Entrepreneur Brings Meters to Motorcycle Taxis

[Nikkar Narayana]

Next month, the motorcycle taxis that dart through the streets of Thailand will be getting a new feature for the first time in history: a meter.

As an American doing business in Thailand, Paul Giles was amazed that rates for one of the country’s most prevalent forms of transportation — the motorcycle taxi — were negotiated on the spot, often after a stressful haggling match that left either driver or passenger feeling cheated.

“Your average Joe driver must haggle over fares roughly 500 times a month, usually in the middle of a hectic street, frequently with thick-accented foreigners, and often ending in lost fares or confrontations,” Giles said. “Most every driver and passenger we’ve spoken with or surveyed dislikes negotiating the fare. It’s the number one complaint.”

Giles wondered why the ubiquitous bikes known as moto-taxis didn’t have meters, which led him to think that he should build one himself and sell it to moto-taxi drivers.

As with most modern business epiphanies, Giles headed to Google to find out if someone else’s a-ha moment predated his. Amazingly, there wasn’t a single mention of a meter for motorcycle taxis that he could find. “The idea crossed my mind in the beginning of 2003, and when I searched online there wasn’t a single mention of it, nothing,” he said. “For the most part, I think the idea had been overlooked, like other ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ ideas.”

Giles founded World Moto, and after eight years of research and development released the Moto-Meter, a tamper-proof device that set a moto-taxi fares. In April, the Thai government and a motorcycle taxi association will begin a pilot program to test Moto-Metered taxis on the streets of Bangkok.

[Sahiti]

sSa_j@il

[PMREDDY19]

scooter , ki taxi , emi concept raa baboy?

[samantha.]

*=: *=: *=: *=: