I'm confused about the BTS Rabbit card or something does not add up

[gma992]

So, this is how I use it:

 

- Got the adult Rabbit card (orange one)
- Paid initially 100 THB (deposit) + 15 trips for 465 THB
- Normally I travel Bang Na BTS to Asoke BTS and back
- After something like 8 one-way trips, the credit is gone.
- I refill 500 THB and the person in the counter tell me is valid for 8 more trips

So my understanding is that the average cost of the trip is 31 THB, and stopping on the extension line (Bang Na), it also deducts around 10-15 THB per trip.

 

So even if costs me 31 + 15 = 46 THB per trip, still does not add up and should allow more than 8 trips.

 

What I'm not seeing here? Looks like is costing me more to use the card than just pay per ticket individually.

 

Thanks,

 

Edit: grammar.

Edited November 23, 2017 by gma992

[planr]

When you say the credit is used after 8 trips, do you mean 8 one-way trips? Or 8 round round trips between Asoke and Bangna? The 15 "trips" for THB 465 would be for one-way only...

[gma992]

2 minutes ago, planr said:

When you say the credit is used after 8 trips, do you mean 8 one-way trips? Or 8 round round trips between Asoke and Bangna? The 15 "trips" for THB 465 would be for one-way only...

 

8 one-way trips. I'll edit the main post.

Edited November 23, 2017 by gma992

[Thian]

BTS ticketprices have increased a lot, something like almost 50% recently i believe...

 

Maybe you still got the old price in your head?

[Crossy]

2 hours ago, gma992 said:

After something like 8 one-way trips, the credit is gone.

Which "credit" is used up?

 

What does the error message on the gate say?

 

2 hours ago, gma992 said:

Looks like is costing me more to use the card than just pay per ticket individually.

Yes, that can happen if your journey costs less than the per-trip cost of your pass. Passes work well for long trips, less so for short ones. BTS have not implemented a "best fare" system as yet.

 

Don't buy another pass, just load up with value.

 

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, Thian said:

BTS ticketprices have increased a lot, something like almost 50% recently i believe...

Nonsense.

[gma992]

11 hours ago, Crossy said:

Which "credit" is used up?

 

What does the error message on the gate say?

 

Don't buy another pass, just load up with value.

 

I have to double check that, basically caught me by surprise as I was expecting at least double the trips I got. There was just a red error message about just 100 THB credit (the minimum and you cannot use the card if reaches that point) and then I went to the counter, topped up the card with + 500 THB and the lady told me "8 trips".

[Crossy]

If you enter at a "core" station I understand there is no minimum purse balance to enter if you have a pass.

If you enter at an "extension" station there is a minimum purse balance before you can enter, even if you have a pass. I'm pretty sure it's around 15 Baht so I'm not sure where the 100 Baht message came from.

 

It seems you used up your purse below the minimum entry value and tried to enter at an extension station, topping up allowed entry and your remaining trips were once more available.

 

[asanee]

Fares are like this: on the OLD BTS-as far as Onnut/WongWienYai, its from 15 to 42 bt max. There was-many, many years ago a 50% rise when the MIN fare went from 10 to 15 bt for next stop-maybe that was shortly after 2000. ADD to that a flat 15 bt for riding the new sections beyond those stops, owned by the BMA and not BTS. This was also raised from 10 bt 2 yrs ago or so-maybe thats the outcry about 50% rise.Thus total MAX is 57 bt.

With a rabbit you do not get any discount if you are just a normal adult. It saves the hassle of Q-ing up and buying ticket eachtime-and sometimes even to find the entry for that.

You CAN get pretty good discounts if you not ask for just add-value, but a TRIP plan- a nr like 20/25/30 trips, to be used in 1 month (unused then will expire) will bring the price down to around 25 bt in lieu of 42. That 15 bt extra will still come extra. Except for the expensive daypass there is NO ride at will season type for longer time.

[eggers]

I use Rabbit card & now buy 15 single trips to Onnut costs 465b (was 450b) valid for 1 month. To use extension I buy separate ticket for 15b to go to Samrong. In your case, going to/from Bangna to Asok, it's debiting for each trip as you say approx. 46b, which would give you approx. 10 trip.

