King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) and the Department of Land Transport (DLT) recently held a seminar on improving the quality of taxis.
At the seminar, the KMITL unveiled its GPS tracking system and a mobile application “TAXI OK”, in a bid to improve the value of local taxis. GPS tracking devices will relay the positions of taxis to a monitoring center, and TAXI OK, which will be operated by the DLT, provides other information about the taxi driver.
The department is expecting to issue a regulation that requires all taxis to install a GPS tracking device and linked to the DLT’s taxi management center. The move is part of the department’s initiative to improve the quality of taxis and address various issues, including drivers refusing to take passengers, not using the fare meter and other inappropriate practices.
Meanwhile the Thailand Development Research Institute has pointed out that in order to effectively achieve these goals, transport officials must work with taxi rental service providers to implement innovations and enforce regulations to maintain the quality of taxi services.
