The Department of Special
Investigation (DSI) has opened an 'Organized Crime Center' [sic] at Phuket
International Airport to crack down on illegal taxi drivers still operating
there. The move follows widespread allegations of mafia operating on the island
and illegal taxi drivers
overcharging tourists. Here, the Phuket
Gazette investigates what it takes to become a Phuket taxi driver.
There are currently 2,110
taxis legally registered to operate in Phuket; 129 of those are metered taxis.
However, almost 1,000 more drivers continue to work illegally on the island,
gleaning profit from freshly arrived tourists, often through outright gouging.
During the crackdown
earlier this year, the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) identified 2,882
illegal taxis in Phuket. The crackdown inspired a further 1,981 taxi drivers to
apply to have their vehicles registered.
“The PLTO is currently processing those
applications,” explained PLTO officer Jaturong Kaewkasi.
However, that means at
least 900 taxi drivers are operating without having made any attempt to become
legal (storyhere).
Legally registering a car
has been cited as the most difficult hurdle to becoming a legal taxi driver.
Photo: Chutharat Plerin
“This is despite us granting them amnesty and
helping them by negotiating with finance companies, banks and insurance
companies to reduce the costs of re-registering their vehicles as private taxis
in order to become legal drivers,” Mr Jaturong said.
Although the amnesty ended
on April 30, drivers can still apply to register their vehicles as taxis and
apply for their taxi drivers’ licenses, he added.
Along with the carrot came
the stick. On May 1, police and PLTO officers were called upon to fine all drivers
caught for “illegally operating a vehicle as a taxi”. The fine levied was the
flat maximum 2,000 baht for each infringement.
The enforcement enjoyed
limited success. Phuket Provincial Police confirmed to the Gazette that
across the island 170 drivers were each fined 2,000 baht in April for not
applying to register their vehicles as taxis, while their counterparts who were
still illegally operating taxis but who had applied to become legal, were let
free.
A further 246 drivers were
fined in May, and another 224 in June.
However, the penalty is no
stiffer for repeat offenders. “We do not have stronger penalties for drivers
who repeatedly break the law. So far, the fine is 2,000 baht every time they
are caught,” Mr Jaturong said.
THE CARS
Regardless of whether a
taxi is fitted with a meter or not, the engine size must not be less than
1600cc. “It doesn’t matter which make or model of car it is, and there is no
restriction on the maximum size of the engine,” Mr Jaturong explained.
The vehicle cannot be more
than two years old at the time it is registered as a taxi, and cannot be used
as a taxi after the vehicle turns nine years old from the date the car was
first registered, he added.
Furthermore, there is no
such thing as an independent taxi driver in Phuket. The car must be registered
as working for a legally registered organization.
“This is a nationwide
regulation so that the driver of each taxi can be identified and reached in
case he does something wrong,” Mr Jaturong explained.
“The person registering the
taxi must provide evidence that he works for a formal organization. He can
provide a signed agreement proving he works as part of a taxi co-operative, or
an employment contract showing he works for a tourism business, such as a tour
kiosk, or for some other form of legal entity,” he added.
Regardless, so-called “taxi
groups” are not held accountable for their members’ actions, even if their
members consistently break the law.
“If their drivers are
involved in a crime, charges will be pressed against the driver, not the
group,” Mr Jaturong said.
“If there are complaints
against a driver, the group will resolve the issue themselves. They have their
own rules to punish drivers, such as suspending the drivers from work. The
number of days’ suspension – and hence lost income – will depend on what the
drivers have done wrong,” he assured.
THE DRIVERS
In order to carry
passengers in a taxi, drivers must be Thai nationals, as ferrying passengers is
a job prohibited to foreigners under the Alien Workers Act.
They must hold a commercial
driver’s license, be at least 22 years old and also hold a valid standard
driver’s license issued for five years.
Applicants must provide a
medical certificate affirming they are free from leprosy, tuberculosis, elephantiasis,
drug addiction and alcoholism.
