All taxis must pass standard checks before fare increase

Mr.Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Deputy Minister of Transport, said the Department of Land Transport has been conducting inspections of taxis before a fare rise is announced in December.According to him, since 3 November, 3,591 taxis have registered for inspection, and 74% of them passed the test. Top reasons for the failure were worn-out and unclean car seats. Mr. Arkhom said the inspections will continue on the 110,000 taxi vehicles now in service.The Deputy Minister said the fare rise is expected to lead to a decrease in the problem of driver’s refusal to take in passengers by 50%. The fare increase will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, a fair rise will be made after all taxis have passed the inspection. The second-phase increase will be allowed if evaluation shows passengers’ satisfaction over taxi service.

NNT