About 100 taxi drivers in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces yesterday gathered at the Department of Land Transport, calling for the legalisation of ride-hailing services.
Led by Chiraphat Sophalai, the president of a group calling itself the Network of 4.0 Taxi Drivers, submitted a petition to Chirut Wisanchit, director-general of the department.
The group has about 80,000 members who are taxi drivers nationwide, he said.
The group believes legalising ride-hailing will bring big improvements to Thailand's public transport services in general and benefit passengers, he said.
Taxi drivers will no longer have to waste their time driving about town to find a passenger, which will help save on fuel and help drivers save money, he said.
A legal ride-hailing service is expected also to help taxi driver make more money as they will be able to find passengers faster, giving them more time to ply their trade, he said.
Passenger safety will improve considerably when all taxi ride-hailing applications are registered and regulated under the same system and with the same standards, he said.
And for those passengers who may not be familiar with using a mobile application to hail a taxi, the group proposes the department put in place a mechanism to ensure priority for these passengers, who are typically elderly people, he said.
He also believes that when the ride-hailing service is legal, hailing fees will be brought down to reasonable rates as well, once again benefiting passengers.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said the ministry is concluding a draft of new ministerial regulations on ride-hailing services and will forward it to the Council of State for a review.
He said he couldn't say when these processes will be completed.
Ekkachai Sumali, director of the centre for smart-city research at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, said legalising ride-hailing services will not be easy as it will require the amendment of several laws.
Ride-hailing services are illegal in several countries and territories including Japan, Hong Kong and certain states in the US, he said.