Get ready to spend a few extra baht for taxis in Bangkok, but the good news is you can take rides in grab taxis without fear of breaking the law. Thailand Transport Minister announced in August that taxi fares would be increased just a little to settle some of the costs for the drivers. They also said they would amend the rules to allow the well-known service; Grab’s private services.
It was reported, from the 8th of September, starting meter taxi fares will not change at 35 baht, but there will be an increase by half a baht for the first 10 kilometres from 6 baht (US$0.20) to 6.50 baht per kilometre. When speed is below 6kph, perhaps, in rush hour traffic, the fares will increase per minute by THB3 instead of THB2.
Also, the surcharge meter taxi fares at the airports will increase from THB50 to THB70 and from THB70 to THB90 (US$3) for large taxis. Passengers with three or more large luggage items will be charged an additional THB20.
Although taxi drivers have a bad reputation, their incomes are not in line with the increased cost of living. This rise in fare comes one year after a demand was made for an increase for the airport surcharges by the Thai Public Taxi Association.
As for the private transport system, Grab Taxi or the Grab App, a private car service that is based in Singapore would be permitted to operate legally as long as their businesses are registered with the government to enable efficient tracking. This will bring out those Grab drivers who are in the hiding as it is illegal some years back. Regular taxis that were registered under Grab had no issues since their vehicles and drivers had state licenses.
