# Thailand to Tighten Oversight of App-Based Ride-Hailing Services

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/law/330996-thailand-to-tighten-oversight-of-app-based-ride-hailing-services
- Published: 2026-09-30T06:39:00+07:00
- Author: J. Allan

Thailand’s Ministry of Transport will intensify enforcement of ride-hailing regulations
starting October 1, targeting eight platforms including Grab, Bolt, and LINE MAN.
Authorities will verify driver licenses and vehicle registrations, introducing an“
app report card” system to track compliance violations. Licence applications have
already risen significantly since platforms agreed to cooperate in June.

The policy shifts greater responsibility onto platforms to ensure regulatory compliance,
with violations carrying fines or imprisonment. While the changes aim to improve
safety and formalize the sector, they may increase costs for drivers and platforms,
potentially raising fares or prompting some drivers to leave. The government faces
a balancing act between passenger protection and maintaining affordable, accessible
transport.

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Thailand will step up enforcement of regulations governing app-based ride-hailing
services from October 1, in a move that will affect drivers, vehicles and digital
platforms.

The Ministry of Transport announced the tougher enforcement after a meeting chaired
by Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat. Authorities are seeking to
raise safety standards and ensure that services comply with the legal requirements
governing public transport

The campaign covers eight platforms: Grab, Bolt, inDrive, TADA, MAXIM, LINE MAN,
Lalamove and FINGOGO. The Department of Land Transport will monitor whether drivers
hold the required licences and whether vehicles are properly registered.

Authorities will also introduce an “app report card” system to assess platform compliance.
The mechanism will record violations involving the assignment of trips to drivers
without public-service licences or to vehicles that have not completed the registration
process.

The government said the period before enforcement begins gave drivers and companies
time to regularise their operations. Since the platforms announced their cooperation
in June, applications for licences for public car and motorcycle drivers have increased.

Monthly applications for public car-driver licences rose from an average of 2,915
to 8,839. For public motorcycle-driver licences, the average increased from 2,271
to 9,383.

## Greater responsibility for platforms

The new policy will also place greater responsibility on technology companies. Platforms
will not merely connect passengers and drivers; they will also have to verify that
the services offered through their applications comply with national regulations.

Violations could result in fines, imprisonment or both, depending on the nature 
of the offence. Enforcement will focus particularly on drivers operating without
the required licences and vehicles working outside the registration system.

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The changes could improve passenger safety and reduce competition from informal 
operators. They may also make it easier to identify drivers in cases involving accidents,
fraud or complaints.

However, formalisation comes at a cost. Drivers may face additional expenses for
licences, inspections, insurance and vehicle registration. Platforms, meanwhile,
will need to invest in stricter verification and monitoring systems.

Some of these costs could eventually be passed on to passengers through higher fares.
There is also a risk that some drivers will leave the platforms if they believe 
the new requirements reduce their earnings too sharply.

The government is trying to balance two objectives that do not always move in the
same direction: protecting users and keeping transport affordable. Thailand needs
to regulate a sector that has expanded rapidly, but it cannot ignore that millions
of people rely on these applications for mobility and income.

From October 1, the app-based transport market will enter a more tightly regulated
phase. The real test will not be how many fines are issued, but whether the new 
rules create a safer system without making digital transport less available or less
affordable.