And they must pass a test
which takes place over a two-day period at the PLTO, during which applicants
receive training in traffic law, basic English language, polite manners and
common courtesy, Mr Konlayut said.
They also undergo an
eyesight and reflex test.
As part of the process,
police conduct a background check.
“Any applicants found to
have served jail time for any crime will be rejected,” Mr Konlayut assured.
“However, repeat offenders,
even for traffic offenses such as reckless driving, will be issued a license to
drive a taxi in Phuket so long as they have not served a day in prison,” he
added.
Once issued their license,
on its large yellow card, the drivers must have it on display at all times
while driving the taxi.
THE INSURANCE
Every vehicle being
registered as a taxi must first have at least basic commercial insurance
coverage, as stipulated by the national Office of Insurance Commission, before
the PLTO will process its application.
The high cost of commercial
insurance has been an ongoing point of dispute among many illegal taxi drivers
in Phuket, who claim they cannot afford the rates.
To make insurance coverage
more affordable, the PLTO directly engaged in negotiations with finance
companies, banks and insurance companies on behalf of the drivers. The result,
after months of talks, was base policies starting at about 30,000 baht per
annum.
“We know it can be
expensive, but we have done the best we can – and this is a mandatory
requirement for a vehicle to be registered as a taxi,” Mr Jaturong confirmed.
Yet Patong Police Traffic
Inspector Ekkarat Plaiduang confirmed to the Gazette that his
officers would not pursue charges against any driver found driving without the
required insurance.
“Instead, we will report it
to the insurance company and let them decide whether they want to file a
complaint,’ Maj Ekkarat explained.
“If they do, we will charge
not the driver. but the owner of the car with providing false information on an
official document. The penalty for that is a fine of up to 60,000 baht or up to
three years in prison, or both,” he said.
Maj Ekkarat did not
elaborate on what action police would take in case passengers, including
tourists, are injured in an accident involving a taxi with inadequate insurance
coverage.
THE AIRPORT
The ultimate goal of nearly
every taxi driver on the island is to serve Phuket International Airport, which
Chanchai Doungjit, chief of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket
office, last month reported was the primary tourist gateway on an island that
attracts about 11 million visitors per year.
Tourists pump an estimated
200 billion baht into the local economy, said Mr Chanchai. The consequence is
that, for many taxi drivers in Phuket, the airport represents an easy avenue to
hard cash.
To legally serve the
airport, however, drivers must work for one of the taxi co-operatives that have
signed a concession with the facility’s operator, Airports of Thailand (AoT).
Prakob Panyawai, managing
director of Phuket Airport Limousine and Business Cooperative Ltd (PBC),
explained that all cars serving the airport must be of a higher standard than
regular taxis and the drivers must adhere to a dress and behavior code.
And drivers must pay the
concession holders they work for, who in turn pay the AoT. Which concession
they work for can affect their monthly take-home pay.
For example, Phuket Mai
Khao Co, which operates 175 taxis and vans at the airport, must pay the AoT 1.3
million baht a month – requiring each driver to pay nearly 7,500 baht each
month in dues. PBC, which operates 271 vehicles at the airport, owes the AoT
1.6mn baht a month – requiring each driver to pay about 5,900 baht a month.
Mr Prakob maintains that
his drivers take home between 15,000 to 20,000 baht per month.
“They have to make payments
on their own cars or pay a rental fee to use one of our fleet cars. Drivers who
have only recently joined us also have to pay a 10,000 baht deposit against
possible damage to the car they are driving,” he added.
“But the harder they work,
the more they earn, and the more they get to take home,” he said.
Additional Reporting by
Irfarn Jumdukor
This article first appeared
in the July 27 - August 2 issue of the hard-copy Phuket Gazette newspaper.
Digital subscribers may download full issues of the newspaper, this week and
every week, by clicking here.
(Chutharat Plerin - phuketgazette.net)