Suvarnabhumi van-taxis threaten to stop service

[impulse]

I used contraceptive pills as an example because my sister in Texas had asked me to get her a dozen boxes. Price in the US including prescription is over USD230 vs USD72 for a dozen boxes here.

Bring her a case of diapers, too. She may need them if the birth control pills are anything like the Viagra here.

[trogers]

I used contraceptive pills as an example because my sister in Texas had asked me to get her a dozen boxes. Price in the US including prescription is over USD230 vs USD72 for a dozen boxes here.

Bring her a case of diapers, too. She may need them if the birth control pills are anything like the Viagra here.

Same brand as in the US. Not some local brand which would be even cheaper.

What insurance coverage would you get in a taxi in USA and in Thailand?

[impulse]

I used contraceptive pills as an example because my sister in Texas had asked me to get her a dozen boxes. Price in the US including prescription is over USD230 vs USD72 for a dozen boxes here.

Bring her a case of diapers, too. She may need them if the birth control pills are anything like the Viagra here.

Same brand as in the US. Not some local brand which would be even cheaper.

That's strange, because I pay 2-3x the amount I paid in the USA for imported drugs here. It could be because they're tightly controlled and only available from the hospitals here. Local generics- cheaper by far than the USA.

But I digress. Taxis are on the roasting pan here...

[cookee68]

Shit them all, that's why I arrange my own car, and I would rather use public transport, they have been screwing tourist for years. grow some balls Thailand and tell these people there are alternatives, to taxis, they are trying to threaten the airport who in turn got no balls to do anything, cowards

But taxis working out of the major airports around the world have been scalping people since Ben Hur was taking tours around the coliseum.

I'm not suggesting it's a justification but it is what it is.

Like others I've never had a problem with any taxi in Thailand in over 20 years of 2 or more visits a year. My only gripe is asking them to slow down.

I've had them refuse me sometimes but similarly this is something I've experienced in the 'good old, problem free, Shangri la west'.

A licensed taxi wont leave heathrow for under the equivalent of 50000 thb.

In sleepy old Perth ( West Australia ) it will cost me over 40000thb ( probably more with the exchange rate misery ) to get to the international terminal and I live inner city.

1500 thb will get you to Pattaya or Bangkok.

Now if that is taxi drivers 'screwing tourists' you must be the sort who buys a beer with 3 straws, eats off the 'cholera carts', and other tightfisted tactics ...aka Mr Cheap Charlie .

Indulge in a bit of perspective, lose the anti thai invective, smile and open your wallet. Life may in fact start to be enjoyable

A licensed taxi in Heathrow wont leave for less than 50,000 THB, where the Shit are you going to, you want to lay of them tablets you are on, and if you are happy to pay 50,000thb for a taxi to leave Heathrow, you must be Mr super loaded

[cookee68]

Sorry people, take a 0 off mt 40000 and 50000 numbers.

My point still stands...

Your point don't still stand, you pay the price for the country you are in, Singapore is more, Switzerland is more, Cambodia is less, so would it be right when I buy fried rice for the person to tell me, I am charging you more, because in the UK you would pay 3 times as much, so whats the problem its still cheap, NO

[cookee68]

Shit them all, that's why I arrange my own car, and I would rather use public transport, they have been screwing tourist for years. grow some balls Thailand and tell these people there are alternatives, to taxis, they are trying to threaten the airport who in turn got no balls to do anything, cowards

But taxis working out of the major airports around the world have been scalping people since Ben Hur was taking tours around the coliseum.

I'm not suggesting it's a justification but it is what it is.

Like others I've never had a problem with any taxi in Thailand in over 20 years of 2 or more visits a year. My only gripe is asking them to slow down.

I've had them refuse me sometimes but similarly this is something I've experienced in the 'good old, problem free, Shangri la west'.

A licensed taxi wont leave heathrow for under the equivalent of 50000 thb.

In sleepy old Perth ( West Australia ) it will cost me over 40000thb ( probably more with the exchange rate misery ) to get to the international terminal and I live inner city.

1500 thb will get you to Pattaya or Bangkok.

Now if that is taxi drivers 'screwing tourists' you must be the sort who buys a beer with 3 straws, eats off the 'cholera carts', and other tightfisted tactics ...aka Mr Cheap Charlie .

Indulge in a bit of perspective, lose the anti thai invective, smile and open your wallet. Life may in fact start to be enjoyable. for me anyway because I am super loaded

A licensed taxi in Heathrow wont leave for less than 50,000 THB, where the Shit are you going to, you want to lay of them tablets you are on, and if you are happy to pay 50,000thb for a taxi to leave Heathrow, you must be Mr super loaded

?

