Taxi drivers with cheating meters, your days are numbered!
The Land Transport Department has vowed to crack down on fare cheating taxi drivers and impose stiff penalties on cabbies who have the habit of overcharging their passengers – especially tourists.
In an NNT report, Land Transport Chief Somchai Siriwattanachoke stressed that repeat offenders will face strict sanctions and have their driver’s licenses revoked on the spot. Additionally, taxi operators and garage owners will also be held liable if they have been involved in tampering with taximeters.
The move stemmed from numerous complaints from taxi passengers claiming that cab drivers overcharged them, or that the taxis they took had unusually fast fare meters.
Somchai said they have already laid the groundwork for this new policy with preventive measures such as a mandatory vehicle and meter check for cabbies every six months.
Somchai likewise urged passengers to call the department’s 1584 hotline to report cheating taxi drivers. He also advised taxi riders not to ride cabs with damaged meters or those that look like they have been tampered with.
