EU to issue Travel Advisory note about Phuket Tuk Tuks

[Brad the Impala]

Envoy warns of EU advisory against tourists using Phuket tuk-tuks


Austrian Ambassador to Thailand Johannes Peterlik warned Phuket's top officials of a Europe-wide travel advisory telling tourists not to use tuk-tuks while on holiday in Phuket.

PHUKET: The continued failure of local authorities to address problems of tuk-tuk drivers with foreign tourists could force European Union (EU) member states to issue a joint travel advisory warning against using tuk-tuks while in Phuket, the Austrian Ambassador to Thailand has warned.

Austrian Ambassador to Thailand Johannes Peterlik issued the warning to local officials during the third meeting between honorary consuls and Phuket officials at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article10917.html

Clearly the Phuket transport mafia appreciate the seriousness as a few days later:

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Phuket taxi mob beats driver in broad daylight

PHUKET: A gang of taxi drivers encamped outside an upscale resort on Phuket's west coast today beat a local driver with an iron bar before causing a reported 50,000 baht in damage to his car.

His tourist passengers were reportedly inside the vehicle at the time of the attack.

Preecha Choowong, 38, filed a complaint at Kamala Police Station this afternoon, after receiving treatment for his head wound at Patong Hospital.

http://phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2011/article10927.html

[Beachlover]

This whole issue with the price-fixing taxi mafia and corrupt government ripping cash out of tourists and local businesses is getting more and more f*cked in Phuket.

The price of everything in Phuket is massively inflated due to blatant price fixing and businesses having to pay so many bribes to corrupt government agencies.

1. In Bangkok, taxis run on a meter, which starts at 35 baht or something. In Phuket, tuk tuks won't start their engines for anything less than 200 baht, even for a 2 minute ride. Tuk tuks are the only type of taxi allowed to pick up passenger in the Patong Beach area. Metered taxis aren't allowed.

2. In Bangkok, the 30-40 min ride from the airport to central Bangkok is around 250 baht on the meter. In Phuket, the 40 min taxi ride from the airport to Patong Beach (feels like a similar distance) is 450-550 baht on the meter. Are the Phuket meters configured to run twice as fast?

3. A few months ago, there was even a proposal to fix a minimum nightly rate for hotels! That's ridiculous!

4. The jet ski scam on the beach operates with the assistance of the local police who will assist the jet ski hire thugs in negotiating a massively inflated repair bill for damage (or rigged damage) and detaining and confiscating the passports of tourists until they pay up.

5. Sometime ago, a US Navy warship dropped by for shore leave. They sensibly organised minibuses to take the sailors into town. The tuk tuks got pissed off with them circumventing their rip off fixed prices and BLOCKADED the docks, leaving the sailors stranded on their ship for sometime. I've also heard of Navy or Cruise ships being forced to pay a fixed price for minibuses (i.e. no competitive pricing allowed).

It's just f***ed... What gives these organisations the right to impose price fixing and anti-competitive regulations and behaviour on Phuket's tourist industry?

I suspect there's just too many people drinking from this well and it's too ingrained now for anyone local to stop it or wind it back. I wonder if it would even be possible for the government in Bangkok to solve the issue (assuming they wanted to).

The Australian Government hasn't issued a travel warning against traveling to Phuket yet but has had this warning relating to crime in Phuket up on its site for some time:


Carefully consider your safety and the implications of accidents if you hire a motorcycle or jet ski. Australian travellers continue to report harassment and threats of violence by jet ski operators on tourist beaches, particularly in Phuket. You should check with your travel insurer whether these activities are covered by your policy. You may be detained and arrested by police following jet ski and motorcycle accidents until compensation, often in thousands of dollars, can be negotiated between parties.

--

Australian travellers continue to report harassment and threats of violence by jet ski operators on tourist beaches, particularly in Phuket. Many travellers have reported that, after returning hired jet skis, they have been confronted by gangs claiming that the tourist damaged the jet ski. There have been reported instances of such gangs threatening violence, including at knifepoint, if a large sum of money in compensation for the alleged damage is not paid.

Operators may request your passport as a deposit or guarantee before hiring jet skis or motorbikes. If there is a dispute about damage to a rented jet ski or motorbike, rental operators may try to keep your passport until they receive compensation. Passports are valuable documents that should be appropriately protected. We recommend that Australians do not provide passports as deposits or guarantees.

From: http://smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Thailand

It's a shame it doesn't specify that local police will actually side with and assist the criminals in this rip off as this is the last thing cornered tourists expect... You can't go to the police for help at all. I think the only people you can go to are your embassy (local honorary consul) or hire a lawyer.

