Teerayut Prasertpon, the head of the Phuket Transportation Department, said that since the department took over management of the island's taxis - including trying to control Phuket's illegal black plate taxis - in 2012, there had been a significant reduction in the number of complaints.
Complaints covered just about everything - including drivers leaving tourists stranded, overcharging, and cases of assault from drivers.
"All in all, the overall picture of the taxi industry is a lot better," Mr Terrayut said.
In the past, there were 2,882 black plate taxis operating, but now around 1500 of these had become registered and were now operating as legal green plates.
"Even if there's some black plate taxi drivers that still haven't registered to be legal, they are not too difficult to deal with because the police will charge them immediately."
In the future, Phuket International Airport will manage the taxis in the area. Those with larger engines will turn into green-plates, while those with smaller engines will turn into meter taxis. There are now 30 meter taxis working at the airport. In two or three years, authorities believe this will increase to around 300.