Three taxi drivers fined and suspended

BANGKOK: — THE Land Transport Department has swiftly punished three taxi drivers – two for charging Japanese passengers more than their meter-based fares and the other for abandoning his passengers.

The three drivers, who all picked up passengers from Suvarnabhumi Airport, were slapped with a fine and 30-day suspension of their driver’s licence.

“Laws require that taxi drivers collect fares based on the meter system. They just can’t demand whatever amount they want,” the department’s director-general Theerapong Rodprosert said yesterday.

His department has investigated the actions of Nirut Phosri and Panomyong Kaew-ammart after a social-media post complained about taxis from the airport charging passengers a flat fee – not fares based on distance and time of the ride, on April 18.

“We investigated further and located the offending drivers,” Theerapong said.

He said Nirut and Panomyong had admitted that they demanded Bt600 and Bt550 per ride from Japanese passengers.

Both Nirut and Panomyong were thus fined Bt1,000 and their taxi licences suspended.

Kongsak Kaenrat, another taxi driver, also has to pay a Bt1,000 fine and will have his driver’s licence suspended for 30 days after he abandoned passengers on a motorway on April 15.

Theerapong said such offences had affected public confidence in taxi services and harmed the image of Thailand.

He urged people to help monitor the behaviour of taxi drivers via the DLT Check in application.

Source: The Nation