Yes, I saw that promo as well. Haven't needed Uber at night so haven't been able to enjoy.

Heard the 350 fixed rate to BKK is gone now too. Uber continues to get worse and worse here in Bangkok :(

We took a 425 Uber to the airport on Sunday and that included tolls... normally I wouldn't suffer the cost but we had heavy bags and it was worth the extra cost.

So I'm not sure of the 350 fixed rate being gone, but they are certainly working up the extra surcharges these days.

Unlicensed taxi drivers to be arrested but Uber not banned

AMID the ongoing debate on the pros and cons of Uber and similar taxi-hailing services, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpitayapaisit said the government would not shut down Uber and other applications in Thailand but unlicensed taxis and drivers would be arrested.

The minister also said the government did not plan to exercise its sweeping powers under Article 44 of the interim charter to deal with Uber and similar services. However, he urged the new entrants to the transport market to follow Thai law on taxi licensing.

Other countries have faced problems similar to Thailand as Uber and other companies provide services because the income of traditional, licensed taxis was hurt by unlicensed taxi operators, Arkhom said.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30308391


Heavy crackdown looms on Uber, ride-sharing apps

THE LAND Transport Department is planning to propose the use of Article 44 of the interim charter to ban drivers using Uber and other ride-sharing apps. Deputy director-general Nanthapong Cherdchu yesterday said a sting operation on Monday in Bangkok had led to 18 Uber drivers being arrested. Each was fined Bt2,000.

He said the agency must make people understand that the use of Uber was illegal and if accidents occurred, passengers would receive less protection under the law.

Nanthapong also called for an improvement of taxi services to make them more attractive to users.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30308250


Give Uber, Grab a fare go

Over the past week, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) has toughened its stance against major cab-hailing services, Uber and Grab Taxi, undertaking a series of "sting operations" to crack down on their drivers in the northern city of Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

As a result, authorities have nabbed drivers of the "unauthorised" services and slapped them with a fine of 2,000 baht each.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith insisted mobile application use for hailing taxis is not the problem. The illegality is about the use of the wrong type of vehicle -- personal cars which are unauthorised to be used as taxis. The cab-hailing operators need to comply with laws in Thailand to ensure sufficient protection for passengers, especially in case of accidents, he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...grab-a-fare-go

This is starting to resemble the standoff at Wat Dhammakaya.


DLT to step up efforts against Uber and Grab


Officials insist they need to step up efforts to crack down on ride-hailing apps to bring order to public transport services for the sake of passenger safety and interests.

Meanwhile, California-based Uber is calling for a legal amendment to better enable its service in Thailand.

The company opened a bilingual petition page on its website for Thais to sign. It urges the government to amend the law to account for app-based rides.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/tran...-uber-and-grab

Dept plans Uber meeting over legality

Deputy Transport Minister Pichit Akrathit plans to hold talks with the operator of a mobile application used for hailing taxis over its call for legal amendments to enable its services to operate legally in Thailand.

Mr Pichit said he expects to meet representatives from California-based Uber within a week or two to discuss the firm's claim that the Thai law governing public transportation is obsolete and its service cannot be registered as public transportation.

In a recently released statement, Uber called for legal amendments to better enable its service to operate in Thailand in the wake of a crackdown on the ride-hailing taxis especially in Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/gene...-over-legality


Transport chiefs to meet with Uber over ‘ride sharing’ claim

THE TRANSPORT MINISTRY will soon discuss legal issues with Uber over its ride-sharing app service, Deputy Transport Minister Pichit Akrathit said yesterday.

The meeting will be held in a couple of weeks to discuss a legal hurdle in which Uber claims it |cannot register as public transportation because Thai laws are outdated, Pichit said.

The response came after Uber issued a statement on Thursday calling on the public to sign a |petition to support its service.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30308636

Chiang Mai authorities investigating Uber complaints

The Chiang Mai Land Transport Office has received at least 10 complaints about the Uber driver service on a daily basis in the past few weeks and officials have to investigate all complaints or they will be punished for negligence of duty, said office head Chanchai Kilapaeng on Saturday.

He said 20 people were subjected to questioning so far and a handful were fined for misusing their vehicles.

Chanchai’s spoke after a man complained on www.CM108.com that he was unfairly labelled an Uber driver and fined Bt2,000 for using a vehicle for a purpose other than what it was registered for with the land transport authority.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news...gnews/30308708

Thailand 4.0 hits a dead end ... (regarding Grab and Uber)

http://m.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/s...its-a-dead-end

Uber, DLT to meet next week

The Department of Land Transport (DLT) will meet ride-sharing company Uber next week to hear what the firm has to say after its calls to legalise the service.

The DLT said the meeting, scheduled for March 20, will also be attended by representatives of the Transport Ministry, the military and police.

DLT chief Sanit Promwong said the meeting will take the form of a discussion where the authorities will hear Uber's proposals for dealing with the ride-sharing service's violation of the transport law.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/gene...meet-next-week


Uber, Grab still fight for recognition

Government is at odds over legalising the controversial ride sharing services

The growing popularity of using ride-sharing services has exposed the long-standing problems many commuters face when using regular taxis.

Fed up with one unpleasant taxi experience after another, many commuters began reaching for their mobile phones and ordering private rides, via apps, from Uber, Grab, and other ride-hailing companies; the lure of the services had customers hooked.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/gene...or-recognition

It's getting ridiculous up here in Chiang Mai. Tuk tuk drivers and songthaew drivers take pictures of vehicles with foreigners getting out of them, send the photos to the police, and the police then send a ticket to the car owner's home telling him/her to either a pay a fine or prove they're not an Uber driver.

Like this guy, who apparently is not an Uber driver but who gave a ride to some friends from overseas:

"A Thai motorist was puzzled when he was accused of being an Uber driver just because he gave a ride to two foreign friends in Chiang Mai.

A Thai man, only identified as Parinya, sought help from netizens on a Chiang Mai web forum after a ticket was sent to his home — for the charge of using a private vehicle to provide public transport

Attached to the ticket was a photograph of his two foreign friends retrieving their suitcases from the trunk of his car."

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/man...reign-friends/

There must be so many desperate and newly deputized songthaew mafia, er, drivers at this point.

Govt, Uber agree to find legal 'way out'

Car-hailing service Uber agreed Monday with the Transport Ministry to jointly conduct a study into ways of legalising the service in Thailand, where it is currently viewed as violating public transport laws.

Until that is completed the California-based firm is required to halt its ride-sharing service nationwide, deputy permanent secretary for transport Somsak Hommuang said after meeting with Uber representatives.

However, measures to clamp down on drivers of Uber will be stepped up after the operator rejected a request to halt its services for six to 12 months while the feasibility study is conducted, according to a joint force of military, police and land transport officers.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/tran...-halt-services

Is this affecting grab taxi as well?

IME so far, no.

GrabTaxi (and not GrabCar) utilizes standard, licensed meters taxis. So the rote objections to UBER (unlicensed, insurance, etc.) can't be used. It's just a sophisticated dispatch service.

Grab keeps lines open with transport officials

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/...port-officials

Even though Uber announced this in February of 2016 I honestly didn't know about this "Cash Payment" option until today. Note that it is limited to Bangkok only.


฿angkok, now you can pay for your Uber rides with ca$h!

https://newsroom.uber.com/thailand/ubercashbkken/

Also an option to pay cash in Chiang Mai.