If the “Taxi Jai Dee” agreement actually works, Bangkokians will undoubtedly be mentioning it in the same breath as the Magna Carta and the Code of Hammurabi.
In a public ceremony last week, representatives from the metropolitan police and several of Bangkok’s largest cab-driving unions signed the voluntary agreement whereby cab drivers pledged to charge meter rates for taking customers to any location of their choice.
The Bangkok Post reports that the campaign—nicknamed “Taxi Jai Dee” (“Good-hearted Taxi”)—is an initiative of the Royal Thai Police.
Last Tuesday, deputy national police chief Ruangsak Jaritek was on hand at Chatuchak Bus Terminal, where he joined representatives from Taxi Thai, Hua Jai Inter Club, the Taxi Drivers’ Association of Thailand and the Transport Company in signing an a voluntary statement committing some 2,000 of Bangkok’s cabbies to offering service to any location at meter rates.
Though the agreement is being described as a “gift” to commuters and holidaymakers, the Bangkok police have also pointed out that refusing fares is against the law. Cabbies who snub farang passengers, or who refuse to service certain areas, can face a THB1,000 fine or a 15-day suspension of their drivers’ licenses under 1979’s Land Traffic Act.
The “Taxi Jai Dee” program is scheduled to run through New Year’s of 2014, so, Bangkokians: get ready for the best year of your lives.