[christianpfc]

In Phuket, tuk tuks won't start their engines for anything less than 200 baht, even for a 2 minute ride.
Thanks for this (and the other) information. Now Phuket is finally off my list of places to visit in Thailand (it was far down anyway, I read other scam stories before). When it comes to prices for individual transport, I'm very sensitive to what I regard as overpriced (or maybe it is really that expensive to run a tuk-tuk in Phuket that they have to charge these amounts?). This was already a matter in Samui, where I rather walked half an hour than pay something I considered overpriced (if I go to Samui again I will rent a bicyle so I won't need any other form of transport). (However the double pricing for Thai and Farang for entrence to museums etc. is fine with me, does anyone have an explanation?)

[Beachlover]

I think it's worth visiting once if there are things there you want to see... but I won't be a repeat visitor anymore. There's other beach destinations, which offer what I want now.

Phuket has definitely earned its reputation as a great beach holiday/party destination as it really is very beautiful and there's lots to do there. It's just a shame it's abusing this with anti-competitive behaviour, vicious price gouging and corruption and will lose a lot of the tourism it's built up.

But it does give other destinations (e.g. Krabi) an excellent opportunity to close the gap.

[jinks]

As I said on 12 December 2010......gay-thailand-f9/2nd-bottle-t20474.html?hilit=phuket (http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/gay-thailand-f9/2nd-bottle-t20474.html?hilit=phuket)

Phuket is loosing it and it is no longer on my itinerary for future trips :-
Too tacky due I think to lower visitor numbers resulting in staff reductions and no new investment.
As a "beach" resort without the Gay element it is excellent anywhere away from Patong Beach.

[thrillbill]

Thank goodness the situation is different in Bangkok. I never have any problems using the taxis in Bangkok --the drivers turn on their meters and I get charged according to the meter. Very reasonable and no hassles and a goodby with a smile (and because of the arsehole tuk tuk drivers in Phuket/or the private Pattaya baht drivers t charge too much) I always tip the BKK taxi drivers for their non hassle, polite service. The Phuket tuk tuk drivers not only charge way too much, they are arrogant, angry son of a LEECHES. The mafia controls these drivers in Phuket and Pattaya so the city officials cannot do anything. :violent1:

[Beachlover]

Thank goodness the situation is different in Bangkok. I never have any problems using the taxis in Bangkok --the drivers turn on their meters and I get charged according to the meter. Very reasonable and no hassles and a goodby with a smile (and because of the arsehole tuk tuk drivers in Phuket/or the private Pattaya baht drivers t charge too much) I always tip the BKK taxi drivers for their non hassle, polite service. The Phuket tuk tuk drivers not only charge way too much, they are arrogant, angry son of a LEECHES. The mafia controls these drivers in Phuket and Pattaya so the city officials cannot do anything. :violent1:
Same experience... But that's because Bangkok's population isn't overwhelmingly a transient tourist population like Phuket, so people wouldn't allow such an obvious rip off mafia to become so entrenched there.

Same experience... But that's because Bangkok's population isn't overwhelmingly a transient tourist population like Phuket, so people wouldn't allow such an obvious rip off mafia to become so entrenched there.

That's true but you still find unscrupulous taxi drivers who cruise or park near favorite tourist spots in Bangkok, sometimes paying the BIB for the privilege to do so, that they can rip unsuspecting tourists off by quoting a fare instead of using the meter. To anyone visiting Bangkok just go by the rule saying you want the meter on, never agree to any fare quoted for a trip within the city. If he says "no meter" pass him by as there are hundreds of other taxis that will use the meter.

[Beachlover]

Totally right, Combat. The difference between that and Phuket, is in Bangkok (if you're not an oblivious tourist) you can avoid the occasional rip off taxis.

Where as in Phuket, they're all working together in collusion. They fix the minimum fare (i.e. price fixing) at a ridiculously amount. No tuk tuk driver will accept less. They then imposed a heap of rules designed to remove the competition - i.e. meter taxis and other services aren't allowed to pick up passengers in Patong on the penalty of getting bashed.

Hence, you either accept it or walk because there's no other option (other than motorbikes, which are also price fixed).

[ceejay]

That's true but you still find unscrupulous taxi drivers who cruise or park near favorite tourist spots in Bangkok
There are always taxis parked outside the Tarntawan. Whenever I have been with a Thai he has always walked straight past them and flagged down one that was moving along Surawong. This is why.

That's true but you still find unscrupulous taxi drivers who cruise or park near favorite tourist spots in Bangkok
There are always taxis parked outside the Tarntawan. Whenever I have been with a Thai he has always walked straight past them and flagged down one that was moving along Surawong. This is why.


ceejay,

Why did you think he walked past him, did you think he didn't like the colour of the cab???........... :laughing3: