Bangkok Governor Cracks Down on Tuk-Tuk and Taxi Overcharging: Central World Traffic Woes Addressed

Bangkok—

On April 27th, 2024, Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, the Governor of Bangkok, and relevant Bangkok government agencies addressed the issue of tuk tuks and taxis parking in front of the Central World shopping center in Pathumwan, Bangkok.

According to the Governor of Bangkok, Central World had a massive number of visitors daily and many tuk-tuks and taxis were reportedly parked in front of the shopping center to pick up passengers. However, they allegedly parked along the road blocking traffic and only picked up foreign tourists as they could charge extra without using the taxi meter.

As a result, this caused traffic congestion although the Bangkok Government had previously set up a special lane especially for taxis and tuk tuks to pick passengers up. According to the Bangkok Governor, every type of vehicle could use this special lane and were prohibited from parking for more than an appropriate time.

The Bangkok Government pleaded for the cooperation of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers to keep the traffic in order. Potential passengers needed to call taxis only at three designated locations in the Central World vicinity.

Moreover, the Bangkok Government coordinated with the Thai Department of Land Transport to issue financial penalties for taxi and tuk-tuk drivers who overcharged passengers or did not use the taxi meter. It was also reported that some embassies from developed countries had previously complained about hail-riding taxi services haggling with customers in Thailand, said the Bangkok Governor.

The fare control for tuk-tuks and taxis was under the authority of the Thai Department of Land Transport. The Bangkok Government had officially presented the tuk-tuk and taxi meter problem to the Department of Land Transport to tackle the ongoing issues for the benefit of both Thai citizens and foreign tourists.