily, there are also many honest taxi-drivers in Bangkok who will use the metre.
Secondly, inspectors from the Bangkok municipal authorities should be appointed to control such behaviour, by temporarily suspending erring drivers from being allowed to operate, say for a week, once caught cheating by not using their metres. The message would soon get around that such widespread cheating does not pay.
It is the common experience of most visitors to Thailand to travel by taxi – meaning that the experience will too often include having hassles with drivers who attempt to cheat them. It would give all visitors a much better impression of Thailand generally if this commonly experienced problem were to be eradicated, by the authorities taking more control of the present unsatisfactory situation.
Paul Surtees
Bangkok
