A 5% rise in taxi fare rates could be approved this year after the latest evaluation of taxi services in Bangkok and nearby areas passed the required standard.
The Land Transport Department has completed a formal survey of customers' satisfaction.
A pass is required before the central land department committee considers fare rise requests lodged by the industry, said Sanit Phromwong, department director-general.
The survey was conducted among taxi customers in Bangkok and surrounding provinces and at the Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports.
The survey found 71% of passengers were satisfied with taxi services, better than the 70% level which the department requires taxis to meet.
The Transport Ministry last year approved a taxi fare rise totaling 13%.
The first part of that increase, a fare rise of 8%, took effect in December last year.
Despite agitation by drivers for the government to approve the rest of the increase to help them cover the rising cost of living, the department insisted the rest of the increase should be dependent on service quality as rated by passengers improving to the required level.
"Given these findings, taxis have met the requirement for a second round of taxi fare hikes. However, first we have to analyse the survey findings thoroughly for the sake of fairness to all sides," Mr Sanit said.
The results were still considered raw data. Officials want to crunch the numbers to see how the results square with problems identified by passengers in complaints to the department such as poor safety, and drivers refusing to take passengers to certain destinations, he said.
Deputy Transport Minister Omsin Cheevapruek said he could not say exactly if the 5% taxi fare hike would be approved because the survey results merely showed that taxis passed the test.
He would wait for a report from the department before deciding on the next steps to take.