Motorcycle taxi mafia extort B1.2bn a year

Registration plan to ease their grip

Manop Thip-osod Porpot Changyawa

Gangs controlling motorcycle taxis in Bangkok earn at least 100 million baht a month from fees imposed on more than 1,800 motorcycle-taxi queues.

That lucrative business is threatened by the government's anti-mafia drive.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau has found 1,838 motorcycle-taxi queues work on minor roads and in housing estates.

An unofficial survey estimates the city has at least 100,000 motorcycle taxis. As drivers pay a daily fee of 30-50 baht to their controllers, the gangs are probably making 100 million baht a month, or 1.2 billion baht a year.

Taxi motorcyclists say some of the money goes to police. They hailed the government's plan to free them from the influential controllers.

Prasert Pumnarai, 31, who works on Charansanitwong soi 45 road, said he paid 4,000 baht for a queue vest and a daily fee of 40 baht to Sompote Homchong, the queue controller.

He had to pay the daily fee even when he was sick. The woman would not allow him to send a replacement.

``We know well who our money goes to. Police are among the recipients.

``This is true for all queues. Without the payment, they cannot exist,'' Mr Prasert said.

He would be happier to pay 30 baht a day to the state.

Mrs Sompote denied she referred the money to police.

Mongkol Srisuwan, 26, said that excluding his daily fee of 50 baht, he earned about 200 baht a day.

In his queue there were about 300 motorcycles and the controller was probably earning 450,000 baht a month.

Somkiart Pasunai, 38, said his queue vest was 6,000 baht. He pays daily instalments for the vest and a daily service fee of 20 baht.

``Our daily expenses are high but we have no option.''

Bangkok Governor Samak Sudaravej said the riders would have to register with the district authority and he would put a lid on their number.

City officials would work with metropolitan police to find out the precise number of motorcycle taxis and their stands around the city.

``There will not be any more taxi motorcycles popping up after this survey,'' he said.

On Tuesday the prime minister agreed to put money from the Government Lottery Office into buying uniform vests for all Bangkok taxi motorcyclists to show they had registered with the authority.

Taxi motorcyclists would have to register at district offices for a licence, approved by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and police.

Motorcyclists might have to pay a small fee to register or renew their licences.

``Registration will help `liberate' motorcyclists from having to pay controllers,'' Mr Samak said.

Sangsidh Piriyarangsan, vice-chairman of the National Economic and Social Advisory Council, said registration of taxi motorcyclists was not enough to rid them of the people who took advantage of them.

Registration would result in motorcyclists paying local officials instead of people wielding mafia-type influence.

``The government should legalise taxi motorcycles by registering them with the Labour Ministry to provide them with social welfare and bring them under the tax system,'' Mr Sangsidh said.