Taxi Drivers
 

Whilst Taxis are cheap by european standards in Thialand I hate the dishonesty of the drivers, I understand they have to use their meters by law, yet in Bangkok I found it virtually impossible after 22.00 hours to get them to use the Meter.

One night 7 cabs refused me, the price they were quoting was at least 4 times what it came to on the meter eventually, needless to say I was very generous with the tip.

On Koh Samui not once did I manage to get a driver to use his meter, hence the negotiated price was the price no Tip.

Since taxi drivers do not expect a tip, paying the negotiated price is what they expected. I have to say that I've not had probalems getting taxis to use their meters in Bangkok, but others report they have had problems. That said, I have to say that the worse taxi scam I've run into in my travels was in Madrid, Spain and the second worst was in Washington, DC.

There are apparently a lot of things you didn't like about Thailand. I'd guess you won't be back.

have to agree. We never had problem getting them to use the meter. Received a few glares when we asked, but they always agreed.

one nite, i got out of saxaphone late, so i had to take a taxi back to the shangrila annex. i got into the first available taxi, told him where i wanted to go, he nodded, turned on the meter, and off we went. i have never had a meter problem with any taxi driver in bangkok.(of course, i ignore the hustlers).

the biggest taxi rip-off i had was in las vegas, although in the end, it worked out well.

hi kathie, hows the weather? cold? will be in pdx in a week.

Kathie

What makes you say there was a lot of things I did not like about Thailand, I have only stated two things The Poverty and the Taxi Drivers to this I would add the Sex Trade/Tourists.

In my short report I stated a lot of things that I did like, I enjoyed the holiday but probably will not go back to Thailand not because I did not enjoy it but because there is still a lot of the world I wish to see.

I think people who return to the same place year after year are sad.

Everything is relative, Kuranosuke. For me, after our frosty cold snap, it's now 50 degrees warm. For you, I expect it will be cold. Enjoy your trip to Portland!

Ripped off, taken advantage of, by a taxi driver? I'm shocked! What city are we talking about?

Oh, Bangkok, yes you can't get into a taxi at the HI Silom without ordering the driver to turn on the meter.

This one is easy. If the driver does not use the meter, get out. I've had to get out of a few cabs, but most turn it on. My experience is that in BKK there are actually fewer people taking advatage of tourists than in other cities, including the US. Some of the institutional scams in Boston are unbelievabe.

On another topic, I've noticed a recent disturbing trend in the use of whilst. Did I not get the memo concerning the eradication of while?

John-I do read your subsidiary posts in the context of your original post. I think it's a good idea to separate out specific observations. I do note that by doing so, you seem to bring out more strongly expressed opinions.

gpanda - Use of whilst - it's a British thing. I use it too, just can't help myself...I would definitely use whilst when writing - to use 'while' would seem particularly strange for written English. Mostly though whilst/while are considered interchangeable here.

I'm confused over whilst or while,
Which to use and not bring a smile?
But Pandas are often perplexed
And by hard words totally vexed.
So, I'll stick with US usage
And not feel too much abusage.

=D>

excellent! more rhymes please!

Andy,
As we used to say when I was a kid...

You're a poet,
and don't know it,
But your feet show it...
They're Longfellows....!!

Carol

john please reschedule all future trips to all places that are pleasant and affleunt, like cornwall and hastings....you will be far happier and not make us MAD AS YOU HAVE MANAGED TO DO A couple of times recently....

The OP spoke of drivers Taxi
And their response to meter ask-he.
I diverted the gist of the thread
Cause whilst brought forth much pain in my head.

But back to original meaning
Of drivers and prices careening.
The way to avoid paying too much
Point to meter without subtle touch.

I think Casuals and john44 are one and the same! Or at least this post seems to suggest so - Casuals which he says 'who is the us I have made mad', in response to rhkkmk's comment that john44 has made him mad. Casuals also posted a comment on the thread about poverty too, although on that thread he seemed to be a different person to john44...

the poverty thread has been pulled - so you wont be able to see what I mean

We have had very few problems getting taxi drivers in Bangkok to use meters except during heavy rush hour periods when they really lose money because of the long waiting periods in traffic. Let's face it, the meter prices are very low & gas is now quite expensive in Thailand as elsewhere. And when drivers have refused to use the meter, they have been very up front about it. We could either bargain with them about a price, choose not to take them & find another taxi, or use another means of transportation...Hardly a big deal.
I know it is a generalization, but at least from our personal experience we found the Thai people we interacted with to be extremely honest. We left a package at a table in the beer garden in Suan Lum and the waiter came running after us to bring us the package. Same thing happened with a taxi driver when we left a package in a taxi cab. Unlike many places we have visited, we simply never felt "ripped off" in Thailand.

