BMA outsmarted by jokers at taxi stands
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has evaluated all 150 so-called smart taxi stops in the city and concluded the system is not working
Smart taxi stops are the brainchild of Governor Apirak Kosayodhin and have been operating since October 2005. The stainless-steel structures look like bus stops. When people are waiting in one a red light becomes visible to nearby cabs. If no taxis are passing would-be passengers can press a button and a call centre directs cabs to the stand. They are told the number of the car and the estimated time to pick up. Instead of using them as intended, however, city residents are using them for fun. They are pressing the buttons to call cabs then fleeing the stands, the BMA found. In an evaluation conducted from the start of the programme to September last year, the programme had a success rate of a mere 38.6 per cent. Although 189,549 smart taxis had been hailed, just 73,168 of them reported picking up passengers, the study found. Worse, the success rate is declining. In evaluations conducted from last October until recently the rate fell to 35.98 per cent. Only 54,097 of the 150,352 smart taxis beckoned found passengers when they arrived. The busiest smart taxi stand is at Phetkasem. Many have gone unused. They include Chatuchak 5, Chong Nonsi BTS station, Phetchaburi 3, Ratchadaphisek 16, Pinklao 2, Central Chitlom, Phloenchit 1, Ramkhamhaeng 5 and Sukhumvit 13. Passenger requests are falling and many stops are never used because taxis are not legally obliged to respond, said an official who asked not to be named. The official said the disparity between the number of taxis hailed and the number of rides reported was a result of people pressing smart taxi buttons simply for fun. The plan is a failure, he said. It had been undermined by the fact that taxis can be hailed anywhere, he added. If taxis are legally obliged to pick up fares the system will be successful, the official said. If taxis fail to respond they should be fined, he said. Another official took a more accommodating approach. Unless a suitable solution is found, the smart stops should be given over to motorcycle taxis, he said.
Jeerawan Prasomsap The Nation
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