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Thai transport laws taking passengers for a ride

No sooner did Chiang Mai residents and visitors think they had better taxi options than the authorities and those offering “worse choices” try to tear these services away from them.

No sooner did Chiang Mai residents and visitors think they had better taxi options than the authorities and those offering “worse choices” try to tear these services away from them.

The emerging popularity of Uber and Grab taxis in the northern Thai city reflects how much people there no longer want to put up with just a handful of public transport services that are either poor in quality or too expensive.

Instead of recognising the arrival of ride-sharing services and trying to look for ways to legalise them, the Land Transport Department has tried to crack down on the operators and their drivers without giving consumers any better alternatives. The Chiang Mai land transport office’s recent “sting operation” to track down and arrest Uber drivers is bizarre.

But what is more laughable are the actions of the drivers of the “iconic” (or should I say “notorious”?) red songtaew (mini truck buses) in Chiang Mai. Instead of trying to improve their services and make them better for passengers, they cried foul over “unfair” competition from Uber and Grab taxi drivers, and formed a 200-strong team of red songtaew “hunters” looking to take photos of their competitors and report them to the transport authorities.

This recent episode is sending a simple message to travellers: Take our awful taxi service or take a hike.

Unlike Bangkok, folks in provincial cities do not have much choice if they want a ride. It’s not just Chiang Mai. Travel can be a big headache for residents and visitors in big cities like Khon Kaen, Phuket or Udon Thani, who do not own a car or do not want to take a motorcycle taxi.

They have to rely on operators of “meter taxis” (who will ask them to voluntarily forgo the meter and agree to their price). Alternatively, they can queue up for a van and wait until all the seats are filled before they can go anywhere. Or, if they they don’t mind being big spenders, hiring or renting a car is the best, but expensive, option. The only other choice is to wait and pay for songtaew services and be ripped off if they are unlucky.

A friend of mine who recently moved back to Bangkok after a year working in Chiang Mai said songtaew and taxi services there are intolerable. A 5-kilometre single ride from the airport to her apartment was 150 baht, after negotiation. After charging that price the driver will still pick up more passengers along the way, she said.

Residents in Khon Kaen lodged a formal complaint with the local land transport office about a lack of city buses to and from the airport. Upon landing, air travellers are forced to pay exorbitant fares demanded by local taxi drivers.

However, they have proved luckier than Chiang Mai people as the local authority listened to their demand and recently promised an airport bus service will be provided soon.

I myself encountered similar difficulties during numerous trips to Udon Thani during my years living in Vientiane, Laos. If I wanted to go out, I had to find a taxi at the bus terminal and make a pricey pick-up arrangement. I even paid 1,500 baht to rent a car for a day just to be able to get around the city. My trips there would have been much more pleasant if there were Uber or Grab taxi services.

True, these mobile application-based ride-hailing services are not legal according to rules the Land Transport Act issued four decades ago.

It is also understandable that licensing and regulating taxi services are needed to ensure proper consumer protection, as well as labour protection for drivers and tax collection.

But it is not understandable that we have to live with an outdated law and let it dictate the way we live in more modern times. Laws are amendable, especially those affecting our daily life. If these ride-sharing services are illegal, why not set up a system to licence and regulate them? If there is a need to collect tax from operators and drivers, why not include them in the tax system?

Ride-sharing services have made life easier for passengers in Bangkok and other key cities after years of putting up with not-so-good or bad taxi services. The established conventional taxi operators should come up with better business models and improved services if they want to stay competitive. BANGKOK POST

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Surasak Glahan is deputy op-ed pages editor, Bangkok Post.

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