Land Transport bosses should focus on safety, not rival taxi services
I’ve always had fast, polite service from the Land Transport Department at Soi Thong Lor, Bangkok, so I have nothing against the LTD. But the LTD has been consistently working against consumer interests versus those of LTD-supervised taxis. By clamping down on Uber and, to a lesser extent, Grab, the LTD forgets that its mission is to ensure safe, convenient, honest taxi service.
I’ve found Uber to be far superior to LTD-supervised taxis in many ways: (a) Uber staff tend to drive more safely, because they’re driving their own cars; (b) Uber vehicles are better-maintained, for the same reason; (c) Uber cars I’ve taken all had usable seat belts, whereas LTD’s cars were usually missing rear-seat buckles, rendering them useless; (d) Uber drivers know that Uber has matched them up with their specific passengers, and so are not tempted to do them harm—which is especially important for late-night or lady riders; (e) Uber tracks all rides by GPS, so drivers have no incentive to take unnecessary detours, and (f) Uber comes to wherever I am, whereas with LTD taxis, I have to go to a busy road, which might be hard to find.
Thus, for example, instead of Suvarnabhumi airport’s director forbidding Ubers from servicing clients, Suvarnabhumi should encourage them, and any like-minded competition, eg, Lyft (when it comes here). Also, LTD Chiang Mai chief Chanchai Keerapaeng should stop his clampdown on Uber and Grab. Instead, he and other LTD executives nationwide should vigorously ensure that conventional taxis are as effective as Uber in ensuring safe, convenient and honest service.
Burin Kantabutra
