The consent was given by Pol Lt-Colonel Piyaphan Wana-ukirt, a Samui tourist police inspector, after a public hearing with taxi drivers was held at a Koh Samui police station on Tuesday morning. Piyaphan held the hearing following complaints by foreign tourists that drivers on the tiny tourist destination were refusing to use their meters and overcharging them. During the meeting, taxi drivers proposed raising the metered fare to start at Bt100 for the first two kilometres and Bt20 per kilometre thereafter. If the proposal is approved by the Transport Ministry, the Samui Taxi Driers Club promised to change the meters by November 23, after which all drivers are supposed to start using them. Piyahan said taxi drivers would be arrested and face severe legal action if they still refuse to comply with the new measure if the proposal is approved.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 07, 2017 07:30 UTC