A Chiang Mai taxi driver from Maxim application claimed he was deceived into travelling more than 200 kilometres for a cancelled booking and received widespread support online, but the ride-hailing platform offered a different account of the incident.
The case gained attention after the Pang Mapha Police Station in Mae Hong Son province shared it on Facebook on June 2. The post attracted nearly 5,000 reactions and more than 200 comments.
According to the police post, the 59 year old driver accepted a booking through the Maxim application for a trip from Big C in Pang Mapha district in Mae Hong Son to a destination in San Kamphaeng district in Chiang Mai.
The journey covered more than 200 kilometres and was expected to take around four hours. The driver told police that he and the passenger had agreed on a transport fare of 3,000 baht.
However, a video shared by the police showed that the fare on the app was actually 1,448 baht, raising suspicions over an illegal fixed fare.
Police said the driver travelled from Chiang Mai to the designated pickup point in Mae Hong Son and remained in contact with the passenger throughout the journey to confirm that the booking was genuine due to the long distance involved.
However, upon arriving at the pickup location, the driver reportedly could not find the passenger. According to the post, patrol officers encountered the driver while on duty and spoke with him about the situation.
After learning what had happened, officers gathered information available through the application and stated that further inquiries would be conducted.
In a later update posted in the comments section, police said a Thai woman who learned of the driver’s situation transferred 1,500 baht to help cover his fuel costs. Officers also encouraged social media users to share the post as a warning to other drivers operating in the area.
The story gained wider attention after being reported by several Thai news outlets, prompting Maxim to issue a statement addressing the incident.
In comments provided to The Thaiger, the company state…
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was an attempt to persuade the passenger to cancel the trip booked through the platform and arrange the transportation outside the platform.”
Maxim did not identify who attempted to move the booking outside the application.
The company added that passengers have the right to make their own travel decisions and stressed that it does not support trips conducted outside the platform due to concerns relating to safety, transparency and user protection.
According to Maxim, the matter remains under investigation and the company is considering additional measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The platform also stated that it is prepared to cooperate with police and relevant government agencies if requested. At the time of publication, no further findings from the police investigation had been announced.
The story App-based taxi driver claims passenger ditches booking, platform reveals different version as seen on Thaiger News.