Perhaps , check balance on ticket at office before & after a trip, see how much it cost!!  

 

[gma992]

9 hours ago, asanee said:

With a rabbit you do not get any discount if you are just a normal adult. It saves the hassle of Q-ing up and buying ticket eachtime-and sometimes even to find the entry for that.

You CAN get pretty good discounts if you not ask for just add-value, but a TRIP plan- a nr like 20/25/30 trips, to be used in 1 month (unused then will expire) will bring the price down to around 25 bt in lieu of 42.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

Buying a TRIP plan is exactly what I tried to do (and I though I did) because made sense in my route Asok - Bang Na , but maybe the counter gave me a value card instead. Definitely will insist on a trip card next time.

[Crossy]

8 minutes ago, gma992 said:

because made sense in my route Asok - Bang Na

Check your fare for stored value / vs pass+extension, stored-value may prove cheaper as the pass does not apply to the extensions.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

It's very simple. If you live on the BTS beyond Onnut, you pay an extra 15B per trip downtown. 15 trips costs 465B, but every time you travel Bangna to Asoke, one trip is deducted from the 15, and 15B deducted from the extra 100B you paid initially. After seven of the 15 trips, the extra 100B you paid over and above the 15-trip deal is showing a deficit of 5B (7 x 15B = 105B), which will trigger the turnstile to prompt you to top-up - not the 15-trip deal, of which you still have 8 remaining, but the 100B extra. So if, as you say, you topped up 500B, then you are good to go for eight more trips Bangna-Asoke, at the end of which you will still have a credit of 375B (500B top up less the 5B deficit, less 8 trips at 15B = 375B).

 

Hope this is as clear as mud. Welcome to Thai thinking.

[gma992]

4 hours ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

It's very simple. If you live on the BTS beyond Onnut, you pay an extra 15B per trip downtown. 15 trips costs 465B, but every time you travel Bangna to Asoke, one trip is deducted from the 15, and 15B deducted from the extra 100B you paid initially. After seven of the 15 trips, the extra 100B you paid over and above the 15-trip deal is showing a deficit of 5B (7 x 15B = 105B), which will trigger the turnstile to prompt you to top-up - not the 15-trip deal, of which you still have 8 remaining, but the 100B extra. So if, as you say, you topped up 500B, then you are good to go for eight more trips Bangna-Asoke, at the end of which you will still have a credit of 375B (500B top up less the 5B deficit, less 8 trips at 15B = 375B).

Thanks, that makes much more sense now.

[Grumpy Duck]

14 hours ago, eggers said:

I use Rabbit card & now buy 15 single trips to Onnut costs 465b (was 450b) valid for 1 month. To use extension I buy separate ticket for 15b to go to Samrong. In your case, going to/from Bangna to Asok, it's debiting for each trip as you say approx. 46b, which would give you approx. 10 trip.

Perhaps , check balance on ticket at office before & after a trip, see how much it cost!!  

 

I have a prepaid BTS card and a retiree MRT card. BTS does not allow retiree rates for foreigners. I have had about 250 baht on my BTS card for almost a year as I don't like spending full fare 555 I'd rather ride my motorbike. 

 

I have seen the Rabbit around, but don't understand the value of using one. Would someone explain?

[Crossy]

3 hours ago, Grumpy Duck said:

I have a prepaid BTS card and a retiree MRT card. BTS does not allow retiree rates for foreigners. I have had about 250 baht on my BTS card for almost a year as I don't like spending full fare 555 I'd rather ride my motorbike. 

 

I have seen the Rabbit around, but don't understand the value of using one. Would someone explain?

Rabbit is actually supposed to replace the older pre-pay cards (have you tried yours recently, I thought they had been discontinued). Rabbit also allows you to pay at McDonalds and other places.

 

Sadly Rabbit doesn't work on the MRT. The new Mangmoom card will and should be live within the next 18 months. Not sure if they will issue a Mangmoom Elder card to foreigners, that level of business rules hasn't been worked out yet.

