How do you get a taxi, and what about tuk-tuks?
Short answer
Insist on the meter — switching it off for a fixed price is illegal, and 1584 is the government hotline for reporting it. Tuk-tuks have no meter, so that price is negotiated before you get in.
The meter is the law, not a preference
The government's own tourist guidance is blunt: it is against the law for a taxi driver to ask a fixed price without turning on the meter. If that happens, the advice is to refuse and take another taxi — there is always another taxi.
There is a number for it. The Public Transport Passenger Protection Centre answers on 1584, and the Department of Land Transport separately urges travellers toward legally compliant ride-hailing apps for fair pricing and traceability.
Tuk-tuks play by different rules
A tuk-tuk has no meter, so the price is negotiated before the ride starts — that is the system working as designed, not a driver taking advantage.
Because the number is set by conversation, agree it explicitly and out loud before you sit down. A tuk-tuk is best treated as an experience you are buying at a price you accepted, rather than as transport priced by distance.
The wider price awareness
The same guidance notes that prices for foreigners run higher than for Thais in some places, particularly outside fixed-price shops, and recommends comparing and bargaining politely rather than assuming the first number is the number.
None of this makes the country adversarial — it makes the meter, the app, and the pre-agreed price the three tools that keep transactions clean. Use whichever one the vehicle you are looking at is built around.
Good to know
- Meter off with a fixed price quoted = illegal; walk away
- 1584 is the passenger protection hotline
- Tuk-tuk prices are agreed before you sit down, by design
Raise a hand at any vacant taxi, or queue at a station rank. A red sign in the windscreen means it is free.
Through an app. Beijing's own guidance says waving at the kerb is so obsolete it barely works — DiDi, with an English interface, is how rides happen.
By brand, not by chance: the tourism board names the reputable metered firms — Mai Linh in green, Vinasun in white, Taxi Group in Hanoi — and the apps work if you have a local SIM.
Apps do most of the work. Street hailing works, but a driver may pass on a destination they do not fancy.
Flag a yellow cab on the street — the meter does the rest. There is even an English-language hotline, 0800-055-850, that orders one for you.