The Transport Ministry is keeping a 5% taxi fare rise on hold after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the ministry to address the problem of cheating taxi drivers first.
Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said the premier told the ministry to intensify efforts to stop cabbies cheating passengers before asking him to approve the second part of a taxi fare hike.
He said Gen Prayut raised concerns after passengers recently complained about cabbies overcharging them, particularly at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Mr Arkhom was speaking after a meeting to discuss the taxi fare hike with Deputy Transport Minister Ormsin Chivapruck and Department of Land Transport (DLT) director-general, Sanit Phromsathit, on Monday.
"The fare hike will be considered based on the quality of service and customers' satisfaction," Mr Arkhom said.
"If overcharging and the issue of drivers refusing to take passengers persists, the fare increase will remain suspended," he added.
The DLT says it keeps receiving complaints about taxi drivers who ignore people flagging them down.
Mr Arkhom said Airports of Thailand (AoT), which oversees Suvarnabhumi airport, will also be invited to talk to the ministry to devise ways of stopping the practice.
Meanwhile, Mr Sanit admitted overcharging, refusing to take passengers, and sexually harassing them, are common complaints.
Legal action was also being taken against offending drivers as a way to address the problems.
Mr Arkhom also ordered the DLT to prepare details about the costs and income of taxi drivers, the effect of a fare hike on passengers, and inflation. The information would be forwarded to the ministry early next month, Mr Sanit said.
In 2014, the ministry agreed to raise taxi fares by 13%.
However, it only granted an 8% increase, withholding the rest until drivers could prove they had improved their services.
The Transport Ministry suspended introducing the fare rise in March while it looked at tougher punishments for cab drivers, including a 10,000 baht fine.