Thai influencer tells fans to use green light DLT taxis for safer ride

Photo via เรื่องของบีม and The Department of Land Transport

A famous Thai influencer recommends that people should only take taxis that display a green vacant light because they are registered with the Department of Land Transport (DLT) and provide a safer service for passengers.

The Thai influencer, Beam, who runs a Facebook page Beam’s Story (เรื่องของบีม), told her fans to use only taxis with a green vacant sign because they have a GPS tracking system, an SOS button for an emergency, and a security camera inside the cab.

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Her post went viral on Thai social media with many passengers sharing their bad experiences at the hands of Bangkok’s dangerous cabbies, a great number adding that they did not know there was a safer option for them.

The green vacant sign came into use on December 15 last year after a campaign by the DLT. Previously, red was the colour used if a taxi was vacant.

The DLT urge all taxi drivers to register their cars with the government application DLT Driver. By registering their taxis passengers are ensured a safer service.

All registered taxis have a GPS tracking system, driver’s information, a security camera in the cab, an SOS button for emergencies, and a fare metre that is connected to the DLT system, which can be monitored.

The DLT also launched a new application, TAXI OK, in December last year, for passengers to book a safe, quality service from their mobile phones.

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The new service is encouraging but a number of Thai netizens revealed that a lot of taxi drivers are cheating.

One said…

“I found many taxis near my house that managed to get their vacant lights changed to green from red at a random shop. So, not all taxi drivers with a green vacant light have joined the DLT scheme. The drivers told me themselves.”

Other netizens revealed they are still suffering the same old problems: drivers refusing to take them to their destination if they don’t fancy the route. Some others commented that the drivers told them that the SOS button and a security camera is installed but they don’t work.

On the upside, a great number of netizens shared their positive experiences of the new DLT taxi service, saying the drivers were polite and the fares were fair.

SOURCE: PPTV | เรื่องของบีม

Thailand News

Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.

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