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I had a case where I took a metered taxi in Bangkok with another passenger: when we stopped at the other passenger's destination to drop them, the taxi driver didn't understand that I would stay in the taxi and go somewhere else. Instead, the taxi driver said he had stopped the meter and that he couldn't resume it (i.e. that instead of resuming the trip, we'd have to start from scratch, i.e. with the 35 THB base fare preloaded or agree on a fixed fare).

The meter was looking as follows when the taxi driver said he had stopped it:

enter image description here

This led me to wonder the following question: If a taxi driver in Thailand stops the meter (the amount is still visible on the meter screen as shown on the picture above. I.e. the meter screen wasn't turned off), can they resume it?

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    The opinion-based close voter is welcome to explain their logic. That's a purely factual question right here. Meters are standardized.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 4:02

1 Answer 1

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This will likely depend on the specific regulations in force in Bangkok at the time, and possibly the model of taximeter installed1.

However, for the one model of taximeter I could find an operations guide for it was clear that the operator had an option to Pause the meter (from which he could press Pause again to resume the trip), but once Pay was selected then the only available option subsequently was Reset.

If the taxi driver believed that the trip was complete he'd probably go to Pay, and quite possibly he would have no option but to start a new trip. If he understood that the trip was to continue he'd have just left the meter running.

1 Taximeters have software tailored to the specific market they're intended for. If a specific sequence of operations isn't covered by the regulations then different models of taximeter may operate differently.

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    Note to meter developers: Add a Pay partially
    – bracco23
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 9:45
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    I’d like to point out that (and I love Thailand and the Thai people so don’t take this the wrong way) that with education levels being what they are in Thailand, and Taxi Drivers being at the low end of the educated workforce, it’s kind of irrelevant if the meter itself lets you do this as it’s entirely possible the driver just didn’t know he could do it and he has only been shown a specific order of steps to follow to allow him to do his job.
    – Darren
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 10:01
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    @franck Maybe the driver couldn't restart the trip, or maybe he didn't know how, or maybe he was trying to scam you. We don't know. Don't try to teach the driver his job. Pay the 35 baht (about US$1), chill out and let the driver enjoy his small bonus. And be clearer about your intentions next time.
    – user105640
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 11:53
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    @FranckDernoncourt if you’re unable to explain that someone wishes to exit the taxi and then the trip to continue, I doubt you’ll be able to explain to a taxi driver how his own equipment works...
    – Tim
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 18:10
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    Different location, but as a taxi driver in Denmark, this is exactly how the meters I've used work. You can pause and resume, but once you've hit pay, the only option is to start a new fare including the base price once again. This is tied in with the receipt system too, where it can't print a receipt before it's on that last step that doesn't allow resuming. Ideally, the driver should ensure this was the final stop, but with 99% of fares being single stop, it's normal habit to go directly to pay when stopped.
    – William
    Commented Jul 27, 2020 at 22:05

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