Taxi fare: Two baht every ten seconds???
Our video team has posted a video clip from a social media user that has created quite a bit of discussion around the Bangkok.
It is from a taxi passenger who is surprised that the meter keeps rising at what heperceives to be two baht every ten seconds. He mentions this to the taxi driver whoassures him it is correct and that his meter passed an inspection very recently.
The passenger, although polite, clearly feels something is wrong and he posts his short clip to Facebook.
Many adults don't seem to know how to analyze the situation, but I'm sure our student readers should be able to figure out if the meter was set properly or not. So please help.
First of all, was the fare really increasing at two baht every ten seconds? At the beginning of the clip, the fare was 65 baht and we don't how long it had been at thatlevel. At the end, 95 seconds later, it was 75 baht.
Now look at the official breakdown for Bangkok taxi fare rates. At the time of the filming, the journey was clearly above 1 kilometre but less than ten kilometres, so thefare should be going up at a rate of 5.5 baht per kilometre. Thus, at the two kilometre mark, the fare increase should reach at least 10 baht and probably 12 because increases are two baht, not one. Since the taxi was said to be travelling at 80 kilometres per hour, you should be able to figure out how far the taxi had travelled during the clip. (Confused? At 80 kilometres/ minute, how far would the taxi go in one minute? 1.33 kms)
So, was the passenger being cheated? You can let us know your idea on our Facebook page.