A majority of people have voiced support for Uber and Grab to operate public transport services as an alternative to regular public taxis and wanted their cars legally licensed before being put in service, according to an opinion survey carried out by Bangkok University Research Centre or Bangkok Poll.
The survey was conducted on March 24-27 on 1,193 people who had used taxis in Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
Asked about problems they have encountered in using taxis, a majority or 85.5% of the respondents mentioned drivers' refusal to take passengers; 42.4% said some did not go straight to the destinations but often used longer routes while 35.2% complained the drivers were impolite.
About 34% of the respondents said taxi drivers should be honest and reliable, 33% said they should not refuse to take passengers and 11.4% said the "vacant" sign should be off if the cars have run out of fuel or are not available for services.
Asked to comment about Uber and Grab taxi services, 75.1% of the respondents voiced support for them, saying they offered passengers an alternative while 24.9% opposed them, reasoning that they have not been legalised.
A huge majority, or 75.9%, said they have never used Uber or Grab services, while 24.1% said they have used them because they provide better services.