A famous Thai influencer recommends that people should only take taxis that display a green vacant light because they are registered with the Department of Land Transport (DLT) and provide a safer service for passengers.

The Thai influencer, Beam, who runs a Facebook page Beam’s Story (เรื่องของบีม), told her fans to use only taxis with a green vacant sign because they have a GPS tracking system, an SOS button for an emergency, and a security camera inside the cab.

Her post went viral on Thai social media with many passengers sharing their bad experiences at the hands of Bangkok’s dangerous cabbies, a great number adding that they did not know there was a safer option for them.

The green vacant sign came into use on December 15 last year after a campaign by the DLT. Previously, red was the colour used if a taxi was vacant.

The DLT urge all taxi drivers to register their cars with the government application DLT Driver. By registering their taxis passengers are ensured a safer service.

All registered taxis have a GPS tracking system, driver’s information, a security camera in the cab, an SOS button for emergencies, and a fare metre that is connected to the DLT system, which can be monitored.

The DLT also launched a new application, TAXI OK, in December last year, for passengers to book a safe, quality service from their mobile phones.

The new service is encouraging but a number of Thai netizens revealed that a lot of taxi drivers are cheating.

“I found many taxis near my house that managed to get their vacant lights changed to green from red at a random shop. So, not all taxi drivers with a green vacant light have joined the DLT scheme. The drivers told me themselves.”

Other netizens revealed they are still suffering the same old problems: drivers refusing to take them to their destination if they don’t fancy the route. Some others commented that the drivers told them that the SOS button and a security camera is installed but they don’t work.

On the upside, a great number of netizens shared their positive experiences of the new DLT taxi service, saying the drivers were polite and the fares were fair.

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Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger focusing on Thai news and what's happening in Thailand. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp.

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