Bolt ride hailing app

[thecolonel]

Grab used to be the app of choice, but this one seems to be superior. The tuk-tuk/taxi mafia must be seething!

On Thai TV this morning scenes from near Grand Hotel where Grab drivers had been fighting with Motorcycle taxi riders. One camera close up showed a gun in the belt of one guy !

Confused

Grab 'drivers' (cars) or grab bike riders? ..... fighting with traditional Moto taxis(that are hailed or called)

Trying to picture what's going on here

In any event many traditional Moto taxis use the grab/bolt apps to get work

Sent from my M2007J20CG using Tapatalk

[Pagey]

Grab used to be the app of choice, but this one seems to be superior. The tuk-tuk/taxi mafia must be seething!

On Thai TV this morning scenes from near Grand Hotel where Grab drivers had been fighting with Motorcycle taxi riders. One camera close up showed a gun in the belt of one guy !

Confused

Grab 'drivers' (cars) or grab bike riders? ..... fighting with traditional Moto taxis(that are hailed or called)

Trying to picture what's going on here

In any event many traditional Moto taxis use the grab/bolt apps to get work

Sent from my M2007J20CG using Tapatalk

Grab bike riders fighting with traditional moto taxis.

[thecolonel]

On Thai TV this morning scenes from near Grand Hotel where Grab drivers had been fighting with Motorcycle taxi riders. One camera close up showed a gun in the belt of one guy !

Confused

Grab 'drivers' (cars) or grab bike riders? ..... fighting with traditional Moto taxis(that are hailed or called)

Trying to picture what's going on here

In any event many traditional Moto taxis use the grab/bolt apps to get work

Sent from my M2007J20CG using Tapatalk

Grab bike riders fighting with traditional moto taxis.

Ok got it. Specific Turf war maybe?

You can understand the tension. There's a ride I do regularly here where the traditional taxis want 56% more than Bolt for the same ride.

So the trad guys are being well undercut. Their choice. I guess they can't all be Bolt riders as not enough business for them all

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[buksida]

I don't think the Hua Hin taxi/tuk tuk drivers can complain when they're blatantly preying on and ripping off tourists (as they have always done). Bolt and Grab have put them in their place by threatening their cash cow which is a good thing for the consumer IMO. Likewise in Bangkok, how many times do those bandits refuse to put the meter on, quote a stupid price because they think you're a stupid farang, or just don't want to go to where you do and drive away ... its time they had their arses kicked.

[caller]

I don't think the Hua Hin taxi/tuk tuk drivers can complain when they're blatantly preying on and ripping off tourists (as they have always done). Bolt and Grab have put them in their place by threatening their cash cow which is a good thing for the consumer IMO. Likewise in Bangkok, how many times do those bandits refuse to put the meter on, quote a stupid price because they think you're a stupid farang, or just don't want to go to where you do and drive away ... its time they had their arses kicked.

Considering the lack of traffic usually experienced in Hua Hin, I am amazed at the fares the normal taxis get away with charging. Okay, I live a little further out, but I really think some sort of regulation is long overdue. I can drive the same distance in a normal taxi in traffic bound Bkk, taking twice as long, and still pay half the price, or less. Now, the argument would be that in Bkk, at journey's end, a taxi can find another fare, whereas in Hua Hin they can't, but I still regard the fares as excesssive.

The thing in Bkk when using grab, and I assume Bolt, who have yet to find me a ride, is that you pay more when using their service compared to a normal taxi. Okay, you have the convenience of being picked up where you choose, and not having to spend time searching for a cab in the first place, but you pay for it. And it's no longer a surprise, when using Grab, how often I am picked up in a regular Bkk taxi.

[thecolonel]

I don't think the Hua Hin taxi/tuk tuk drivers can complain when they're blatantly preying on and ripping off tourists (as they have always done). Bolt and Grab have put them in their place by threatening their cash cow which is a good thing for the consumer IMO. Likewise in Bangkok, how many times do those bandits refuse to put the meter on, quote a stupid price because they think you're a stupid farang, or just don't want to go to where you do and drive away ... its time they had their arses kicked.

Considering the lack of traffic usually experienced in Hua Hin, I am amazed at the fares the normal taxis get away with charging. Okay, I live a little further out, but I really think some sort of regulation is long overdue. I can drive the same distance in a normal taxi in traffic bound Bkk, taking twice as long, and still pay half the price, or less. Now, the argument would be that in Bkk, at journey's end, a taxi can find another fare, whereas in Hua Hin they can't, but I still regard the fares as excesssive.

The thing in Bkk when using grab, and I assume Bolt, who have yet to find me a ride, is that you pay more when using their service compared to a normal taxi. Okay, you have the convenience of being picked up where you choose, and not having to spend time searching for a cab in the first place, but you pay for it. And it's no longer a surprise, when using Grab, how often I am picked up in a regular Bkk taxi.

Pay more for grab/bolt than a regular taxi? Really?!

I took several Bolts in Bkk recently (bikes mostly) and they were cheap as chips. And cheaper than HH too.

I went 6km across central Bkk for 50 baht. That would be more in Hua Hin



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[caller]

Pay more for grab/bolt than a regular taxi? Really?!

I took several Bolts in Bkk recently (bikes mostly) and they were cheap as chips. And cheaper than HH too.

I went 6km across central Bkk for 50 baht. That would be more in Hua Hin

Yes, pay more for using Grab taxi's in Bkk, compared to the cost of a normal taxi. No idea about bikes or Bolt, for the reasons stated.

Fares change all the time, depending on time of day, driver availability, destination, traffic etc. On more than one occassion, when travelling fairly locally, we didn't bother with Grab because the fare was too high, wandered to the end of the soi and caught a regular taxi.

As for paying more in Hua Hin, agree completely. The main point of my post.

[buksida]

Hua Hin is a tourist town so you're paying a premium for pretty much everything ... still it isn't as bad as Phuket! I've found Grab/Bolt less than half the taxi bandit price in HH but a little bit more than regular taxis in BKK, but you're paying for the convenience of the pickup and no hassle with haggling with the driver who probably doesn't want to go where you do which is often the case.

[caller]

but a little bit more than regular taxis in BKK, but you're paying for the convenience of the pickup and no hassle with haggling with the driver who probably doesn't want to go where you do which is often the case.

As stated, I agree about the convenience of not having to find a cab and happy to pay for a premium to do so. But I sometimes feel the fee for grab can be a lot higher, especially for longer journeys. The last time I went to the clinic I need to visit, I had to pay a whopping 365 baht for the privilege. A normal cab is circa 210 baht. There are also fewer cabs looking for the fare. If it's more local, it's cheaper and easier to get a cab.

Over a year ago now, I met with my friends son in Bkk, he's now 22/23 and the last tine I had seen him, he was about 12! He was on his way to an 'intern' position in Cambodia. So duly armed with all the social media horror stories about taxi rip offs, he ordered a grab to pick him up at the airport. He was staying near to the Khao San Road, about 100 metres from the river. He told me the fare was a whopping 750 baht! I told him he'd had been better off getting a normal taxi!