[Jim walker]

Just use one regular taxi driver and when you arrive give them a call and get them to come out and collect you if they are sure of a good tip they will drop everything and come out for you Ive never had a problem regarding taxi and would not consider using a taxi without a meter as they are only used by greedy thieves trying to fleece a new arrival if they can rob you on the meter nothing to stop them taking you to a quiet location and relieving you of any other valuables you might have.

[trogers]

Taxi rates set by AOT shall apply to all, foreign and locals. When foreigners tipped too much, taxi drivers get spoiled and reluctant to service the locals.

[tsigane]

Surcharge for bags??? A ridiculous excuse like this can be conceived only in a place

where scams are the norm. Well, sounds right.

Who is forcing those poor guys to go to the airport to pick up passengers in the first place?

I think they should be allowed to NOT go there and NOT work at all.

BUT

Arriving passengers are the easiest prey for them. Blood of a freshly arrived visitor is too hard

to resist.

[needforspeed]

Airport based Taxis and their rip offs are a disgrace to Thailand

I just came from the chat with aot, and they informed me to discuss this suggestion.

Suggested to only start their own taxi service to extend their service till arrivals are home or in hotel, proper cars (station wagon/estate) so enough space for 4 passengers and their lugage, water, refreshing towel.

Using meter + fee and just bann all other taxi's.

Extra income around 1.240 Million baht a year.

Investment around 600 cars and drivers.

I do not follow this.

600 cars to generate a profit of only 1.2 Million Baht? if you are going to pull numbers out of thin air, please at least have them make sense.

Really? It is not hard enough fighting traffic to get home ... the brilliant idea is to endure the ride while your three (strangers) companions get home? Please god, please, do not tell me they have to go through the Asoke junction. 555. And oh ... you need to use the toilet? No worries, let's just detour here .. oh yes, of course, since we are here, please do grab a latte and snack. And on and on and on ... Are you kidding with this ride share notion?

And all this because the guy at the top can not say "ummm, gave it some thought .. the answer is "No." Excuse, me, did I hear a complaint from the peanut gallery?"

It is not the 50 Baht, it is the manner ... or should I say .. the threat and extortion of it ... we need to stand up to.

If the threat of a strike works once, it will work many, many, many more times .. an in the process of enforcing a strike ,, a new mafia (See Phuket / Patttaya) is born.

Nip it in the bud ... just say "No."

I not talking about 1.2 milion profit but 1.24 Billion turnover.

And yes this drivers are on a monthly pay so no intention to rip you off.

[outsider]

Shit them all, that's why I arrange my own car, and I would rather use public transport, they have been screwing tourist for years. grow some balls Thailand and tell these people there are alternatives, to taxis, they are trying to threaten the airport who in turn got no balls to do anything, cowards

But taxis working out of the major airports around the world have been scalping people since Ben Hur was taking tours around the coliseum.

I'm not suggesting it's a justification but it is what it is.

Like others I've never had a problem with any taxi in Thailand in over 20 years of 2 or more visits a year. My only gripe is asking them to slow down.

I've had them refuse me sometimes but similarly this is something I've experienced in the 'good old, problem free, Shangri la west'.

A licensed taxi wont leave heathrow for under the equivalent of 50000 thb.

In sleepy old Perth ( West Australia ) it will cost me over 40000thb ( probably more with the exchange rate misery ) to get to the international terminal and I live inner city.

1500 thb will get you to Pattaya or Bangkok.

Now if that is taxi drivers 'screwing tourists' you must be the sort who buys a beer with 3 straws, eats off the 'cholera carts', and other tightfisted tactics ...aka Mr Cheap Charlie .

Indulge in a bit of perspective, lose the anti thai invective, smile and open your wallet. Life may in fact start to be enjoyable

A licensed taxi in Heathrow wont leave for less than 50,000 THB, where the Shit are you going to, you want to lay of them tablets you are on, and if you are happy to pay 50,000thb for a taxi to leave Heathrow, you must be Mr super loaded

If you, makkam... yes YOU... indulged in a bit of perspective yourself, you'd realise that not EVERYBODY comes from the UK or Australia or countries that have relatively pricier taxi fares. In fact, this isn't about how much taxis here cost compared with other countries - it is the principle of the matter. Screwing tourists. Unfortunately, there exists people like you who like to pay your way through everything because 'it's cheaper here than in the UK/USA/Australia (add your own favourit countries here)' and that's making things hard for normal people regardless of whether they are expats, tourists or even locals. You may enjoy being scammed and screwed over but please, do try to indulge in a bit of perspective and understand that most don't enjoy what you do. Have fun bending over!

