I first read about this in The Bangkok Post just a few days before Saturday, and while I think it has good intentions, the reality of enforcing this law seems a bit unrealistic.
While there are many taxi drivers here who are great and take you to your destination without any problems, I've definitely had my fair share of issues because of a few bad apples as well.
In Bangkok, the city's norm really seems to be that if a driver doesn't feel like going to where you tell them, they just refuse and drive on. And since this practice is so widely accepted, I don't think many Thai people will try to change the driver's mind because they most likely want to avoid any sort of altercation with them. There are so many other logistical aspects of this new change that seems like it would be pretty hard to implement. Perhaps the law could possibly take a while in showing a difference in the accepted behavioral standards related to this, but I guess we'll have to say.
A police official in The Bangkok Post suggested that people call the city's traffic police hotline to submit their complaints. He also suggested always trying to record the initial conversation with the taxi driver to use as possible evidence, but of course it should be done "discreetly" so the driver doesn't react angrily or start threatening violence (which actually wouldn't be out of the question here).
Yeah, I don't know---it doesn't really sound like anything I'd want to do. Next time, if a driver refuses to take me to my destination, I have no problem whatsoever trying to flag down another passing one who would. Compared to yellow cabs in NYC, the taxi riding experience in Bangkok can sometimes get a bit more intense, and these are particular situations that I am just much happier not having anything to do with.
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