Authorities Cracks whips Over Meters
KOH SAMUI: The Department of Land Transport and the Samui police have arrested 109 taxi drivers so far for not using the meter in their cabs.
Prated Sangboonloen, chief of special investigation of the land transport department, said his agency and the Samui police department set up a checkpoint on Sept. 7 to check taxicabs not using their meter.
He said they were able to arrest 109 erring cabbies. The crackdown on erring taxi drivers came following reports of rampant over-charging and an attack on four tourists by a driver who got irked after the passengers refused to pay the fare they thought was exorbitant.
The land transport department had received other complaints from tourists that taxi drivers on Koh Samu did not use their meter and charged expensive fare.
According to Ministry of Transportation regulations, all cab drivers on Samui are to use the meter with the flagdown rate of Bt50 for the first two kilometers and Bt11 per kilometer thereafter for up to 10 kilometers.
The rate after the 11th until the 20th kilometer is Bt9 per kilometer. Over 20 kilometers, the rate is Bt7 per kilometer.
The attack on the four tourists also led to a meeting between the local police and the taxi drivers to work out a rate for metered fare.
“Taxi drivers will have to use their meters but we have to make sure that the rate they are allowed to charge is fair enough to help them cope with Samui’s expensive cost of living,” said Maj. Sathabhorn Sangaunsuk, head of the Koh Samui tourist police.
Sangaunsuk admitted that the taxi-meter controversy has inflicted a black eye on the tourist island. Police Capt. Jehsoh “Jack” Tongnuyae cited the keeping of small change as another common problem between taxi driver and his fare.
“Often a Thai taxi driver thinks it’s no big deal to keep an extra Bt5 or Bt10 from his fare simply because they don’t have small change. Many tourists find this attitude appalling, resulting in a nasty argument,” he said.—With reports from Robert Greer
Källa: Samui Express
