In attendance to the today’s meeting were representatives from tuk-tuk, taxi and limousine associations, chief of Phuket Provincial Police and the Royal Thai Army's 41st Military Circle.
Director of the Phuket Land Transportation Office Sommai Sutkhao said, “I decided to hold this meeting because of the recent complaint made by a passenger about high taxi and tuk-tuk prices.
“I thought it best to invite representatives from the public transport sector so I could ask them their opinion about the current price structure on them about the price structure and to see whether it would be acceptable to them to set a new price below the current B200” he said.
Mr Sommai produced a document which showed that the set price of B200 was initiated by then governor Maitree Intusut in December 2012.
He continued, “After surveying tourist areas such as Kata and Karon I found that they covered a distance of no more than four kilometers so I suggested that perhaps a new rate should be set at B100 for distances of no more than one kilometer or within the same beach area such as within Kata or Karon.
“However, some people in the meeting do not agree to my suggestion, so I would like them to think about my it and talk about this issue with other representatives.
“I hope that we can reach some conclusion about this issue within a month,” he concluded.
It was decided to reconsider reducing the price of taxi fares on the island after a video of a Thai speaking westerner complaining about the high prices went viral over the weekend. (See story here.)