Crackdown on taxi drivers who don't take passengers is fair

Only in Thailand would someone whine about how “unfair” it is that there is an effort to stop their illegal and rude actions in constantly refusing to accept passengers. 

Your article states, “The top reasons or excuses cited by taxi drivers for not accepting passengers are taxi rental time is up and the vehicle must be returned, running out of gas, traffic congestion, the distance is too short or too long, passengers refusing to pay more for excessively long distance, accepting only foreign passengers”. Actually your article correctly calls these “excuses”. The only real reason they refuse fares is because people want to go to a suburban location.

You also hit the nail on the head when writing, “What irritates many passengers is when the drivers turn them down without citing any reason, with only a shake of their head”. This is due to taxi drivers thinking that they are the bosses of the road and that society owes them something. This big-headed attitude was created under the Thaksin and Pheu Thai governments since taxi drivers are core members of the red shirts and act like they put the government in office, such as when they blocked roads and protested for these Third World politicians.

Your article failed to mention having to listen to the drivers’ litany of complaints about gas prices when they all use subsidised, cheap LPG vehicles (another government give-away to them) and to listen to their pro-government political views, which are usually ill-informed except as to their own personal benefit.

I stopped taking taxis due to having been repeatedly refused, and have seen this happen to little old ladies and women with children and shopping bags, especially during rush hours and heavy rain, when cabs are in high demand. During off-hours when taxis beg me to go with them, I tell them I have a policy not to take them, since they refuse fares.

In most countries, a taxi driver will lose his licence for refusing a fare, and it is considered illegal. A taxi licence is a valuable asset and a privilege from the state. The Bt1,000 fine is a slap on the wrist and won’t work anyway since it is impossible to enforce.

Thailand should adopt a system such as Singapore’s where eight major taxi companies provide a standardised service. 

That having been said, taxi drivers are the only people who will help you if your car breaks down or if there is a roadside accident, when they will rush to the scene to help the victim. I once had a taxi driver spend an hour helping me with my broken car and he refused to accept payment for his time. Try finding a taxi like that anywhere else in the world. It is a universal trait of Thai taxi drivers. 

I could do without their pro-Thaksin propaganda. But their radio programme “Ruam Duay Chuay Kan”, which you can often hear in their cars, shows they can also do good for the public.

The Cheater Meter

Bangkok