Motorbike taxis to see limits, licensing under new proposal

Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh (left) and Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho meet with city officials to hash out details of a new system, which designates legally operated motorbike taxis with yellow license plates.

Thanachot Anuwan
Area officials are taking new steps to regulate motorbike taxis by imposing limits on the number of drivers and requiring tax payments and licenses.
Publicly acknowledging that motorbike taxi drivers are a major contributor to the area’s crime problem, Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho and Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh met Oct. 18 to hash out details of a new system, which designates legally operated motorbike taxis with yellow license plates.
Sakchai said as many as 5,000 motorbikes are parked on street corners and outside condominiums offering taxi service. However, he said, many are involved in crime and criminals make up a “large number of the underlying population.” Taxi drivers frequently are arrested for drug dealing and involvement in violent crime.
Sakchai said he has asked the Chonburi Transport Department to inspect motorbike taxis operating in Pattaya and issue legitimate drivers yellow license plates. At the same time, the department would require records of tax payments and limit the number of plates issued to control the taxi population.
City taxi drivers will get a chance to express their views on the proposal at an Oct. 30 hearing.
Motorbike taxis currently face a minimal amount of regulation. Drivers must wear colored and numbered vests corresponding to regions, but virtually no other rules are enforced on them, leading to countless disputes over fares and service every week. Tourist surveys consistently point to motorbike taxis as one of Pattaya’s worst problems.

Auk Pansaa signals the end of the rainy season

Chonburi governor urges cooperation to aid flood victims

City officials looking to improve traffic argue over road barriers

Pattaya-area neighborhoods take beating from Typhoon Nari

Pattaya krathong contest Nov. 17 offers 100,000 baht in prizes

Pattaya sprays flooded areas to kill disease-carrying mosquitoes

Endless road work infuriates Naklua 16-18 residents

4 Lithuanians arrested in 35 million baht ATM card theft

American-Thai receptionist found dead at Pattaya hotel

4 injured in Sattahip road crash

Farmer electrocuted with frogs in Banglamung

Rayong truck driver arrested in tire-replacement scam

Stoned man tries to donate drugs to flood victims in Sattahip

Pattaya marks Supreme Patriarch’s 100th birthday with morality lectures

Pattaya donates 70,000 baht in flood relief to 2 eastern provinces

Government pitches 2 trillion baht infrastructure plan in Pattaya

Royal foundation donates aid to Chonburi flood victims

Motorbike taxis to see limits, licensing under new proposal

Region mobilizes to aid flood victims in Phanat Nikhom, Panthong

Eastern Seaboard marks end of Buddhist Lent