The taxi driver network submitted a letter to Transport Ministry yesterday to increase the second phase of scheduled fare hikes due to rising prices of NGV fuel.
Witoon Naewpanich, chairman of Bangkok’s taxi cooperative network, requested an increase of 13 percent from the original 5 percent in the second phase of fare hike approved last year. The new fare will be implemented this month.
Witoon said the NGV prices have gone up THB1.5 per kilogram, increasing the expenses of taxi drivers by about THB100 per day.
“If the government doesn’t approve the 13 percent fare increase that we requested or come up with other solutions, we believe that the same old problems people face when using a taxi will definitely come back,” Witoon threatened.
“Passengers will be rejected. The service is poor, and the car is poorly maintained,” he told Spring News. “We will give Ministry of Transport some time to consider. If we receive no response, I will summon the members (taxi drivers) and decide what to do next.”
The taxi driver network submitted their letter along with the private bus operators, who requested a three-baht fare increase and are also threatening to pull their vehicles off the road, according to Bangkok Post.
“More than 1,000 buses have stopped plying their routes because they have run out of money to pay for gas,” said Phattharawadi Klomcharoon, president of the Private Bus Operators Association. “If the government does not approve the increase, more buses will have stop services.”
Photo: NNT
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