Using Uber/ride hailing in Bangkok

[AlphaCanadian]

It's about time......

 

I should give Uber or ride hailing a try for the first time.

 

I've never used it.

 

Is it best to use Uber in Bangkok or is there another ride hailing service that is better?

 

Hopefully it's simple and the langage barrier will not be a problem (so long as I have the address in Thai).

 

Thanks in advance.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Uber no longer operates in Thailand they were taken over by Grab, so download the Grab app instead. 

 

The app is very easy to use and is in English so language barrier isn't a problem.

[pow01]

Don't go anywhere near a tourist area on a grab bike, local Win Moto drivers will stop you and make you dismount. 

[ICECOOL]

I have used Grab in BKK with mixed results BUT way better and cheaper than normal taxi. Remember that traffic in BKK is bad so grab may take 20 min or more to reach you. Overall great service and people but did have one cancel on me once after 10min.

[James2020]

Grab is the only way to go in Thailand, when you need a taxi and can't use the BTS or MRT (overhead and underground trains - much faster, especially during rush hour)).  I use Grab 3-4x a week, and never use a normal taxi.  Grab shows you the fee, best route, and the destination, all in English, and you pay by credit card with the app, so you never have to talk to the driver, other than a nice "hello" and "thanks".  You will need the address, but most taxi drivers don't know it either, and most won't understand you anyway.  I've seen many tourists showing the taxi driver a map (most of the drivers don't understand maps) and gesticulating wildly, while the driver has a puzzled look on his face.  You have multiple choices available (taxis, cars, cars 'plus', etc.) and even though the Grab Cars may cost a little more, I can still ride in one for an hour and pay $10, so they're a real bargain.  The cars are better and have working seatbelts in the back seat.  The regular taxi drivers have learned that most tourists won't make them turn on the meter, so in tourist areas, they won't, or they won't take you where you want to go.  Grab takes all the guesswork out of the equation.  Love it.  

[Media1]

There are no apps lol. Uber was the real cheap deal. GRAB is nothing more than a extortion app controlled by the same robbing Taxis. Best get a friend and pay them

[pow01]

1 hour ago, Media1 said:

There are no apps lol. Uber was the real cheap deal. GRAB is nothing more than a extortion app controlled by the same robbing Taxis. Best get a friend and pay them

Distinction should be made between the options of Grab Car and Grab Taxi the latter of which is a real taxi with grab app and the former an untrained driver with a private car.

 

Some of the private drivers have not got a clue and will end up driving you straight into traffic, regularly miss turnings and generally drive in a dangerous manner while trying to adjust the route or find somewhere to stop.

 

Personally never had a problem with a Thai taxi driver away from the hotspots (i.e. Soi 11, KSR, Bus terminals unofficial rank) and they are usually very knowledgeable about traffic hotspots, shortcuts and safe stopping. For the sake of an extra dollar or two you will ultimately save yourself time in taking the fastest route available. Not everyone is out to rip you off the majority of taxi drivers are just out earning an honest living.

Edited July 24, 2018 by pow01
Spelling

[pow01]

3 hours ago, pow01 said:

Don't go anywhere near a tourist area on a grab bike, local Win Moto drivers will stop you and make you dismount. 

 

To add to this comment by myself...I was also physically threatened by an older songtaew driver in Chiang mai while waiting with my luggage for an (at the time) Uber car to pick me up. He asked to take me to the airport I said no thank you I have booked but he glanced at my phone and saw the Uber app in play. At this point he started circling me with clenched fist saying "use uber, no come to Thailand...not welcome Thailand". Not being one to back down I politely held his gaze in a defensive manner. 

 

Fortunately the Uber arrived and the driver was built like a tank who promptly told the songtaew driver where to go.

 

Anyway the point to my story is that feelings about Uber and Grab (not only in Thailand) run very strong amongst the professional driving community as they feel there profession is being undercut and this in certain situations has the potential to boil over.

