Bangkok Taxis: New Solutions for Old Problems [S6.E16]

Greg and Ed discuss a topic first brought up in a bonus
show back in season 2: what to do about taxi drivers who won't
take you where you want to go? Although there are no doubt many
larger problems in Thailand, on a day to day basis, perhaps
recalcitrant taxi drivers are the most annoying. 


Ed runs through a gamut of possible solutions. The first is
simply to somehow enforce the current law, which already requires
taxis to accept all riders. The guys admit that simple
enforcement may be the biggest obstacle to overcome, because no
solution is viable without it. But Ed has some twists that could
be added to the current regulations. Why not have two types of
cabs, one that must accept all riders that gets paid at a higher
rate, and one that can deny riders but gets a lower rate? Greg
and Ed debate the pros and cons of this solution.


Another option would be to simply allow drivers to switch
the color of their light during the last hour of their ride,
signally that they now have the right to refuse riders. Greg then
brings up one of Ed's old ideas, to put a QR code on all taxis
that would allow for a proper feedback system for all cabs in
Bangkok. That way before getting in, you would know the driver's
reputation for accepting riders.


Are these ideas all pie in the sky? Well, maybe, but as
that old great funk song says, you have to free your mind before
your ass can follow. :)


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