Drivers of 1,700 van taxis serving Suvarnabhumi airport have called off a threat to strike after authorities agreed to cap the number of passengers per cab at four.
Airports of Thailand Plc had been trying to persuade drivers to carry more than four people per car in order to speed up the discharge of visitors from Suvarnabhumi.
In talks held late Thursday, all sides agreed that more than four passengers in a car made it hard to see in the rear-view mirror and that would compromise safety, said Dalad Asaves, deputy director of Suvarnabhumi airport.
The meeting involved airport authorities and representatives of the drivers, the Land Transport Department, the Army, tourist police and local police.
In return, authorities asked drivers to always use their meters and not to dump passengers en route because that would damage the image of the airport and the country, Miss Dalad said.
Pathawi Meerach, the drivers' representative, said that while the strike threat was off, drivers still wanted authorities to raise their airport service surcharge to 90 baht from 50 baht.
Earlier he said that the four-passenger limit was essential because taxi insurance covered only four passengers.
A source at the Land Transport Department said on Friday, however, that the claim merely proved that drivers were defying a department requirement. It says each taxi driver should have insurance coverage for at least six passengers.
Taxi drivers were simply choosing to buy cheaper insurance policies from small firms to cover four insured passengers, the source said.