In the midst of the recent Uber driver crackdown, another car owner said that they unjustly received a ticket for using a private vehicle to provide public transport.
Recently, local taxi operators in Chiang Mai have been reporting private cars that they suspect of providing taxi services to foreigners to the transport office.
One Thai car owner, who was not identified, said in a Facebook post last week that they had a ticket sent to their home for using a car to drop off a foreign friend at Chiang Mai Airport.
But the twist is that the car owner said they weren’t even driving — their farang friend was, which made it clear that the vehicle wasn’t an Uber. Still they still got reported, according to Manager.
“So now, when I drop my friend off at the airport, I have to pay a fine. That’s nice! P.S. Take a look at the driver before photographing us. The driver was a farang. His wife and child sat in the front passenger seat,” said the post, dated March 7.
Last week a man from Suphanburi said his car was reported as an Uber in Chiang Mai after he gave two foreign friends a ride. He received the same ticket for the same charge — using a private vehicle to provide public transport.
Violators face up to a THB2,000 fine.
The Uber crackdown has drawn criticism from netizens, as regulated taxis continue to reject, overcharge and mistreat passengers.
Chanchai Keelapang, an official of Chiang Mai Provincial Land Transport Office, previously said that the office had issued more than ten tickets to suspected Uber drivers after public transport operators started reporting them.
Chanchai said in all fairness, the office must summon all reported drivers for questioning.
