No respite for Uber in Thailand as authorities declare it illegal

Uber has been facing a firestorm of criticism in America in recent weeks. Last Friday, the dark clouds moved to Asia – specifically, Thailand – as the local department of land transport declared the taxi app to be illegal, according to Bangkok Post.

Department director-general Teerapong Rodprasert states four reasons why Uber is illegal in Thailand: improper registration of its vehicle fleet; not charging the proper rates as outlined by the Motor Vehicle Act; drivers not holding the required public-transport licences; and discrimination against customers who do not have credit cards.

Because Uber’s drivers do not hold public-transport licenses, they are not registered in the department’s database, and hence cannot be monitored for how they charge “hidden costs” – “a deposit for service and then another payment for the journey”, based on a statement by the department – or safety, according to Rodprasert. He adds that having a credit card-only payment system also brings up the matter of transaction security.

Uber drivers who flout these rules, and are stopped by the police, could be fined up to THB 2000 (US$60).

In a statement, Uber maintains that it “respects and welcomes the opportunity to engage with the relevant authorities to help them better understand the value we bring to the transportation ecosystem of Thailand.”

The taxi app currently operates its UberBlack and UberX services in Bangkok and Phuket. Its base fare for UberX is THB 25 (US$0.75) – lower than public taxi fares, which in fact increased by eight percent in the capital recently, and will be going up by another five percent in mid-2015.

See: Uber finds peace in Singapore while facing brickbats in the rest of Asia