Why are Taxi Touts Allowed

Can anyone answer this question why at Bangkok International Airport are Taxi Touts allowed when ther are legitamate taxi firms trying to make an honest living and paying the tax etc.

In most airports in the world these taxi touts would be banned from the airport building, why do the authorities allow them to tout for business at the expense of the honest taxi firms.

Why are Taxi Touts Allowed

Because they pay off the security guards. Wonder what else they will turn a blind eye to for the cash?

Hope that makes you feel safer flying out of BKK!

Why are Taxi Touts Allowed

HI

the taxi touts are legitamate

they offer a taxi type service but they are private cars..

they bend the rules by using semantics and calling out taxi

to unwary pospective clients. who then assume it is a taxi.

when in fact it is a private car and they charge much more.

they must be doing ok as there are so many of them.

some people like the idea of a private car or limo.

It is just a game every airport or city has their own pecular games

Touts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tout

*

They perform a valuable service!

These ';touts'; remove the gullible, the naive and the stupid tourists from being in line - and in front of you - when you sign up for the cheaper meter taxi rides or the cheaper Airport Express bus!

Most of the ';touts'; do provide transportation or other services but you pay more for that service! Same, same for the ';hotel reps'; at the airport, they do provide hotels, but they may be in an area you don%26#39;t want to be in or be more expensive than what you can get on your own!

When you enter the train station (Hualampong) you will be met by ';Official Reps'; with name tags on stating that they are ';official,'; avoid them too!

Good luck!

Name of the game in BKK as everywhere else is this:... do your homework before you get there so that you know what to expect to pay and where to buy it.. If you don%26#39;t or are an ';impulse buyer';... or leave it for others to do the ';dirty work'; and spend your money .. you pay for the ';service';... Comsumer protection is not overly develloped in Thailand.

my understanding was that the touts largely had ';influential backers'; who the airport authorities dare not cross ie senior military or police epople

Not far off there Andy! Though the militar.....oops, government have crackeddown in the past couple of weeks and the touts have been conspicuous by their absence.For how long.............