Cabbies protest service changes

TRANSPORT / SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT

Cabbies protest service changes

AMORNRAT MAHITTHIROOK & SUTHIWIT CHAYUTWORAKAN

Samut Prakan _ Passengers were stranded and traffic was paralysed at Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday as about 2,000 taxi drivers protested against abrupt changes in taxi service management. The protesting drivers refused to pick up passengers. They gathered at the Public Transport Centre and later moved to the airport's arrival terminal to block traffic arriving at the airport.

The protest began about 8am after licensed taxi drivers holding airport permits were told to return them and to park their cars at a new site 5km away from the airport. The new site is no longer provided free of charge.

The taxi drivers became furious when airport management let unlicensed taxis in to pick up stranded passengers. They tried to block other taxis from entering the airport.

About 50 police officers were called in to handle the situation.

The protesters dispersed about 3pm after Airports of Thailand (AoT) agreed to suspend the plan and consider proposals from taxi drivers.Suvarnabhumi airport director Serirat Prasutanont said the AoT wanted to pass the responsibility and cost of managing taxi queues to the drivers themselves.

Mr Serirat cited high costs and the need for more parking space.

The airport currently pays a private company 700,000 baht a month to manage taxi queues. It also foots a monthly bill of 300,000 baht for water, electricity and cleaning of the taxi parking lot.

The AoT also wanted to reduce the number of parking spaces provided at the Public Transport Centre from 1,000 to 400, he said.

To avoid confusion over the busy New Year period, the AoT launched a test run of the plan yesterday, with the official change set for Jan 1. But most licensed taxi drivers were not told in advance.

Faced with the protests, the AoT agreed to cancel the arrangements made earlier with a committee which had claimed to represent the licensed drivers.