Ayutthaya tuktuk drivers prey on farang tourists

Tuktuk drivers have been preying on farang tourists who visit the ancient capital by collaborating with passenger van drivers to force them to use tuktuk rides, Nation TV reported.

The TV station has conducted an investigative report and found that the tuktuk drivers had collaborated with passenger van drivers to force farang tourist to get out of the vans one stop before they reach the destination in Ayutthaya downtown.

The stop is on Rojana Raod near the entrance to Chao Mae Taptim Shrine and near the Pridi Bridge. The tuktuk drivers have their stand there waiting for foreign tourists.

A Nation TV reporter observed the tuktuk drivers Sunday morning and found that when a passenger van arrived, they rushed to the van and ushered farang passengers to leave it.

A tuktuk driver was then seen handing out something to the van driver. A source from the tuktuk driver stand told Nation TV that the tuktuk drivers paid the van driver Bt20 for each farang who left the van at the stop.

The farang tourists were then swarmed by tuktuk drivers who offered to drive them to their hotels or the Ayuthtaya tourist information center of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. No matter which choice, the tourists had to pay Bt200 for the tuktuk ride.

According to the TV station, many foreign tourists had filed complaint at the center that they took the van from the Victory Monument in Bangkok to Ayutthaya but they were left at the spot to force them to use the tuktuk services. many tourists said they felt intimidated by the tuktuk drivers.

Deputy Ayutthaya traffic police chief Pol Lt Col Chanin Winin said he would consult other government agencies concerned how to deal with the issue.

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