Police move to curb tuk-tuk turf wars in Thai tourist spot

PHUKET, THAILAND // The police chief of Patong, Colonel Grissak Songmoonnark, says the popular holiday destination of Phuket, has too many tuk-tuks on the road and competition between drivers is leading to unreasonable fares, arguments and even physical violence. His comments follow an incident where a Canadian tourist was allegedly assaulted by a tuk-tuk driver who is now in police custody awaiting trial. There are an estimated 500 tuk-tuks on the roads of Phuket Island, where Patong is the main town but Colonel Songmoonnark says 200 would be enough to supply the market. "Problems arise because of the rivalry between the tuk-tuk groups, which means they often cannot make pick-ups so return trips are usually made empty," says Colonel Songmoonnark. "The empty return trip is built in to the price. It should be 150 baht (Dh16.61) to travel from Karon to Patong, but because the driver has to return empty, he charges 300 baht (Dh32.22)."