Hotline for reporting transport rip-offs

PHUKET CITY: Customers who believe they have been overcharged or otherwise maltreated by tuk-tuk, taxi, minibus and airport limousine drivers will soon be able to make complaints direct to the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO) through a new telephone hotline number, 1584, manned 24 hours a day. Due to go into service at the end of May, the 1584 hotline will allow disgruntled passengers to speak direct to PPTO officers, who will launch an investigation. Problems associated with motorcycle taxi drivers will not, for now, come under this new push to improve the image of Phuket’s private transport services. This is because motorcycle taxi operators are currently exempt from rules imposed under the Land Transportation Act. An amendment to the act is expected to be made soon, bringing them in line with other forms of transport. These rules state that the complaints hotline number must be displayed within each vehicle along with – for tuk-tuks – a list of maximum fares on 49 routes around the island, and the tuk-tuk operator’s license. Any tuk-tuk operator found not to be displaying the fares list or charging more than the maximum fare for a trip is liable to a fine of up to 2,000 baht. The Chief of the PPTO, Prasit Amarapan, told the Gazette that officers should be able to conclude an investigation within seven days of the complaint being submitted, provided that the complainant gives them specific information to identify the offender, such as the operator’s license number or the vehicle’s PPTO registration number (painted on the side of the vehicle). “Passengers must include at least the license plate number or another official mark for us to be able to investigate the claim,” said K. Prasit. Until the hotline number is introduced, passengers wishing to complain may call the PPTO on Tel: 076-220791 or 076-211019, ext 6, during weekday office hours, or 076-211019, ext 9, at other times. Complaints may also be lodged at any police station.