On May 26, the Thai government approved a draft allowing the use of personal cars to register for taxi booking services through the application, a move that benefits technology drivers who already provide the service. without legal status for many years.
A taxi with an icon of Grab online ride-hailing application circulating in Thailand (Photo Bloomberg) On May 26, the Thai government approved a draft allowing the use of personal cars to register for taxi booking services through the application, a move that benefits technology drivers who already provide the service. without legal status for many years. While taxi-hailing apps are becoming more and more popular, Thai law still does not recognize car owners using their personal vehicles to pick up passengers, nor register the vehicle as a taxi. Thai Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said that the agency is currently studying regulations to legalize technology taxi services and is expected to publish at the end of June 2021 in the Royal Gazette. According to Mr. Saksayam, after the new regulation is issued, companies that own technology taxi-hailing applications will be allowed to apply for a license to operate the service. In addition, drivers who register to use the service need to meet conditions such as having a license to drive a public transport vehicle, passing a criminal background check by the Royal Thai Police and Only taxi-hailing apps approved by the Thai Ministry of Transport are allowed. Traisuree Taisaranakul, deputy spokeswoman for the government, said the move helped drivers legally use their private vehicles to provide services. According to Ms. Traisuree, vehicles used as technology taxis must not be more than 9 years old, in addition, these vehicles must be equipped with communication equipment approved by the Department of Transport and have a logo showing provision of taxi services through an electronic system. Regarding the service fee, for small and medium-sized vehicles, the service fee should not exceed 50 Baht (about 1.6 USD) for the first 2 km. After the first 2 km, the fare must not exceed 12 Baht/km. For large vehicles, the service fee is capped at 200 Baht for the first 2 km, then no more than 50 Baht for every kilometer thereafter. In another development, the Thai government is urging online food ordering platforms to reduce their gross profit (GP), or commission fees collected from food vendors, from around 30% to around 30%. 15%, to support food businesses that are heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Accordingly, online food ordering platforms such as Gojek or Line Man have now reduced their GP rates by 25%. Meanwhile, Grab does not charge a commission to its selling partners between May 12 and August 1, 2021. In addition, the above platforms also commit to holding promotional campaigns with free shipping fees for specified distances to support costs for consumers.
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