Thai Government given 15 days deadline to resolve taxi fare hike
Government given 15 days deadline to resolve taxi fare hike
A coalition of metropolitan Bangkok taxi drivers has given the government 15 days to respond to their demand for minimum fare increase and other welfare measures.
Groups of taxi drivers met Sunday to decide their next move, following meetings with government ministers and agencies concerned.
Withoon Naewpanij said the groups have decided to call off their original plan to rally in front of the Transport Ministry on Monday and to give the government 15 days to come up with measures to address their plight.
Among key demands called by the taxi drivers was a demand that the authorities raise the minimum fare of 35 baht for the first two kilometres, unchanged for the last decade.
In addition, the drivers ask for the authorities to regulate public taxi services in a more systematic manner,including provision of welfare benefits.
Mr. Withoon said the expectations are for the government and agencies concerned to announce concrete measures for both the short term and the long term.
If their demands are not met, the groups plan to rally over 1,000 taxies to protest at the Transport Ministry, downsize services by 30 per cent, slowing speed to no more 40 kilometres per hour and keeping lights on during the day, he said.
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Lorry operators threaten freight strike
The Land Transport Federation of Thailand is threatening to halt freight forwarding services nationwide unless the government promises relief from rising fuel prices within seven days - diesel subsidy and loans for converting to gas.
Federation chairman Yu Jienyuenyongpong, flanked by representatives of transport operators in various sectors said in a press conference Wednesday that the continued increase in diesel prices had considerably pushed up the overhead costs of transport truck operators considerably.
Federation secretary-general Thongyoo Kongkan said the government will have seven days to respond with the measures to meet its demands.
The transport of building materials took the heaviest toll since product prices are low while fuel cost had risen by up to 75 per cent.
Mr Yu said that transport of farm products had begun to decline because the harvesting season had gone by. Even so, fuel costs had increased by 60 per cent.
In the past, the operators were allowed to raise the transport cost by 3 per cent every time diesel price edged up by one baht.
But the continued rise in transport costs had reduced the number of customers seeking the services. It resulted in many operators stopping services and selling off 4,000-5,000 trucks.
To ease the hardship of the operators, he said the federation is calling on government to provide fuel at a special discount for the land transport sector, offer a securitisation plan so that operators could afford the natural gas for vehicles (NGV) kit installation, support soft loans with interest lower than 0.5 per cent per annum, and reducing the tax on new trucks with NGV engines to 10 per cent.
In addition, the federation asked the government for financial support through the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund for alternative energy consumption, to provide enough NGV stations in every region, to improve the quality of NGV fuel, and to prepare the NGV consumer plan for medium and long term use.
Mr Thongyoo said that unless there are concrete measures, the federation would stop transport services and a caravan of at least 10,000-12,000 trucks would move to Bangkok.
He said there would be no blockade of any roads, but that the caravan of trucks would be brought in to park somewhere to demonstrate that the operators had insufficient money to fill their trucks fuel tanks.
Taxi fares may rise
Bangkokians will have to pay 11 per cent higher on average as taxi fares, if Deputy Transport Minister Songsak Thongsri approves the fare increase Thursday.
Acting Land Transport Department director-general Chairat Sanguansue said the minister will weigh two options: First, the first 2km fare is maintained at Bt35 but the rates for subsequent distance is raised 50 satang to Bt1 per km. Second, the first 2km fare is Bt40, but the subsequent rate is raised at only 50 satang per km.
Songsak said he would discuss with Transport Minister Santi Prompat on the fare hikes, before issuing the ministerial regulations to validate the increase.