Edited January 30, 2015 by outsider

[davidstipek]

"the drivers said they may have to stop service because they cannot afford the cost."

Then you're clearly in the wrong business.

Beat it.

ZERO sympathy.

Maybe the Gas Stations should raise the cost of Benzine for taxis.... Since it "Has Dropped" almost in half... This way the fare increase demanded by the drivers might be a little justified....

If they get the ok to raise fares.... With lower fuel costs.... Same as double dipping??? where is their justification??

[cookee68]

Shit them all, that's why I arrange my own car, and I would rather use public transport, they have been screwing tourist for years. grow some balls Thailand and tell these people there are alternatives, to taxis, they are trying to threaten the airport who in turn got no balls to do anything, cowards

But taxis working out of the major airports around the world have been scalping people since Ben Hur was taking tours around the coliseum.

I'm not suggesting it's a justification but it is what it is.

Like others I've never had a problem with any taxi in Thailand in over 20 years of 2 or more visits a year. My only gripe is asking them to slow down.

I've had them refuse me sometimes but similarly this is something I've experienced in the 'good old, problem free, Shangri la west'.

A licensed taxi wont leave heathrow for under the equivalent of 50000 thb.

In sleepy old Perth ( West Australia ) it will cost me over 40000thb ( probably more with the exchange rate misery ) to get to the international terminal and I live inner city.

1500 thb will get you to Pattaya or Bangkok.

Now if that is taxi drivers 'screwing tourists' you must be the sort who buys a beer with 3 straws, eats off the 'cholera carts', and other tightfisted tactics ...aka Mr Cheap Charlie .

Indulge in a bit of perspective, lose the anti thai invective, smile and open your wallet. Life may in fact start to be enjoyable

A licensed taxi in Heathrow wont leave for less than 50,000 THB, where the Shit are you going to, you want to lay of them tablets you are on, and if you are happy to pay 50,000thb for a taxi to leave Heathrow, you must be Mr super loaded

If you, makkam... yes YOU... indulged in a bit of perspective yourself, you'd realise that not EVERYBODY comes from the UK or Australia or countries that have relatively pricier taxi fares. In fact, this isn't about how much taxis here cost compared with other countries - it is the principle of the matter. Screwing tourists. Unfortunately, there exists people like you who like to pay your way through everything because 'it's cheaper here than in the UK/USA/Australia (add your own favourit countries here)' and that's making things hard for normal people regardless of whether they are expats, tourists or even locals. You may enjoy being scammed and screwed over but please, do try to indulge in a bit of perspective and understand that most don't enjoy what you do. Have fun bending over!

Thank you, my point exactly, and extra for bags?, what do they think all people in the airport are carrying then, Its an airport that's why we get taxi's to take the bags, and they want a surcharge for that

[siam2007]

Malaysia has 2 or 3 years ago completely abandoned the "luggage surcharge" at both KL Airport as well as the prepaid Taxi counters at KL SENTRAL.

If a taxi serves the Airport, he has to expect that people carry more than a newspaper and a Banana when they take a Cab. those Cabbies who cannot accept that, should serve the downtown area only.....

[impulse]

If a taxi serves the Airport, he has to expect that people carry more than a newspaper and a Banana when they take a Cab. those Cabbies who cannot accept that, should serve the downtown area only.....

Could say the same about airlines and people flying all over the world. But they seem to be charging for extra bags...

My latest excess baggage fee was more than my international ticket. For about 20 pounds above the limit.

[theonetrueaussie]

i'm ok with the surcharge as the starting fares are already very cheap as compared to taxis in my country.

This is the problem though, If you are going to pay the same price as a western country...Then why bother coming to Thailand!! 99.99% of tourists come to Thailand because it is cheap, If they are going to charge western prices then Tourists will go to a western country instead for their holidays!!

[BigBadGeordie]

i'm ok with the surcharge as the starting fares are already very cheap as compared to taxis in my country.

This is the problem though, If you are going to pay the same price as a western country...Then why bother coming to Thailand!! 99.99% of tourists come to Thailand because it is cheap, If they are going to charge western prices then Tourists will go to a western country instead for their holidays!!

"99.99% of tourists come to Thailand because it is cheap"!

Evidence, source,verification?

I came here for the temples.....my arse.

[Frank78]

Cool. May they stop until the end of Times. I try to take the Airport link as much as I can, because a lot of drivers are crazy, and some taxi drivers are wannabe roadkillers.

