The Department of Land Transport (DLT) is scheduled to meet with representatives from Uber to discuss legalization of their ride-hailing service as well as measures against illegal taxi services on Monday.
Though they will listen to Uber’s thoughts on making their service legal in Thailand, they have stressed that the law needs to be respected.
In his remarks regarding such popular taxi applications as Uber and Grab Car, DLT Director-General Sanit Promwong pointed out that their services are against the law due to the use of personal vehicles for public hire. He said the department and the joint committee responsible for reorganizing public transport vehicles will hold a meeting on March 20 to gather ideas on how to allow only legal vehicles for hire on the streets..
Sanit conceded that taxi applications are a new alternative for commuters and that their availability can help uplift the standard of the national transport system. Nonetheless, he urged the public to use only properly registered vehicles operated by certified drivers since their services are traceable and fares are collected as specified by the law, reported Thai News Bureau.
The Director-General also announced that the DLT is in the process of developing their own application for hailing taxis. The new app, which is expected to be linked to over 100,000 taxis, is aimed at upgrading the quality of taxi services in the country by ensuring more convenience and safety for passengers.
