Draft law sees fine jump to Bt5,000 for taxi drivers who refuse passengers
Taxi drivers who refuse passengers, as well as their respective taxi garage owners, will be subject to heavier fines under a new law created from merging and revising two previous outdated laws.
Department of Land Transport (DLT) deputy director-general Thanee Suebreuk said on Monday that the new law, which comes from merging the Vehicle Act of 1979 and the Land Transport Act of 1979, will still include the passenger-refusing offence but with the punishment hiked from the current Bt2,000 maximum fine to a Bt5,000 fine for the taxi drivers.
The associated taxi garage would also be subject to a Bt50,000 maximum fine, he added.
The hiked fines aim to bring the punishment in line with that imposed on other public transportation, including tour buses and public transport vans, he said.
Thanee said the new law, still being drafted by the DLT, would also allow officials to suspend the driver’s licence of a passenger-refusing cabbie for 15-30 days, and require completion of a three-hour training course on providing public transport services.
The authority would also be allowed to suspend the licence of a repeat offender for three to six months, and to revoke the licence of a driver committing an assault or other crime, Thanee added.
