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Tricks of the trade: Why tourists might pay 2,540 baht for a taxi ride in Bangkok!


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4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Really ?... an "I've never had an issue so it doesn't happen" post....  And then insulting all (or most) forum members because their lack of Thai proficiency is to blame ?

 

Issues with Taxi's do happen, they are common and complained about by Thai's on Thai forums such as Panthip in equal if not greater measure than our complaints here on ThaiVisa... 

 

When I have guests visiting, one of the first things I warn them about is the Taxi's... I tell them to use UBER or Grab where ever and whenever they can...

 

As far as I'm concerned... I have very few issues with Taxi's these days - its because I hardly use them and choose UBER or Grab at whenever possible... A little *accountability seems to work wonders in keeping the drivers honest.

 

[*accountability: the drivers are registered and recorded by the App - therefor any issues are readily open to recourse]

 

 

I said  "many" not most or not all. Please see my post you quoted. Big difference. Don't misquote. It's bad. 

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7 hours ago, BKKBrit said:

I had one recently - my own fault for doing my usual find-a-cab on the 4th floor because I had too much baggage. So in the basement I pressed the button and a ticket was dispensed with the lane number. I had one of those big Toyota Innova vans or whatever they're called. Really pleasant ride to my condo in Sukhumvit..fare was correct at around Bht280 on the meter and he was a nice guy, yakking about the cool customers he meets..so I gave him Bht350. He said 'oh no....because this is a big cab you must pay Bht600.' I said 'ok..moment.'. Removed my baggage and trundled it into the lobby and ignored his shouting and ranting about 'kee-nok farangs'. 

 

My last arrival last weekend...when I was in the baggage hall - again with a lot of baggage, I called for a Grab Limo who picked me up on the 4th floor. So much easier. 

 

I almost had a similar experience a few weeks ago from airport. I distintcly remember pushing the button for a small cab ticket and getting into cab in that lane. He immedietely takes my ticket off me. He looked like a bit of a angry stooge but when we started speaking thai he changed completely and was all smiles. Halfway he mentions that this is big cab and usually have to pay more for big cab. It was like a 4x4 or something. Glad he was cool about it but I could see it being a potential scam.

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15 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

Behind bars!! Really? A bit harsh in my view. Yes a slap on the wrist and a final warning if he does it again he loses his license,,, and a full apology to the tourists.

 

Don't think he belongs behind bars just yet.

 

Not in my view. All of the above is de rigueur already and does not work. Unless it's something to do with drugs, defamation or nicking money from banks, punishments here are extremely lenient, esp for murder and extortion it seems. There needs to be proper deterrent in place as this is the type of thing that gives this place a bad name. Start dishing out serious jail time and these perps will think twice.

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21 hours ago, BKKBrit said:

I had one recently - my own fault for doing my usual find-a-cab on the 4th floor because I had too much baggage. So in the basement I pressed the button and a ticket was dispensed with the lane number. I had one of those big Toyota Innova vans or whatever they're called. Really pleasant ride to my condo in Sukhumvit..fare was correct at around Bht280 on the meter and he was a nice guy, yakking about the cool customers he meets..so I gave him Bht350. He said 'oh no....because this is a big cab you must pay Bht600.' I said 'ok..moment.'. Removed my baggage and trundled it into the lobby and ignored his shouting and ranting about 'kee-nok farangs'. 

 

My last arrival last weekend...when I was in the baggage hall - again with a lot of baggage, I called for a Grab Limo who picked me up on the 4th floor. So much easier. 

 

 

Let the robbing Thai scream everyone knows what they are. If they do not then there also part of the problem. 

<deleted>.

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20 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

Behind bars!! Really? A bit harsh in my view. Yes a slap on the wrist and a final warning if he does it again he loses his license,,, and a full apology to the tourists.

 

Don't think he belongs behind bars just yet.

Too lenient, why not lose the licence the first time?

It isn't as if the guy did not know he was breaking the rules.

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21 hours ago, JohnnyBKK said:

Got one of those too, his meter was very very fast.

Another taxi explained to me that he has 3 speed on his meter and can activate it by pushing a simple button. 

He told me if he feels i'm very rich and not living here he would push the high speed button, but because I looked "cool" he didn't push any of those buttons.

Meaning because you looked poor. 555

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15 hours ago, gemguy said:

That was my experience 5 months ago with the new automated ticket cue system while who is to say what happened to me has not been the experience of many others also...because, for 50 years the Don Muang airport and the more recent Swampy airport have always had taxi cab rip off problems .....always...

 

And I appreciate hearing about others' experiences, good and bad.  

 

Just because it hasn't happened to me doesn't mean I shouldn't watch out, especially if others post up different experiences from my own.  That's the beauty of the written word.  I don't have to fall in the hole if someone else writes about it before I encounter it myself.

 

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On 9/29/2016 at 0:34 PM, bangkapi said:

Transcription of the number is incorrect in the OP headline...

Should be 2540, not 2450.

 

 

 

Perhaps the writer of this post is dyslexic.  I'm still having trouble with the word "smelt."  I'm almost sure that's either a fish or something you do in an ironworks such as "smelting."

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3 hours ago, stuck said:

 

Perhaps the writer of this post is dyslexic.  I'm still having trouble with the word "smelt."  I'm almost sure that's either a fish or something you do in an ironworks such as "smelting."

 

Smelt.  Rhymes with "dealt".  And those 2 words form the backbone of one of the best lines we learned in the 3rd grade.  Still serves me well over 50 years later...

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On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 8:38 AM, BKKBrit said:

I had one recently - my own fault for doing my usual find-a-cab on the 4th floor because I had too much baggage. So in the basement I pressed the button and a ticket was dispensed with the lane number. I had one of those big Toyota Innova vans or whatever they're called. Really pleasant ride to my condo in Sukhumvit..fare was correct at around Bht280 on the meter and he was a nice guy, yakking about the cool customers he meets..so I gave him Bht350. He said 'oh no....because this is a big cab you must pay Bht600.' I said 'ok..moment.'. Removed my baggage and trundled it into the lobby and ignored his shouting and ranting about 'kee-nok farangs'. 

 

My last arrival last weekend...when I was in the baggage hall - again with a lot of baggage, I called for a Grab Limo who picked me up on the 4th floor. So much easier. 

 

This is so common and yes I have paid the 600 just to get away from the airport after an international flight.  However things have changed I refuse to pay the big cab price quoted the majority of them try it on but eventually one will give in and take you.  I would not care but most times I will pay 500THB happily for good service.

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On September 29, 2016 at 6:27 PM, impulse said:

 

It is banned, by the rules.  But it's generally tolerated.

 

The reason the 4th floor works at all is because few people do it.  If it got popular, the queues up there would be worse than the official queues downstairs- with no referee.  And they'd probably quit tolerating it.

 

Speaking of the official queue, since they got the machines dialed in, I haven't waited more than 2 minutes for a taxi.  Usually, the 10-50 meter walk to the taxi's numbered location takes longer than the queue.

Ya, I came in last night from a trip to KL and there was nobody down at the taxu queue. Of course, there is also a new regulation that if you live less that 20km from the airport, you have to go to a counter for a special taxi rather than get the ticket from the machine. No worries though, it all worked and had a nice friendly cabbie. 

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On 9/30/2016 at 5:54 PM, impulse said:

 

Smelt.  Rhymes with "dealt".  And those 2 words form the backbone of one of the best lines we learned in the 3rd grade.  Still serves me well over 50 years later...

 

 

I learned "Whistle while you work, Hitler was a jerk, Eenie Meany lost his weeny and now it doesn't squirt."

 

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