Drivers association to launch new taxi service after fare hike refused

A total of 2,000 professional taxi drivers association members will make up the My Taxi Co fleet, which customers could hail via a smartphone app, association president Worapol Kaemkhunthod said on Wednesday.
Cabbies would no longer have to depend on the Department of Land Transport (DLT)'s fare hikes since they wouldn't be using the meter, he said. Taxis turning away passengers would no longer be an issue, he added. And each subscriber would also get a free bonus of six bottles of juice and food supplement products.
The move was made after the association's call for a fare hike was turned down. The DLT early last month agreed to propose to the Transport Ministry a hike worth 8 per cent of the overall fare for 12,893 cabs participating in the Taxi OK project. Taxi OK cabs are equipped with GPS tracking, snap-shot cameras, an emergency button and other features designed to offer greater passenger safety.