Time to address the plight of taxi drivers
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Prajin's promise to set a new fare system is welcome considering cabbies have suffered years of neglect
Ever since Thailand introduced meter-taxi services 20 years ago, the fare has been adjusted only once – and that was about 11 years after the launch.
It wasn’t exactly a big hike and the general response was relatively subdued, meaning no uproar from the public like when the price of other items like petrol, diesel or cooking gas, go up.
The current Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong has said the government is looking to set a new fare system.
Prajin said the taxi operators have accepted the government’s condition that they should improve the quality of their service. It is not clear what the government means by improving the quality of service, other than meeting the basic safety standards.
Authorities have met taxi operators “to create understanding” about the new rate, which is expected to come into effect by December. It should take the government about 45 days to inspect every vehicle in service.
The new fares will largely be based on distance travelled. Officially, the aim is to help taxi operators earn more than Bt300 per day, the daily minimum wage that was introduced by the government of Yingluck Shinawatra.
According to Deputy Transport Minister Akom Termpittayapaisit, the government is taking into consideration the operation cost of the taxi operators, their income levels and expenses, or the cost of living.
For people who barely make ends meet and live hand to mouth from day to day, it is high time the government did something to improve the livelihood of the taxi drivers.
Think about it: Amid the rising cost of living year after year over the past two decades, the government has only made one minor adjustment to the fare. It was as if the drivers were immune to the hardships arising from inflation compared to the rest of the population.
There was some hoopla during the government of Thaksin Shinawatra when he introduced the “Taxi Aur Arthon” to help operators purchase their own vehicles.
But because of the rigorous requirements, the project – which was in line with his other populous scheme – eventually flopped. Looking back, it is not hard to see the lack of sincerity behind Thaksin’s half-hearted efforts to help those in the lower income brackets.
The fact that this government is taking into consideration the drivers’ livelihood is a good start and should be welcome. Other considerations should include time off so they can repair their vehicle or spend some free time with their families.
Let’s hope that the recent statement from the current government is more than just lip service to the people who experience hardship and difficulties like any of the other labour-intensive sectors.
What’s sad about the predicament of today’s cab drivers is that nobody really speaks up for them. Do we expect the owners of taxi fleet to do that? After all, their concern is more about getting all their vehicles out on the road.
There is nothing to suggest that the fleet owners are concerned with the plight of the taxi drivers, as the vast majority of them rent the taxis rather than own it.
Over the years we have heard all sorts of complaints about the rude behaviour of taxi drivers, like refusing a fare because of the distance, or making unwanted advances or conversation with the customers.
True, there are bad apples out there. But let’s not generalise because it doesn’t tell the whole story.
For a start, there has to be a sense of fairplay for the drivers. If they feel that they are being adequately paid through the metre system, perhaps they will not turn down fares as often as people claim they do.
