Benz taxis launched with 150-baht minimum fare

BANGKOK, June 1 (TNA) – The Land Transport Department and All Thai Taxi Co have deployed luxury taxis with Mercedes-Benz C350e Avantgarde targeting corporate customers, businesspeople and upscale tourists. Sanit Phromwong, director-general of the department, said they were another choice for commuters in business and hotel sectors as well as tourists who wanted luxurious and comfortable rides and premium services. The Mercedes-Benz taxis were part of the department’s Taxi VIP project which requires new and high-performance vehicles equipped with safety facilities, real-time cameras, emergency buttons, and GPS tracking. Fares were set at 150 baht for the first two kilometers, 12-16 baht for each kilometer farther, and six baht per minute of traffic jams. Besides, passengers will be additionally charged 50 baht for a taxi call via a communication center and 100 baht for a service reservation or a call at an airport. Mr Sanit said there would be 1,000-2,000 such VIP taxis in the first year of the project and about 10,000 of them should be enough to meet demand. Kruawal Wongrakmit, director of All Thai Taxi Co, said passengers would have free drinking water, newspapers, Wi-Fi and mobile phone recharging services on the Mercedes-Benz taxis. (TNA)