The friendly taxis of Bangkok were ranked the fifth best in the world in a recent survey by American booking website Hotels.com.
The survey asked participants from 29 countries to rate taxis in various global cities on seven different categories: cleanliness, value, quality of driving, knowledge of the area, friendliness, safety and availability
Bangkok taxis ranked first in terms of value – no big shock there, we suppose – but we would love to see how they rated for quality of driving!
London topped the list as the best city in the world to hail a taxi followed by New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Bangkok.
The survey had an interesting (and incorrect) “insider” recommendation about the Thai capital: “[Bangkok] is known for some of the world’s worst traffic, but if you take a tuk-tuk, a type of motorcycle with a small one or two passenger compartment attached to the back, you can scoot in between traffic and get to your destination in a more timely manner,” the survey said.
Last time we checked tuk-tuks don’t get you anywhere faster – they don’t actually fit in between traffic very well and you’re usually going to get hassled to stop at some scam gem shop or tailor.
The general consensus around Bangkok is that taxis are actually getting worse – they often reject passengers or won’t use the standard meter rate.
Taxi drivers say they are being squeezed by higher fuel rates, so they can’t accept unprofitable fares, but a a law was passed in August stipulating that taxi drivers can be arrested for rejecting passengers.
For Coconuts Bangkok’s feature on Bangkok town’s taxi troubles, click here.
