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[sriracha john]

Taxis to Raise Fare Following LPG Price Hike

The Transport Ministry prepares to announce a taxi fare hike following an increase in liquefied petroleum gas prices. Taxi fares should go up by about eight to ten baht per a trip.

The Land Transport Department Director-General Chairat Sanguansue revealed that a committee, made up of representatives from taxi cooperatives and consumer groups, has been set up to look into a taxi fare hike. This follows requests by taxi operators for a fare hike as the fares have not gone up for over a decade but costs have gone up with the increases in the prices of oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The committee has decided to keep the base fare at 35 baht but will shorten the distance interval for fare increments on the meter. This should result in a hike of eight to ten baht on average per taxi trip so taxi drivers should be able to earn an additional 100 baht per day, based on an average of 14 trips a day.

However, this new fare structure will have to be approved by the Transport Ministry before it can be implemented.

The department is also trying to increase the number of taxis using natural gas (NGV), which about 20% of taxis in Bangkok are already using, to alleviate the burden from the LPG price hike. The government will be subsidizing the cost of the engine conversion to use NGV and has already announced that all new taxis to come out on the streets must be outfitted to use only NGV.

Secretary-General of a taxi federation Kasemsarnt Chompudaeng says the higher LPG price will result in less revenue for taxi drivers by as much as 200 baht per 12-hour shift. This, coupled with higher costs of living, will hurt the families of the 150,000 taxi drivers in Bangkok.

She also says the promotion to convert taxis engines to use NGV is not effective because there is still a shortage of NGV filling stations in Bangkok. Taxi operators will hand a letter to the Energy Ministry to ask for help to combat rising costs and have threaten to come out with pressure methods if their demands are not met.

- Thailand Outlook

[Captain Haddock]

sriracha john, on 2007-12-04 12:56:27, said:

Taxis to Raise Fare Following LPG Price Hike

This follows requests by taxi operators for a fare hike as the fares have not gone up for over a decade but costs have gone up with the increases in the prices of oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Didn't the fares go up three years ago? I seem to remember they were 27/28 Bt and then they jumped to 35 Bt. Am I missing something here?

[jbowman1993]

Captain Haddock, on 2007-12-04 13:52:46, said:

sriracha john, on 2007-12-04 12:56:27, said:

Taxis to Raise Fare Following LPG Price Hike

This follows requests by taxi operators for a fare hike as the fares have not gone up for over a decade but costs have gone up with the increases in the prices of oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Didn't the fares go up three years ago? I seem to remember they were 27/28 Bt and then they jumped to 35 Bt. Am I missing something here?

The fares have been at 35 baht base fare for at least the last 5 years, since I've been here.  They are incredibly cheap, and the drivers should certainly get an increase, in line with fuel and cost of living adjustments.  Should have been done a few years ago imo.

Edited by jbowman1993, 2007-12-04 13:55:57.

[Dakhar]

Wow, not that is a signal of a strong complex economy when a govt. gets concerned about taxi fares due to higher fuel costs.

[blizzard]

you know.  some say one of the reason s they cum here is to enjoy the cheap taxis.

[quiksilva]

Taxi fares have been at 35 Baht since I arrived 10 years ago. Given the rise in fuel costs during this time I'm surprised that this didn't happen sooner.

[Florin]

This is a reasonable increase given the price changes of the past decade...definitely better than reaching a point where taxis wouldn't bother using the meter anymore.

[sriracha john]

I think it's particularly reasonable of them not to put the increase on the flag-drop rate...

A suspicious cynic might even be concerned about all this reasonable-ness involving taxis... it's just not normal.

Edited by sriracha john, 2007-12-04 16:19:58.

[BangnaBound]

I was unaware of the taxi shortage in Bangkok.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that the supply of taxis in Bangkok is pretty flexible, ie no quotas.  If anything, judging by the number of empty taxis roaming the streets, it could be argued taxi fares are already too high.  I’m not saying taxi fare should be decreased, but any increase in taxi fares will not benefit drivers for very long if new taxis are allowed to enter the market.  As drives start to make more baht, new taxis will enter the supply and wages will drop back down to close to where they were before.  The only real winners are the guys renting the taxis, who are also the ones probably pushing for the change.

[Florin]

BangnaBound, on 2007-12-04 17:04:29, said:

I was unaware of the taxi shortage in Bangkok.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that the supply of taxis in Bangkok is pretty flexible, ie no quotas.  If anything, judging by the number of empty taxis roaming the streets, it could be argued taxi fares are already too high.  I'm not saying taxi fare should be decreased, but any increase in taxi fares will not benefit drivers for very long if new taxis are allowed to enter the market.  As drives start to make more baht, new taxis will enter the supply and wages will drop back down to close to where they were before.  The only real winners are the guys renting the taxis, who are also the ones probably pushing for the change.

There's nothing wrong with being able to get a taxi pretty much at any time, let there be a lot of them...in Moscow (excellent Metro aside) you can see just how messed up it is not to have proper taxis when you need one. Bangkok is really one of the world's best deals when it comes to taxi prices and quality of cars on offer...in Burma you pay similar prices for non-aircon 20-year old junkers.