[owenm]

I use Grab frequently in Bangkok and find their app very user friendly. The app detects your location via Google maps and you input where you are going on the app. MBK, Don Muang Airport, Sukhumvit Soi 8 etc. and you will get a pricing estimate, and based on their meter price + 20bht booking fee. If the driver doesn't know exactly where to take you, via his GPS location from your booking, he'll take the fasted route. A Grab taxi looks like a normal metered taxi, and on booking will be advised waiting time and via the app you can see the cars location. When ride is accepted by driver it will mention his rego no, and phone and message icons to driver if required. If you book a Grab car, it is a private car, and price is fixed as displayed in the app. Usually maybe 10% higher than Grab taxi. Overall my experience has been good. I've had a driver cancel the booking, and I've had to re-book. Another instance I've cancelled as I've found another taxi earlier, and cancelled the booking via the app. You receive an online receipt and your feedback on the driver etc. Your receive points for each ride which accumulate but you really need to be a frequent user to take advantage of the points. I find the service great, because my house isn't on a busy main road and I can see that my ride is only 6 min away.. 

[TonyClifton]

4 hours ago, pow01 said:

Don't go anywhere near a tourist area on a grab bike, local Win Moto drivers will stop you and make you dismount. 

That's utter nonsense.

[pow01]

43 minutes ago, TonyClifton said:

That's utter nonsense.

 

I was stopped and dismounted from a Grab bike on soi 11 as we passed the win Moto stand. Surrounded by several drivers who picked the phone up off the driver's bike and threatened to smash it on the ground. I had to continue the rest of my short journey on foot. Whilst they didn't threaten me personally they certainly intimidated the young (female) driver.

 

I'm sure the incident was captured on CCTV.

 

First time this is happened but I certainly would not take a Grab bike to anywhere around upper Sukhumvit again.

 

I don't have anything against Moto drivers, I use them frequently and they are generally excellent and honest. Unfortunately you get rogue operators around tourist hotspots all over the world and soi 11 is an example of organised fixed pricing. The Thai win moto drivers are usually far better drivers than the Grab riders who are usually (in my experience) students who are out of there ordinary area of knowledge. I feel much safer on a win moto than I do on a Grab bike. These guys are pros and have been riding the streets for years. That experience should not be discredited. In the vast majority of cases if I overpay or try to tip a win moto driver he will promptly return the excess money. The few sharks operating around the tourist hubs (small minority) give the rest of the drivers (majority) an unfair reputation. If a taxi refuses to put the meter on...walk away and find another. They are usually only asking a few hundred extra bhat on top of the regular fare anyway whilst it is dishonest perspective does have to be used some times.

Edited July 24, 2018 by pow01
additional information added.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

4 hours ago, ICECOOL said:

I have used Grab in BKK with mixed results BUT way better and cheaper than normal taxi. 

No, it isn't. It's 50-100% more expensive than normal taxi.

 

Uber was great. Grab, not so much.

[TonyClifton]

Just now, theguyfromanotherforum said:

No, it isn't. It's 50-100% more expensive than normal taxi.

 

Uber was great. Grab, not so much.

It's worth it to me to pay a little more so I don't have to deal with ass&$&$$&les and I know I'm going to get a clean car with seatbelts.

[JTXR]

I thought Uber was better than Grab before Uber sold its SE Asia bits to Grab, but Grab is still better than regular taxis.  As someone mentioned, when booking, be sure to opt for Grab Car, and not Grab Taxi.  The only gripe I have with Grab now is that it often takes longer for a car to arrive than you're first told when you book.

[TonyClifton]

3 minutes ago, JTXR said:

I thought Uber was better than Grab before Uber sold its SE Asia bits to Grab, but Grab is still better than regular taxis.  As someone mentioned, when booking, be sure to opt for Grab Car, and not Grab Taxi.  The only gripe I have with Grab now is that it often takes longer for a car to arrive than you're first told when you book.

Uber was cheaper and gave away discount codes.  I thought Uber took forever to come.  Grab was always better that way, but more expensive.  Now we have only the choice between jerkoff cabbies and Grab Drivers.  I'll take Grab.  I have never used a moto taxi, grab or otherwise and I won't use JustGrab as I won't use a Taxi unless I have no choice.  4 out of 5 taxi drivers are cheating scumbags.  95 out of 100 Grab drivers are excellent.  You can do the math.

[tryasimight]

First it was taxi drivers not using the meter.  Now it has degenerated to grab driver  and grab taxi. 

I feel sorry for you guys. 

[TonyClifton]

1 minute ago, tryasimight said:

First it was taxi drivers not using the meter.  Now it has degenerated to grab driver  and grab taxi. 

I feel sorry for you guys. 

