BANGKOK, 26 March 2015 – 17 cab drivers were penalized on the first day of the government’s drive to ‘re-organize’ the taxi service in Bangkok.
Department of Land Transport Deputy Director-General Chirute Visalachitra inspected the work of officials in front of Siam Paragon Department store on Wednesday, after which he disclosed that checks on taxi drivers had been carried out at four spots within Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong area, namely MBK, Siam Paragon, Central World and Platinum department stores.
Ten of the 17 offending taxi drivers were fined for turning down passengers, four for not turning on the meter, two for being improperly dressed, and one for failing to pay for the annual car tax.
According to Mr. Chirute, cab drivers who are first-time offenders would be fined no more than 1,000 baht and must undergo training arranged to improve service-mindedness. Second-time offenders would have their licenses suspended for 30 days and must undergo another training. Third-time offenders would have their licenses suspended for six months and must undergo yet another training. Any driver who commits three offenses within one month will have their license revoked.
Passengers may download the “DLT Check in” application for mobile devices to rate each taxi driver’s quality of service and to give their feedback for the service. The information will be sent directly to the Department of Land Transport’s database so improvement to service can be made and offenders can be penalized.
