An overwhelming majority of people nationwide want to see ride-hailing services legalised, mainly for safety reasons, according to an opinion survey.
Some 95.7% agree with legalising the services, while 3.9% disagree and 0.4% are uncertain, Bangkok Poll found.
Currently, providers of the services, mainly through mobile applications, operate in a grey area yet to be regulated, to the resentment of traditional taxi drivers, who feel they are unfairly treated.
Asked what they think of the ride-hailing services, 70.5% of the poll’s respondents say they give them a new choice and remove the monopoly while 40.6% think it is part of modern lifestyle (40.6%). Some 22.6% find it complicated to use and require access to the internet while 21.3% say it calls for the downloading and use of new apps.
On what benefits they see in the legitimisation, most cite safety reasons since drivers’ details including their licence numbers are kept in the apps (71.6%), the fact drivers don’t turn down customers and their 24-hour service (62.4%), advance knowledge of fares and distances (54.8%), forcing taxi drivers to improve (48.3%), ability to choose vehicle types to suit passenger numbers (41.7%), reduction of conflicts stemming from fights for customers (39.5%), accuracies in routes taken and no diversions to demand higher fares (37.6%) and various promotional campaigns and discounts (32.1%).
On what improvements they would like to see in the ride-sharing services, most choose the imposition of requirements on manners and service quality (67.9%), fair fare structure (56.7%), new car conditions (56.1%), cleanliness of both drivers and vehicles (48.8%) and training and clear regulations (1.7%).
The poll was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday on 1,150 people nationwide aged from 18, with more than half from the age groups of 41-60.