On 23 June 2021, the Ministerial Regulation on Transport Vehicles via Electronic System B.E. 2564 (A.D. 2021) was published in the Royal Gazette as the first legislation legalising ride-hailing services in Thailand. This comes as no surprise given the rising popularity of commuting via ride-hailing applications and the government’s need to regulate and promote the sharing economy.
Pursuant to the Ministerial Regulation, any person who wishes to provide ride-hailing services is required to register the vehicle, with a limit of one vehicle per person, under the following key conditions:
- personal cars with up to seven seats can be registered for ride-hailing vehicles, which are divided into three categories, namely small vehicles (50 to 90 kW engines), medium vehicles (>90 to 120 kW engines) and large vehicles (>120 kW engines);
- in case of electric motor driven vehicles, they shall have maximum speed not less than 90 kilometers per hour;
- the vehicles shall have not less than four doors and the prescribed types and characteristics;
- the vehicles shall be equipped with proper communication devices as approved by the Department of Land Transport;
- the vehicles shall display the ride-hailing registration marks and maintain the original colour as appeared in their registration books prior to being registered as ride-hailing vehicles; and
- the vehicles must not be used for more than nine years following initial registration.
Fares for ride-hailing services are divided into two ranges, which are under the same fare ceiling as traditional taxis and are chargable as shown in-app before using the service as follows:
- small and medium vehicles - a cap at Baht 50 for the first two kilometres, Baht 12 per kilometre for beyond, and Baht 3 per minute for non-motion; and
- large vehicles - a cap at Baht 200 for the first two kilometres, Baht 30 per kilometre for beyond, and Baht 10 per minute for non-motion.
Further details regarding qualifications and requirements concerning ride-hailing drivers and applications remain to be announced
"This document is solely intended to provide an update on recent development in Thailand legislation and is not purported to provide a legal opinion, nor a legal advice to any person."
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