[THAILIBAN]

17 hours ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

It's very simple. If you live on the BTS beyond Onnut, you pay an extra 15B per trip downtown. 15 trips costs 465B, but every time you travel Bangna to Asoke, one trip is deducted from the 15, and 15B deducted from the extra 100B you paid initially. After seven of the 15 trips, the extra 100B you paid over and above the 15-trip deal is showing a deficit of 5B (7 x 15B = 105B), which will trigger the turnstile to prompt you to top-up - not the 15-trip deal, of which you still have 8 remaining, but the 100B extra. So if, as you say, you topped up 500B, then you are good to go for eight more trips Bangna-Asoke, at the end of which you will still have a credit of 375B (500B top up less the 5B deficit, less 8 trips at 15B = 375B).

 

Hope this is as clear as mud. Welcome to Thai thinking.

 

Exactly true and great explanation. This is why I stopped buying trip-based packages  (using Bangna as well) and now only use regular cash top-up value. On the other hand, the person selling you the package should have told you this.

[THAILIBAN]

7 hours ago, Crossy said:

Rabbit is actually supposed to replace the older pre-pay cards (have you tried yours recently, I thought they had been discontinued). Rabbit also allows you to pay at McDonalds and other places.

 

 

And even offers a 10% discount at McDo (I don't eat junk food but the occasional LATTE at McCafe is appreciated).

And you earn points for every top-up which after a while can be used for other offers and discounts (for example discount-vouchers for TescoOnlineshop or Lazada)

[PerkinsCuthbert]

2 hours ago, THAILIBAN said:

 

Exactly true and great explanation. This is why I stopped buying trip-based packages  (using Bangna as well) and now only use regular cash top-up value. On the other hand, the person selling you the package should have told you this.

Yes, the trip-based packages are no real bargain. In my case, I have to travel from my home station, Bangchak, to at least Asoke to save a measly 2B on the regular fare. Even going to MoChit I only save 12 or 13B. 

But don't get me started on the operator of the BTS and how scrimping and mean they are towards their customers; it's a favourite rant of mine.

I feel more sorry for the rump of Bangkok's population - those cleaners, caterers, guards, office workers and so on who are on or near minimum wage - who cannot afford a daily roundtrip of 100B or more on the BTS. They are forced to wait in the heat and pollution, often for half-an-hour or more, for a clapped-out bus to carry them to their work. Then very often, on the way home in the evenings, the wait is longer, if the bus comes at all. 

[Thian]

From mochit to Central world we always paid around the 40 a person single way.

 

Last time we did that was with Rabbit and it was around 60 a person iirc.

 

So in my book that's about 50% raise in price.

 

And what are those machines where you can do something with rabbit? I thought they were for topping up or some bonussystem but it was not working if you didn't provide your details like emailaddress so it was a big waste of time.

 

At first i liked Rabbit but you can't topup easy so i stopped using it, lately many shops have it though but can't topup.

 

 

[berybert]

I have a Rabbit card that is a top up card, I stick a thousand baht on it which lasts a month or so then when it runs out I top it up. 

Don't understand why people worry about saving a couple of baht here and there. To much hassle for my liking.

[Thian]

1 hour ago, berybert said:

I have a Rabbit card that is a top up card, I stick a thousand baht on it which lasts a month or so then when it runs out I top it up. 

Don't understand why people worry about saving a couple of baht here and there. To much hassle for my liking.

Because some people like to understand how things work maybe?

 

For myself i don't care about the price of the skytrain at all but i just like to know what it costs when i use it. And if the price increases i would like to know how much because i don't like to endup at a station where the exit-gate won't open for me cause i didn't have sufficient funds on the card.

 

If the price really increased 50% since last year i think it's a lot! A taxi (for 3 persons) costs about the same from our house to Paragon and is much more convenient. So in that case the skytrain/mrt overpriced itself which isn't contributing to get less cars on the road and less congestion.

 

I'm still waiting for the new passengerboats on the river and the new stoppingpoints for it they were going to build. The boat is much more fun than the subway or skytrain.

[berybert]

On ‎26‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 1:44 PM, Thian said:

Because some people like to understand how things work maybe?