Why would a thread be pulled? I've been enjoying john's posts and the responses.

john please reschedule all future trips to all places that are pleasant and affleunt, like cornwall and hastings

rhkkmk what makes you think Hastings is affleunt, I supose it depends on the standard of living where you live, in England it has the highest level of unemployment in the country.

john 44 has obviously been in a deep deep Rip van Winkle sleep and hasn't noticed that he's replying to a post that's now two and a half years old.

way to go john. Smart move there.

looks like john44 is not a frequent poster. right now his post #43 is from December 2006. So this thread is one of the top 50 most-recently-posted-to threads that he has contributed to. My top 50 goes back two months.

I think, as my good deed for the day, I might put john44's completely useless response to his own, ancient post back up on top of the list.

Obviously he's still smarting about those seven dastardly cab drivers in February 2006.

So bravo john44! You have won Dogster's Really Strange Post Of The Day Award. There is a prize but you'll have to come back in here in another two and a half years to find out what it is.

Taxi problems are easy to avoid. I too had the meter problem in BKK. The solution is just to walk into the nearest large hotel, walk out of the lobby and get the doorman to hail a cab. My experience is that all hotel personnel take steps to insure that the meter is on and that the driver knows where you want to go.

Dear. All, if you have any problem, with taxi-meter /drivers in Bangkok, pls. call,to complaints tel;1584 the land transport, or to me ,085-4888-041, thanks, julie

So why is it that some bounder doesn't remove Julietaxi's blatantly self-serving advertising? Some of the so-called monitors/administrators on this boartd can't see past their self-interested noses. I lived in Bangko for well over a year- In my experience, 9 out of 10 taxi drivers are dishonest thieves. I was once threatened with a nightstick (a billy club) outside a 5 star hotel because I refused to pay a 300 baht fare for a ride I did almost daily for under 6o baht. I suppose some writer will suggest I did something wrong to agitate the driver- nope. Just a cussed, dishonest chap who didn't like being called out. The smiling, rather passive demeanor promoted by the press and tourist agencies belies the fact that a violent disposition lies just beneath the grins.

I wonder if there's ay logic or pattern as to when people are scammed by taxi drivers. In quite a few visits over the last several years, I've almost never had a problem with the driver turning on the meter, often before I need to ask, but sometimes after I ask.

Maybe it's the location of the taxi, and whether it's waiting in cue or flagged down on the street, whether the passenger seems to be an "obvious" tourist or not.

I'm just wondering theoretically why some people have had such awful problems and others have had none. Any thoughts?

John, I agree there are many factors why one person gets scammed and another does not. Some of the factors are likely characteristics of the traveler, some are characteristics of the taxi driver. I think there are some taxi drivers who just can't resist trying to get a bit more money out of the customer.

I remember a taxi driver in Washington DC who asked me how often I came to DC, and even after I told him I was there at least once a month, he wanted twice the usual fare from National Airport. Obviously, he didn't get it.

I do think that people who seem not to know where they are going, who seem more uncertain are more likely to get scammed.

In my experience, taxis waiting in a line at a hotel (the ones called by the doorman) turn on their meters immediately without being asked. The taxis waiting near a hotel, not in the line and not summoned by the doorman, are most likely to want to negotiate a price and to take you to jewelry stores or tailors.

Taxis hailed on the street are "potluck." But I find if I start to get out if the driver doesn't turn on the meter as soon as I ask is an effective way of getting the meter turned on - I rarely have to use it, and I can only remember once when the driver did not turn it on and I left and hailed another taxi.

Of course, tuk tuks always negotiate prices and are more expensive than taxis. They are also the vehicles most like to want to take you pace you don't want to go.

I'd just like to wish this post a [slightly belated] happy fifth birthday.