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July 7, 2021

Thailand Introduces Online Ride-Hailing Services Regulations

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Thailand’s Transport Ministry has issued new rules for ride-hailing services, aiming to strictly regulate the types of vehicle that can be registered, the number of registered vehicles per user, and the fees that are levied and collected. These rules are laid out in the Ministerial Regulation Re: Ride-Hailing Service Vehicle via an Electronic System B.E. 2564 (2021), which was published in the Royal Gazette on June 23, 2021.

Under the regulation, a personal vehicle transporting no more than seven passengers can be subsequently registered as a “ride-hailing service vehicle via an electronic system.” An individual is only allowed to register one private vehicle under the regulation. The vehicle registrations are classified as follows:

  • Small vehicles with a maximum engine power of 50–90 kilowatts;
  • Medium vehicles with a maximum engine power of 91–120 kilowatts; or
  • Large vehicles with a maximum engine power of more than 120 kilowatts.

In the case of an electric vehicle, it must be able to travel at a speed of at least 90 km/h.

Each ride-hailing vehicle must be covered by a service-providing communication system operated by an electronic service provider (e.g., a ride-hailing app) that has been endorsed and approved by the Department of Land Transport (DLT). This system must communicate the following details:

  • Car and driver information;
  • Driver’s identity system;
  • Pre-calculated fare;
  • Car tracking system;
  • Time and location validation system; and
  • Complaint and emergency system.

All data records must be retained for at least one month for examination purposes.

The regulation further prescribes that the vehicle must display a sign indicating that it is a ride-hailing service vehicle operating via an electronic system, and the vehicle must be the same color as appears in the personal vehicle registration certificate prior to its registration as a ride-hailing vehicle.

Registration under the regulation is valid for nine years. The ride-hailing vehicle registration plate’s size, specifications, and color are identical to the criteria for registering personal vehicles carrying no more than seven people, meaning that the same vehicle registration plate can be used for the ride-hailing vehicle. The condition of the ride-hailing vehicle must also be examined annually, as prescribed by ministerial regulations under the Vehicle Act B.E. 2522 (1979), and both the interior and exterior must be kept clean and tidy.

Service Fees

The regulation empowers the minister of transport to prescribe the fees for ride-hailing vehicles; the current fees are outlined in the table below.

All fees must be shown to the passenger before the provision of any service, and only this same amount can be charged and collected.

For more details about this regulation, or about any aspect of transportation and technology laws in Thailand, please contact Charuwan Charoonchitsathian at [email protected] or +66 2056 5657, or Panchanit Trakarnvanich at [email protected] or +66 2056 5531.

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