Move to hike taxi fare gets huge thumbs down: poll

A Nida Poll has reported that 81 per cent of respondents are unhappy with the new taxi fare that raises the immobile rate from Bt2 per minute to Bt3 per minute.
The poll conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration reveals the results of a survey on “Transport Minister Gives Green Light for Taxi Fare Increase”. The survey on August 8-9 surveyed 1,505 residents of Bangkok and its perimeter. The respondents came from a wide spectrum of society.
According to the poll, 62.52 per cent of participants disagreed with the raising of the taxi fare from the second to the 10th kilometre from Bt6 to Bt6.50 per km, arguing that the old rate was already high, the prices of NGV/gasoline had not gone up substantially, and the service quality did not merit the hike.
Of the respondents, 35.02 per cent agreed with the hike, reasoning that it could reduce the problem of taxi drivers refusing customers, while 2.46 per cent answered “do not know/are not sure”.
The great majority who disagreed with the immobile rate hike argued that driving in a traffic jam was inevitable and should be considered a part of the service. However, 18.07 per cent of respondents backed the raise, citing the same reasons, while 0.93 per cent were unsure.
The poll also explored public opinions on the hike in airport taxi surcharge from Bt50 to Bt70 for small vehicles and Bt90 for large vehicles. Some 76 per cent disagreed with the raise, saying airport taxis had already monopolised the service and passengers were not allowed to call taxis from outside the airport. They also said that the service quality did not merit a price raise. Around 22 per cent agreed with the raise, saying it was reasonable and affordable for most airport users. About 1.51 per cent of respondents were unsure.