The National Council for Peace and Order
(NCPO) is attempting to cut out systematic corruption within Thailand's public
transport sector.
BANGKOK:
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is attempting to cut out
systematic corruption within Thailand's public transport sector.
It is
aiming to clear Bangkok's main airport of alleged taxi mafia gangs and install
a proper regulating system to help foreign tourists.
Thailand's
military government wants to clear out what it has labelled as mafia style
extortion gangs at Suvarnabhumi International airport.
It is
an attempt to improve the country's image, prevent over-charging and put an end
to horror stories of tourists left stranded at the airport.
Problems
occur when taxis that are not registered with the airport refuse to take
short-journey fares.
They pay
money to illegal brokers to hand pick passengers.
Most of
the time, rather than operating by the standard meter charge, the brokers will
arrange a flat fee for the journey which is often up to double the actual
charge.
This
can mean a bad experience for new arrivals.
"Well,
I spent like 1,600 baht on a taxi ride and it's just a complete rip-off here.
They kind of have this style where they force you to pay more than you actually
want," said Brandon LoPresti, a tourist.
Alleged
mafia style gangs have been operating at Suvarnabhumi Airport's departures drop
off zone.
The
taxis will park there and wait for a long distance fare which they can
negotiate a price for. For example, a two-hour trip to Pattaya could earn them
up to US$80 per trip, whereas a 30-minute trip into the city would net them
just US$10.
The
Airport Authority of Thailand claims this problem has been allowed to continue
because it currently outsources taxi management to a private firm and has no
control over how passengers are allocated.
Rawewan
Natrakavesna, General Manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said: "It's not the
mafia at the airport. (The airport) is the one who controls the queue and the
taxi stand and all the taxi pool area. We have the outsourced people to control
the queue with passengers and taxis. Sometimes they (passengers) are tricked by
taxis and the ones who control the front counter."
Official
taxi representatives believe these so-called gangs are simply looking for a
fair price for their services.
Taxis
that collect passengers from the airport will only receive a one-way payment
meaning they foot the cost for the return journey.
Phattavee
Mearach, advisor to Napha Siam Citizen Radio, said: "Taxis at the airport
are baggage vehicles. The people that use our service should understand our
problems but now they call them taxi mafia. It’s actually not. It's just a
misunderstanding."
Regardless
of these claims and calls from taxi drivers for a fare hike, the NCPO is
pushing ahead with a new computerised kiosk system that will be installed in
August.
It will
require drivers to register their details and means both the passengers and the
destination would come down entirely to luck.
At the
same time, unregistered cabs will no longer be allowed to park and wait for
fares, with the aim of eliminating the targeting of tourists.
- CNA/fa
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