After refusing to come to terms with Uber, Thailand will launch its own taxi app “Taxi OK” next month and will require all new taxis to meet the app’s high standards.
The Taxi Ok scheme requires taxi drivers to install a number of gadgets, including a GPS tracking device, taxi trip recording, driver identification device, snapshot security camera, and emergency button for passenger safety.
The meter will start at the normal rate of THB35, and as soon as the passengers hop on their ride, their information will be sent to the taxi center of Department of Land Transport (DLT), who will record the pick-up and drop-off locations, fares, travel time, and even collect a snapshot of the passengers for safety reasons, Bangkok Biz News reported.
So be sure to smile, folks.
However, since DLT opened registration for taxis to join the Taxi Ok app last week, the taxi drivers are not okay, as they still need to prepare a whole lot to meet the government’s standards.
Witoon Naewpanich, president of Taxi Cooperative Network, told Daily News that the new scheme requires taxis to install about THB20,000 worth of devices, and the network would likely wait to see the feedback of customers first to decide whether to join the app or not.
But he said that about 35,000 out of 55,000 taxis in Bangkok will be removed from the roads by the end of the year since taxis can not legally be older than nine years old. By then, the taxi operators will have to obtain new cars to register with the DLT, which means they will have to meet the app’s standards no matter what.
