Chiang Mai tourism operators are urging the local government to help revive the transport service provided by the province's iconic rot daeng ("red cars") as more passengers have switched to other forms of transport.

An online discussion saw a Facebook user post concerns about the future of rot daeng services in Chiang Mai as they are now facing fierce competition from ride-hailing services.

A number of netizens said they had experienced a poor level of service or had been overcharged by drivers of the cars in the past.

Punlop Saejew of the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai, said it was inevitable that rot daeng have been disrupted by ride-hailing services, which provide more convenience in terms of people being able to book them with a clear price provided ahead of departure.

The problem came from cases that involved rot daeng being requested to travel somewhere, with no guarantee that the driver would be able to pick up new passengers on the way back. In such a case, the driver may have to raise the price for passengers.

Mr Punlop said some drivers, therefore, chose to reject passengers or requested a higher fare.

He said the Department of Land Transport sets the ceiling price at 30 baht per ride, while only 100 of the red vehicles are still active in the city, compared to 1,000 registered in the system.

"Rot daeng is still an icon of Chiang Mai tourism, as many foreign tourists put it on their must-do list while visiting the province, the same way they want to ride a tuk tuk in Bangkok," he said.