The Ministry of Transport is considering a fare hike for cabs participating in “Taxi Ok,” a new program in which nearly 13,000 Thai cabs have installed extra equipment for passengers’ safety.
The ministry is seeking an 8 percent fare increase for the cabs, which have been equipped with GPS, cameras, and emergency buttons, Transport Deputy Director-General Kamol Buranapong said yesterday.
Currently, 12,986 out of 80,647 taxis nationwide have participated in the Taxi Ok project, Post Today reported.
While fares would go up 8 percent overall for the cabs taking part, the formula has yet to be clarified, as meters in the Taxi Ok vehicles will still start at THB35.
The formal proposal is to be submitted to Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith sometime this week, and a decision will be reached within 30 days, Kamol said.
The director-general said that Thai cabbies now earn an average of THB1,564 per day. But after deducting all expenses, they’re left with only about THB400. Thailand’s minimum wage is THB300.
Kamol said that taxi drivers’ income should be about 1.5 times the minimum wage, based on researches in other countries in Europe and Asia.
Although taxi rates have been the same since 2014 — and, let’s face it, are pretty low by regional standards — few seem to have much sympathy for the industry.
Authorities have received nearly 50,000 complaints about taxi services in the past year. The top complaint? That cabs refuse passengers.
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