[samran]

BangnaBound, on 2007-12-04 11:04:29, said:

I was unaware of the taxi shortage in Bangkok.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that the supply of taxis in Bangkok is pretty flexible, ie no quotas.  If anything, judging by the number of empty taxis roaming the streets, it could be argued taxi fares are already too high.  I’m not saying taxi fare should be decreased, but any increase in taxi fares will not benefit drivers for very long if new taxis are allowed to enter the market.  As drives start to make more baht, new taxis will enter the supply and wages will drop back down to close to where they were before.  The only real winners are the guys renting the taxis, who are also the ones probably pushing for the change.

you beat me to it!!!

The amount of supply suggest that Taxi drivers are making a level of income which covers the rental and then pays enough for them. BKK traffic would be significantly better if there were less taxi's about.

Of course, it is the owners who are going to benefit this, and with higher fares, then you'll only seem more taxi's about worsening the traffic situation.

[lazeeboy]

Florin, on 2007-12-04 15:12:40, said:

This is a reasonable increase given the price changes of the past decade...definitely better than reaching a point where taxis wouldn't bother using the meter anymore.

most dont anyway.

[SamuiJens]

blizzard, on 2007-12-04 08:21:01, said:

you know.  some say one of the reason s they cum here is to enjoy the cheap taxis.

Exactly, I come to JUST drive in taxi's all day for my 4 wwk vacation, since it's soo cheap!   



Not on Samui, it isn't!

Edited by SamuiJens, 2007-12-04 18:18:21.

[Florin]

lazeeboy, on 2007-12-04 18:06:24, said:

Florin, on 2007-12-04 15:12:40, said:

This is a reasonable increase given the price changes of the past decade...definitely better than reaching a point where taxis wouldn't bother using the meter anymore.

most dont anyway.

Perhaps in Samui...in BKK unless you only take taxis from Patpong at 2AM, they DO use the meter.

[JimsKnight]

Glad I don't live in BKK

[freitag1]

Oh my god 8 Baht !?!
I will take the bus from now on...

Edited by freitag1, 2007-12-04 18:26:19.

[dotcom]

Dakhar, on 2007-12-04 13:58:30, said:

Wow, not that is a signal of a strong complex economy when a govt. gets concerned about taxi fares due to higher fuel costs.

The gov't sets the price of fuel & the government sets the price of taxi rides.

The old Soviet Union would be proud.

Super unleaded is 33 baht at the pump. I guess the government got out of the price stabilization business. One can only wonder how they squander the 7% VAT.

[yeti]

sriracha john, on 2007-12-04 16:19:07, said:

I think it's particularly reasonable of them not to put the increase on the flag-drop rate...

A suspicious cynic might even be concerned about all this reasonable-ness involving taxis... it's just not normal.

We don't know by how much it will increase (government saying that on average it will be 8 baht / trip, that's not what I call good enough information) so how can you call it reasonable?  

[deminister]

Yes you are missing a lot. Fares NEVER went up. they are already 35 baht since 1992/1993 or so. It is about time that the fares went up, nobody can make a decent living on those fares and wen nobody can make a living it means that they cannot afford the maintenance and so on what ultimately means that the safety of the passengers is becoming dismal. They have my blessing, we all need to eat.

[maxcrc]

yeti, on 2007-12-04 18:33:05, said:

sriracha john, on 2007-12-04 16:19:07, said:

I think it's particularly reasonable of them not to put the increase on the flag-drop rate...

A suspicious cynic might even be concerned about all this reasonable-ness involving taxis... it's just not normal.

We don't know by how much it will increase (government saying that on average it will be 8 baht / trip, that's not what I call good enough information) so how can you call it reasonable?  

my friend everything has risen worldwide not only oil, but also gas, diesel,  electricity, food, etc.
Taxis fares in Thailand -to be honest- may be regarded the cheapest in the world in compared to the quality.
Well, you can even get cheaper in collective taxis in Accra or Kampala, sit with 7-8 people in a 30 years old car.
But for new air-con cars with good taxi drivers (mostly) the prices in Thailand are ridicolusly low.
That s why so many times they refuse to pick up people, for certainly routes at certain times of the day they simply has no profit at all.

I understand you may need to pay some more...but we have been pay more for everything in the past few years and taxi drivers must live with the same money ?? Give them a break.

Just let s hope rises will be not more than 10%.

[yeti]

I don't say that a rise is not necessary (having family members in the business I know it is long overdue), but I am surprised that some people can already tell it will be reasonable, when we don't have any information on the increase itself.

[madjbs]

In my opinion they should implement a taxi license quota set at the current amount of taxis, similar to that before 1992 when the meter was introduced. There is no need for even more taxis on the streets. It would be better for everyone if they did.

[tigerbeer]

all of this rise in petroleum products is never ending.  comes to mind of the film "who killed the electric cars".

[Naam]

freitag1, on 2007-12-04 18:25:30, said:

Oh my god 8 Baht !?!
I will take the bus from now on...

can't afford a bus. will walk  

[dantilley]

lazeeboy, on 2007-12-04 18:06:24, said:

Florin, on 2007-12-04 15:12:40, said:

This is a reasonable increase given the price changes of the past decade...definitely better than reaching a point where taxis wouldn't bother using the meter anymore.

most dont anyway.

Actually, taxis just about always use the meter.