coz you think in terms of USD/ Euro and minimum wages in your home countries. Thailand is not that expensive to live.
Also taxi drivers earn a lot more in western countries than those in Asian ones. driving taxi can support your family very well in western countries. in Asia, its not really a job of choice.
exactly. people need to convert the baht to their currency and then trigger the right emotions. so if anyone is getting scammed for 50baht, think they are getting ripped by 50usd. 50baht may not sound a lot, but the taxi driver expectations are set wrong and they start feeling that ripping off is actually ok. its actually not.
thats another big issue. meter manipulation. there is no way to find until you reach the destination. although you can record the journey, calculate the actual fare, refuse to pay and file a complaint. not sure if thats easy.