INSIGHTS
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will introduce a smart-card system for the taxi queue at Suvarnabhumi Airport in a bid to end the "mafia-style operation" there. A computerized system, linked to the database of registered taxi drivers' personal history and fingerprints, will issue queue cards to taxis w
Smart-card system for cabs to rid mafia role at Thai airport
Date: 2014/06/19
Source: The Nation
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) will introduce a smart-card system for the taxi queue at Suvarnabhumi Airport in a bid to end the "mafia-style operation" there.
A computerized system, linked to the database of registered taxi drivers' personal history and fingerprints, will issue queue cards to taxis waiting to pick up passengers from the airport.
"We expect to see clear results within one month from now," 11th Military Circle chief Maj-General Nirundorn Samutsakorn said.
He said the "mafia-style operation" allowed taxi drivers to select long-haul passengers and such selective services make it hard for short-haul passengers to get a taxi ride.
Taxi drivers often pay under-the-table fees to mafia-style figures to ensure they get long-haul passengers.
The swift move to regulate taxi services at Suvarnabhumi Airport is in response to NCPO chief General Prayut Chan-ocha's policy to bring about reforms.