There has been a recent Baht Bus thread, bus this is regarding a more general issue.
Years ago, you could grab a Baht bus at the southern parts of Jomtien Beach Road and go all the way to Walking Street in one stop. At 10 Baht (allthough 20 Baht was appreciated). Or you could go from Pattaya Second Road all the way to Jomtien at 10 Baht (again, 20 Baht was appreciated).
Nowadays, you might want to go to Pattaya from, say, Soi White House in Jomtien, and you'll have to take a Baht Bus going south (and feel lucky) or walk through Soi 7 to Jomtien Second Road and pray that a Baht Bus will come (and stop), and then the Baht Bus might turn right and stop at the Pattaya Second Road/South Road crossing. Then you'll cross the road and enter a Baht Bus going north nearby the Turkish kebab shop. It will get you as far as Terminal 21. There you'll have to switch to another Baht Bus that will take you to Beach Road/Walking Street.
Your journey the opposite way from, say, the Second Road side of The Royal Garden Plaza will take you to Terminal 21, then another Baht Bus to the Pattaya South Road/Second Road intersection, and then a third Baht Bus from the Baht Bus waiting point to somewhere along Jomtien Beach Road. If there are few passengers, the driver might choose to turn left as early as Soi 5 or 7. And there is tour fourth Baht Bus adventure of the night. And this driver might want to charge you a Baht Bus taxi fee to drive you further down south of Jomtien Beach Road.
I have been a proponent for the Baht Busses for a long time, and I have usually booked hotels along the Baht Bus routes for the convenience. However, nowadays I'll book accomodation whereever and book a Grab/Bolt taxi and get from A to B in a no hassle, air conditioned environment for a few Baht more. I love the Baht Busses, and I've never had any problems as such, but the conveniency has gone imo. Raise the price a bit, and let's get the convenience back.
What are your thoughts?