Pattaya tourism businesses plan to meet Friday with the province’s transportation regulator to discuss the massive increase in fares taxis are now charging to go from Bangkok’s airports to Pattaya.
Thanet Supornsahatrangsi, chairman of the Chonburi Tourism Industry Council, said transport from Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang international airports has become an early stumbling block for Thailand’s limited reopening. There aren’t enough cabs and the ones that are running have jacked up rates by 67 percent.
Under the new rules for fully vaccinated tourists arriving since Nov. 1, quarantine and SHA+ certified hotels are required to provide transport from the airport. Many of them take tourists first to a hospital for coronavirus testing.
But the first two days of operation at Suvarnabhumi showed the hotels provided an inadequate supply of transport. Some placed families in taxis. But not many qualifying taxis are available, Thanet said.
Cab companies must be Safety and Health Administration Plus-certified and drivers must be fully vaccinated. Furthermore, cabs must have green or yellow commercial-transport licenses. Many do not.
Puwanat Suppasettaporn, manager for Taxi Pattaya Dot Net Co., said fully vaccinating drivers is not the problem. That’s done. But Land Transport Department offices were closed for months, preventing cabs from getting the proper license plates.
Thanet said a greater problem is the price gouging going on. Cabbies used to charge 1,400-1,500 baht to bring people to Pattaya from the two airports. While rates are supposed to be regulated, the fares now have jumped to 2,300-2,500 baht.
Clearly, many drivers are refusing to use meters.
Thanet said tourism council members will meet with the Chonburi Land Transport Office to discuss the impact the driver shortage and exorbitant fares are having on Pattaya tourism.
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