Swindling cabby story goes viral after discovery of “Turbo Switch” under the dash

Every wondered why today’s cab journey is much more expensive than yesterday’s over the same distance? 

A Bangkok couple found out why…and some.  The couple arrived at Don Muang airport at 1 pm on Tuesday and got a cab to take them home to On Nut (Sukhumvit Soi 77). As usual they requested not to use the expressway. Everything appeared normal at first as the couple played on their phones until “Khun San” said that around Din Daeng he noticed that the numbers on the meter were blinking strangely.  It soon emerged that they were being charged for a journey of 25 kilometers – an application check revealed that the journey was just 15 kilometers. The couple refused to pay. They all went to the police station who said they should go to the Department of Land Transport. On the way there the male driver was very grumpy saying that when they find nothing wrong they will have to pay him 500 baht for his wasted time.  Three checks at the DLT revealed nothing wrong until a passing engineer delved deeper and found a switch under the dashboard near the steering wheel. Daily News called it a “turbo switch” in their headline. It was used to rip off passengers by boosting the fare.  The driver was fined by the DLT. Back at the police station he told the cops he would remove the switch himself.  The story went viral after appearing on the Facebook page of “Kaew Nutnaree”.  

Thai Visa /  Daily News

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