Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

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IraHayes
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by IraHayes »

hunter8 wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 5:49 pm
Doc67 wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 4:55 pm
“It’s really hard, bro! To be frank, in one day, I get only one ride,” said the husband and father last month. “Today, from morning till night, I had only one ride, and I need to pay to the ride-hailing company and some for gas.”
I smelt a rat when they quoted a tuk tuk using the phrase, "to be frank"
They have similar expressions in khmer and use them often like we use “honestly, to be frank, actually, etc.”
Seriously, how many tuk tuk drivers do you know called Frank? I too smell a rat!
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by hunter8 »

IraHayes wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 5:55 pm Seriously, how many tuk tuk drivers do you know called Frank? I too smell a rat!
Lol, ok, i am slow.
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by AndyKK »

So it seems we don't have sympathy for tuk-tuk drivers, I thought of them a little better when the App drivers came into play, with the more or less fairness in price. Some didn't because some drivers again found the way to cheat the customer. But with the situation like other trades they are suffering a loss. It does surprise me even so that tourists are the bulk of their earnings in Phnom Penh.

Now what was that other thread - How do Khmers treat you?
Always "hope" but never "expect".
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IraHayes
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by IraHayes »

AndyKK wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:26 pm So it seems we don't have sympathy for tuk-tuk drivers, I thought of them a little better when the App drivers came into play, with the more or less fairness in price. Some didn't because some drivers again found the way to cheat the customer. But with the situation like other trades they are suffering a loss. It does surprise me even so that tourists are the bulk of their earnings in Phnom Penh.

Now what was that other thread - How do Khmers treat you?
I have used them but once I am happy with knowing the fair for a repeat trip... ie my place to the night market, or work etc. I am more than happy to give them that price (including my usual tip) and let them run it without going through the app. I pay the same price as if I was using the app and they get a bit extra as no app company taking commission. But this only works for trips to repeat locations where I know what the fare will be before hand. I could’ve used Grab to find the trip fare I guess but I only ever downloaded pass app.
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by AndyKK »

IraHayes wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:35 pm
AndyKK wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:26 pm So it seems we don't have sympathy for tuk-tuk drivers, I thought of them a little better when the App drivers came into play, with the more or less fairness in price. Some didn't because some drivers again found the way to cheat the customer. But with the situation like other trades they are suffering a loss. It does surprise me even so that tourists are the bulk of their earnings in Phnom Penh.

Now what was that other thread - How do Khmers treat you?
I have used them but once I am happy with knowing the fair for a repeat trip... ie my place to the night market, or work etc. I am more than happy to give them that price (including my usual tip) and let them run it without going through the app. I pay the same price as if I was using the app and they get a bit extra as no app company taking commission. But this only works for trips to repeat locations where I know what the fare will be before hand. I could’ve used Grab to find the trip fare I guess but I only ever downloaded pass app.
I too have only used pass app and the drivers have been honest, I once did a trip in the old type tuk-tuk and the fare was $5 and I know I got ripped off. I did the same journey back by pass app 5000reil :facepalm:
Always "hope" but never "expect".
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Marty
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by Marty »

You didnt get ripped off, but it is a ripoff. You chose to use the dude that lays around most of the day and has to make up for it in a higher fare. Those dudes choose not to hustle the way the app tied dudes do, who arent on a picnic. Theyre driving most of the time for a lower margin on each fare.
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by jaynewcastle »

AndyKK wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:26 pm So it seems we don't have sympathy for tuk-tuk drivers, I thought of them a little better when the App drivers came into play, with the more or less fairness in price. Some didn't because some drivers again found the way to cheat the customer. But with the situation like other trades they are suffering a loss. It does surprise me even so that tourists are the bulk of their earnings in Phnom Penh.
If they're charging tourists 3,4 or5 times as much for the same trip that locals/expats would pay, its not a surprise anymore I suppose

Hanging around the hotels, looking for much-inflated fares is probably quite profitable, compared to working a 15hr shift for normal fares
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by Foreigner »

jaynewcastle wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 12:24 am
AndyKK wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 6:26 pm So it seems we don't have sympathy for tuk-tuk drivers, I thought of them a little better when the App drivers came into play, with the more or less fairness in price. Some didn't because some drivers again found the way to cheat the customer. But with the situation like other trades they are suffering a loss. It does surprise me even so that tourists are the bulk of their earnings in Phnom Penh.
If they're charging tourists 3,4 or5 times as much for the same trip that locals/expats would pay, its not a surprise anymore I suppose

Hanging around the hotels, looking for much-inflated fares is probably quite profitable, compared to working a 15hr shift for normal fares

Some of the fares mentioned on here are bullshit though. Just like some people say the going rate for a stunna from pontoon for the night is $10 if you know what you're doing, there's a couple on here just dropping in that the normal rate is about 1000 riel for 1km or something. A reasonable price for a ride across the centre of town's about 2.5-3 dollars. Yes of course some of the drivers of traditional tuks will try to rip you off, and might get away with it late at night, but some of the cheap fares suggested on this thread are bullshit imo.
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by frizzie77 »

Foreigner wrote: Mon May 04, 2020 12:58 am some of the cheap fares suggested on this thread are bullshit imo.
Maybe, but can you then explain why 95% of locals now use PassApp/Grab etc. instead of the traditional tuk tuk? It must be because of them offering better quality, right? Oops, I mean better (read: lower) rates.

By the way, do you have any experience with the rates of PassApp/Grab and the likes compared to what the traditional tuk tuk tries to get off you?
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Re: Phnom Penh Tuktuk Drivers are Feeling the Coronavirus Slowdown

Post by siliconlife »

Marty wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 7:35 pm You didnt get ripped off, but it is a ripoff. You chose to use the dude that lays around most of the day and has to make up for it in a higher fare. Those dudes choose not to hustle the way the app tied dudes do, who arent on a picnic. Theyre driving most of the time for a lower margin on each fare.
No, no, no. That is a ripoff, or he did get ripped off, I don't really understand your distinction there. Paying for someone to sleep around all day is not part of a fare. Logic.
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