I feel sorry for you.  Wake up.  Many taxi drivers try to pull the no meter scam.  Or, you have to get them to take you where want and many times they refuse.  Or, there are no seatbelts in the back seat because they cut them out or hid them under the seat.  Or, the taxi is dirty as many of them are.  Taxi drivers have little reason to adhere to the law or rules of the road.  Grab drivers get rated immediately after the trip.  Who do you think is better motivated to provide good service?

[PerkinsCuthbert]

The few times I've asked for a price with Grab via the app, the price has been 30-40% above what I'd expect to pay in a taxi meter. Some may find that a small price to pay for having a driver come to their door for a fixed fare journey. Others, myself included, like to support our many poor Isaan taxi drivers, most of whom are personable and friendly when treated with respect in their own language - though I grant there are sharks in tourist areas - as there are throughout the world.

[TonyClifton]

3 minutes ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

The few times I've asked for a price with Grab via the app, the price has been 30-40% above what I'd expect to pay in a taxi meter. Some may find that a small price to pay for having a driver come to their door for a fixed fare journey. Others, myself included, like to support our many poor Isaan taxi drivers, most of whom are personable and friendly when treated with respect in their own language - though I grant there are sharks in tourist areas - as there are throughout the world.

And there is a major difference, I am in Bangkok.  What about supporting those fine folks driving for Grab?

[JTXR]

I didn't mention in my previous post on this topic that the primary reason I prefer to pay a bit more for Grab, compared to taxis, is safety.  There are exceptions, of course, but in my experience many, many taxi drivers in Bangkok drive too fast and too aggressively, in cars that usually have no seat belts.  Grab cars I've been in have been uniformly clean and equipped with seat belts, and the drivers have driven in a reasonable manner at reasonable speeds.  For me, this difference is well worth the difference in price.

[5633572526]

On 7/24/2018 at 4:43 PM, Media1 said:

There are no apps lol. Uber was the real cheap deal. GRAB is nothing more than a extortion app controlled by the same robbing Taxis. Best get a friend and pay them

Used to use uber now using grab no problems with either seems like Uber drivers spoke a little better English and when I first got here that was important but now not a problem. “All Thai taxi” is also good and since they are adding Mercedes taxis I will probably be using them more. For short distances I still find it more fun to haggle with the regular taxi drivers though ?

[Media1]

58 minutes ago, 5633572526 said:

Used to use uber now using grab no problems with either seems like Uber drivers spoke a little better English and when I first got here that was important but now not a problem. “All Thai taxi” is also good and since they are adding Mercedes taxis I will probably be using them more. For short distances I still find it more fun to haggle with the regular taxi drivers though ?

Try it in Pattaya lol

[ICECOOL]

On 7/24/2018 at 8:02 PM, theguyfromanotherforum said:

No, it isn't. It's 50-100% more expensive than normal taxi.

 

Uber was great. Grab, not so much.

It took me several attempts for me to find a taxi to go to the Australian embassy which had recently relocated. I found one who claimed to know where the newly located embassy was. He quoted 300 which I knew was high but when you need to get somewhere you pay. Turns out he didn't know.  Eventually I got him to ask a local motorcycle taxi who sent him to the new location via a 25 minute loop because of oneways. Fool wasn't happy.

Called grab to take me back. half the price. 

[pow01]

2 hours ago, ICECOOL said:

It took me several attempts for me to find a taxi to go to the Australian embassy which had recently relocated. I found one who claimed to know where the newly located embassy was. He quoted 300 which I knew was high but when you need to get somewhere you pay. Turns out he didn't know.  Eventually I got him to ask a local motorcycle taxi who sent him to the new location via a 25 minute loop because of oneways. Fool wasn't happy.

Called grab to take me back. half the price. 

Surely you knew the address yourself? If you told the driver the address and the general area I don't see how he can have any issue finding it if not he can at least drop you off in the general area. Which area did you hail the cab? If the Taxi does not use the meter get out and find another one. The fact you didn't question the meter let the driver know you had absolutely no clue what you were doing. There are several significant landmarks or points of reference in this area that the only cab driver who would not know is one that is trying to con you somehow.

 

The only other scenario where a fixed price might be quoted is if your driving into heavy traffic. Which being around Lumpini park could well be the case. Regardless, anywhere in a 10 mile radius of here has such a rich supply of cabs there is absolutely no need to pay a quoted price to anywhere. Just walk on and hail another cab until you find one who puts the meter on. 

 

Your best course of action given the location and probable time of day would have been to get on the MRT to Lumpini and walk from there.

[anon537687643]

No way is Grab half the price ! You mean double the price


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