Powerless to take action
Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) Chief Jaturong Kaewkasi has gone public to obscurely defend the fares charged by tuk-tuk and taxi drivers in Phuket.
Under the theme that he was ”explaining” the fares charged by tuk-tuks and taxis in Phuket, Mr Jaturong this week announced that his office will investigate the incident
in Kamala last Friday that has since gone viral online, and take any action deemed necessary (see page 1).
However, Mr Jatrong’s explanation obliqued that under the current arrangement between the island’s taxi
cartels and provincial officials, his office is powerless to do anything.
“People on social media have widely criticized the incident. Many people who have traveled to Phuket have posted many comments about what may have been called different expensive fares [sic],” Mr Jaturong said.
“For taxi fares, whether it is a taxi or van, that are in the system of the province [registered to be operated in Phuket] and with the PLTO, there are fares that have been set as standard by the Phuket Governor,” Mr Jaturong said, without clarifying that they were NOT set by the current Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew.
“There has been an announcement regarding the rate of hire of passenger vehicles in Phuket which was enacted on Oct 29 last year to prevent the exploitation of passengers or the deception of tourists ,,,, ” he added.
“...by which the fares set that the passenger shall pay shall be considered [sic] as the highest rate for no more than four passengers and the price can be negotiated between the passenger and the driver,” he said.
“The fare for Kamala Beach to Patong Beach is B400, which if the customer does not like the price, the customer can refuse,” Mr Jaturong explained.
Mr Jaturong did not elaborate on any other options available for passengers, and made no mention of Grab or Bolt taxi services. He did not even mention metered taxis.
Of note, the Oct 29 order Mr Jaturong referred to did not mark any new agreed fares to be charged by Phuket taxi drivers. The only order given by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew on that day was for tuktuk and taxi drivers to follow the rules already laid down.
Governor Narong in July last year ordered an investigation into the fares charged by taxi drivers at Phuket Airport after yet another tourist went public about being overcharged.
That investigation went nowhere,
despite “talks” involving Tanee Suebrerk, Deputy-Director of the Department of Land Transport. Airport taxi operators “agreed” to charge “20% off” the set fares as long as the COVID crisis continues.
In the probe, the taxi drivers cited that they used to charge B1,000 for travelling from the airport to Kata, a distance they said was “about 46km”, but their drivers were now charging only B800.
Again, of note, Mr Jetsada in Kamala last Friday quoted B600 as the fare from Kamala to Patong, a distance of about 12km.
Mr Jaturong neglected to explain that the “set rates” he referred to were made by agreement only between the island’s taxi cartels and provincial officials.
The rates were set in 2013 after the Royal Thai Police, backed by the Royal Thai Army, conducted a sweep of the island to “tidy up” the tuk-tuk and taxi industries, especially following violent attacks on tourists and the rising number of complaints clearly exposing attempts to extort money from visitors.
The number of complaints have continued to rise in recent months, with one tourist complaining in July last year that he was quoted the equivalent of B200 a kilometre for a taxi ride in Phuket Town. Another incident saw Phuket Tourist Police post a notice listing the “set fares” from Phuket airport, also in July last year.
Phuket officials last attempted to lower the set fares in 2016. Phuket’s taxi cartels said, “No.”