Fare play: Thai taxi driver slams cops for toll indulgence

A female Thai taxi driver condemned police officers for indulging two foreign tourists who refused to pay toll fees by covering the costs themselves.

The female taxi driver shared a video of when she engaged in an argument with police officers and two foreign women passengers on Facebook. In the video, she refused to accept money from the police and asked two foreign women to pay the toll fee.

The taxi driver later gave an interview with Channel 3 yesterday, February 29, explaining that two foreign women booked a ride from Soi Song Prapa 1 to Ratchanatdaram Temple via an application. She claimed that she offered two options to the passengers – one route with a toll fee and one without. The passengers chose the toll route.

The driver said she then informed passengers that the transport fee from the application was 326 baht, and they had to pay an additional toll fee. The passengers reportedly agreed, and the trip began. However, upon reaching the destination, the foreigners refused to pay the toll fee.

According to the driver, the two foreign women ran away from her car to avoid payment. She chased after them and asked people in the area to call the police.

The driver said officers arrived and tried to pay the toll fee but she would not accept it, saying it was wrong. She argued that police assistance would spoil foreign tourists and encourage them to repeat such behaviour. She wanted the foreign women to understand the Thai transport system.

Police story

The Superintendent of the Samranrat Police Station, Thossapon Ampaipipatkul, came forward to share his opinion on the matter. He believed that the two foreign women did not intend to refuse payment, but they misunderstood due to the language barrier.

Thossapon agreed with the taxi driver that the police should not cover toll fees for foreigners and scolded the officers involved. However, he also understood his subordinate desired to swiftly resolve the issue to protect Thailand’s tourism image.

Thossapon encouraged Thai taxi drivers and app-based drivers to enhance their language skills to provide better service to foreign visitors.

The taxi driver did not clarify whether she eventually took the money from the police. Police did not reveal whether they clarified the toll and taxi systems to the foreigners.