[MJP]

Thankfully Brompton Bicycles will be selling in Thailand soon and tourists who have not packed their own Brompton in hand luggage will be able to purchase one opposite Gate 458.

Now everyone can ride.

[englishoak]

Thankfully Brompton Bicycles will be selling in Thailand soon and tourists who have not packed their own Brompton in hand luggage will be able to purchase one opposite Gate 458.

Now everyone can ride.

Use one of those things in Thailand ? thats suicide, and no good for the countryside those bikes, id rather stick pins in my eyes

[MJP]

Thankfully Brompton Bicycles will be selling in Thailand soon and tourists who have not packed their own Brompton in hand luggage will be able to purchase one opposite Gate 458.

Now everyone can ride.

Use one of those things in Thailand ? thats suicide, and no good for the countryside those bikes, id rather stick pins in my eyes

Apparently. There was a thread on it the other week.

[SoiBiker]

Thankfully Brompton Bicycles will be selling in Thailand soon and tourists who have not packed their own Brompton in hand luggage will be able to purchase one opposite Gate 458.

Now everyone can ride.

Use one of those things in Thailand ? thats suicide, and no good for the countryside those bikes, id rather stick pins in my eyes

I ride a folding bike - they're quite popular around here. I'm not dead yet.

[MJP]

Thankfully Brompton Bicycles will be selling in Thailand soon and tourists who have not packed their own Brompton in hand luggage will be able to purchase one opposite Gate 458.

Now everyone can ride.

Use one of those things in Thailand ? thats suicide, and no good for the countryside those bikes, id rather stick pins in my eyes

I ride a folding bike - they're quite popular around here. I'm not dead yet.

I would but it would fold up again under mass x gravity.

[dbrenn]

Oh come on you stingy lot.

Taxis in Thailand are so very cheap.

Try getting one into town from almost any other city in the world. and you'll pay a whole lot more.

[MJP]

Oh come on you stingy lot.

Taxis in Thailand are so very cheap.

Try getting one into town from almost any other city in the world. and you'll pay a whole lot more.

I remember once . . . Don Muang to Swampy - 2 hours and then some . . . £10.

Landed Heathrow.

Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 - 5 minutes . . . £20.

They are bizarrely cheap (read price fixed) in Thailand.

[dbrenn]

Oh come on you stingy lot.

Taxis in Thailand are so very cheap.

Try getting one into town from almost any other city in the world. and you'll pay a whole lot more.

I remember once . . . Don Muang to Swampy - 2 hours and then some . . . £10.

Landed Heathrow.

Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 - 5 minutes . . . £20.

They are bizarrely cheap (read price fixed) in Thailand.

Too true. And a taxi from Heathrow to central London won't get you much change out of £100 at a busy time....

That's way over 10 times what a trip from Swampy into the city will cost, making taxis in Thailand one of the cheapest things you can spend your money on.

[trogers]

Oh come on you stingy lot.

Taxis in Thailand are so very cheap.

Try getting one into town from almost any other city in the world. and you'll pay a whole lot more.

I remember once . . . Don Muang to Swampy - 2 hours and then some . . . £10.

Landed Heathrow.

Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 - 5 minutes . . . £20.

They are bizarrely cheap (read price fixed) in Thailand.

And is this not why you are staying in Thailand?

Try looking through the eyes of a Thai.

[MJP]

Oh come on you stingy lot.

Taxis in Thailand are so very cheap.

Try getting one into town from almost any other city in the world. and you'll pay a whole lot more.

I remember once . . . Don Muang to Swampy - 2 hours and then some . . . £10.

Landed Heathrow.

Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 - 5 minutes . . . £20.

They are bizarrely cheap (read price fixed) in Thailand.

And is this not why you are staying in Thailand?

Try looking through the eyes of a Thai.

Oh I'm well aware of the economics thanks. And no I only visit these days, don't go back very often.

[phrodan]

All the airport authorities have to do is - put staff on call to direct all Bangkok bound passengers to the rail service. Wait till you see the look on the drivers faces then.

[impulse]

All the airport authorities have to do is - put staff on call to direct all Bangkok bound passengers to the rail service. Wait till you see the look on the drivers faces then.

Try taking 3 bags on the ARL, then see how far you have to walk at the other end, just to find a taxi.

Who's going to try to cheat you for more than the ones at the airport. (And in a dodgy looking area with no witnesses)

Or, you can walk another half a km and schlepp your bags down to the MRT or BTS, and open each of them for security, then try to find room for them on the train.

Makes the taxis at the airport look like a Godsend.