The Transport Ministry has ordered a study into whether too many taxis are plying the nation's roads to make sure their services are properly monitored.
Transport Minister Prajin Juntong has told the Land Transport Department (LTD) to do the study and the results should be known early in 2016, LTD director-general Teerapong Rodprasert said.
If the number of taxis exceeds demand, measures will be rolled out to curb licence approvals, he said. The measure would let the ministry exercise greater quality control over the industry and signals the government is having second thoughts about deregulation, in which the market effectively regulates the number of taxis plying services.
Mr Teerapong was speaking after talks with taxi operators and drivers about ways to improve services ahead of a planned 8% hike in taxi fares on Dec 1. The plan is pending ACM Prajin's approval and its announcement in the Royal Gazette.
The LTD director-general said taxi operators need to have their vehicles checked for safety and the standard of their interior equipment. If they fail the test, the operators must take their vehicles back for a new check within 15 days or they will not get approval for the fare rise, he said.
Vehicles which pass the test will have their meter devices tweaked to comply with the new fare rate, and the LTD will give them stickers certifying their services. "After the first phase of the fare rise, we will evaluate taxi service quality, and the department will invite public feedback," Mr Teerapong said.
"If they fail the evaluation, the fare hike in the second phase will not happen," he said, referring to the ministry's plan for a further 5% fare increase, taking the total rise to 13%, after six months.
Mr Teerapong said the taxi operators must be responsible for having their meters tuned, at 300-400 baht a device. He insisted the LTD has a system in place to check taxis though as many as 100,000 taxis are plying the roads now.
Taxi Cooperatives Network chairman Withoon Naewpanich said a 13% hike in taxi fares is acceptable in general and taxi drivers can make ends meet. However, he expressed concern about the hike in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas for vehicles (NGV), known as compressed natural gas (CNG), the key fuel for taxis. He said a one-baht rise in the gas price adds 100 baht to drivers' fuel costs.
"If the Transport Ministry allows us to raise fare prices but also hikes gas prices, we will be no better off, as we will still be struggling with rising costs,'' said Mr Withoon.
He also appealed to the Energy Ministry to distribute energy credit cards to drivers of LPG-fuelled taxis on par with those who drive NGV-fulled taxis.