 

For myself i don't care about the price of the skytrain at all but i just like to know what it costs when i use it. And if the price increases i would like to know how much because i don't like to endup at a station where the exit-gate won't open for me cause i didn't have sufficient funds on the card.

 

If the price really increased 50% since last year i think it's a lot! A taxi (for 3 persons) costs about the same from our house to Paragon and is much more convenient. So in that case the skytrain/mrt overpriced itself which isn't contributing to get less cars on the road and less congestion.

 

I'm still waiting for the new passengerboats on the river and the new stoppingpoints for it they were going to build. The boat is much more fun than the subway or skytrain.

If you are that worried about the price rises ect you would have noticed the banners that were in place on all sky train stations saying what the new pricing would be. 

The price hasn't increased 50% in the last year. I don't know how much it has increased by because as I say it doesn't bother me that much but I do know the journeys are a few baht more expensive. Have you tried to get a leaflet from the station staff ? if they don't have one in English I'm sure they would have a Thai one you could ask someone to translate for you.

 

[seancbk]

On 11/23/2017 at 10:31 PM, gma992 said:

I have to double check that, basically caught me by surprise as I was expecting at least double the trips I got. There was just a red error message about just 100 THB credit (the minimum and you cannot use the card if reaches that point) and then I went to the counter, topped up the card with + 500 THB and the lady told me "8 trips".

 

I have been using an orange BTS card for several years.  Last month my spend was 1137 THB, this month 1300 THB

I don't use the BTS every day and my trips are Udomsuk to Phra Khanong, Ekkamai, Thonglor, Phrom Phong, Asoke and sometimes a bit further (Ploenchit, Chitlom and Rajadamri), and sometimes back to Udomsuk (although usually I am out drinking so I get a taxi home at 3am or whatever time it is)

I've never understood how the 'no of trips' thing works, I just put on cash when it runs out.

 

 

[gma992]

On 11/26/2017 at 12:09 PM, berybert said:

 Don't understand why people worry about saving a couple of baht here and there. To much hassle for my liking.

Is not about saving a bath or two, is about understanding how things work. For me just skipping the hassle of having to queue for purchasing the ticket is enough value for getting the card.

[seancbk]

14 hours ago, gma992 said:

Is not about saving a bath or two, is about understanding how things work. For me just skipping the hassle of having to queue for purchasing the ticket is enough value for getting the card.

 

You don't have to queue if you top up when you still have credit on the card and the ticket window is free.

[Thian]

11 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

You don't have to queue if you top up when you still have credit on the card and the ticket window is free.

I have never ever seen a free ticket window at Paragon...always long qeueu's there and they won't improve it.

[seancbk]

11 hours ago, Thian said:

I have never ever seen a free ticket window at Paragon...always long qeueu's there and they won't improve it.

 

There are a lot of other stations and they all have ticket windows.  

[eggers]

On 25/11/2017 at 3:10 AM, Grumpy Duck said:

I have a prepaid BTS card and a retiree MRT card. BTS does not allow retiree rates for foreigners. I have had about 250 baht on my BTS card for almost a year as I don't like spending full fare 555 I'd rather ride my motorbike. 

 

I have seen the Rabbit around, but don't understand the value of using one. Would someone explain?

You may want to check if funds still there... As when top-up, it's only valid for a month!

[honu]

I was just considering this anyway, so I'll say a bit more about it.  The two people saying the issue is an extra cash charge on top of the trip count debit are right; that's how it works. 

 

I think you can only top up cash credit instead of trips and pay that way, per individual fare rate (although I usually use trips, and could be mistaken about that part).  Even if so it would be better to use "trips" unless you only ever go a station or two since the flat-rate for trips is between 22 and 25 baht (as I recall--I could be off a baht or two since it did just change), depending on the number you buy at a time, but they're only good for a month.  The range of fare prices is something like 15 baht up to 50-some or 60 (which I never check; I'm using trips), but average-distance fares are in the range of 40 or so.

 

More details, from http://www.bts.co.th/customer/en/08-faq.aspx?cat=4