Is the 50 Baht bus between Patong and Phuket Town (with the 3 benches) still running?  If yes, but less frequently, how frequently?  I'm considering which town I will book my hotel in.  If I knew the bus was running regularly, I would just focus on price.  Thanks...

of course< the bus is used by locals/laborers  daily

usually once/hour as its a 45-50 minute trip

 

also bus Kamala ( via surin, chern talay, town)
karon ( via kata, chalong, town)

 

last town departure back to the beach is 5 pm

Yes, if I remember correctly they don’t run evenings. 

Don't want to be cheeky but is this your only problem? 

1 hour ago, Sydebolle said:

Don't want to be cheeky but is this your only problem? 

Everybody coming to Phuket -- should STARVE the taxi mafia ... by using this low cost public transport .  Book your hotel near their routes , also consider where you'll spend time for evening entertainment ..... AVOID ... the taxi mafia , at all cost ......

32 minutes ago, kg1947 said:

Everybody coming to Phuket -- should STARVE the taxi mafia ... by using this low cost public transport .  Book your hotel near their routes , also consider where you'll spend time for evening entertainment ..... AVOID ... the taxi mafia , at all cost ......

All very well if you have lot's of time. All buses are from, or going to Phuket Town. So......if you are in Patong and want to go to the next beach over (about two to three Kms), you first have to go to Phuket Town to catch the Karon bus. I reckon with all the stopping, there and back maybe three to four hours?

 

They are really only good for going to Phuket Town. Their routes aren't designed for intra-Phuket travel.

 

I don't know if the Smart bus is running. That used to go beach to beach, but payment was a PITA.

12 hours ago, Sydebolle said:

Don't want to be cheeky but is this your only problem? 

Thankfully, yes!  Thanks so much for your concern!

I lived opposite the taxi rank and bus stop in Kata beach for many years. And for all that time I saw the drivers sitting around drinking, and the pile of empty beer bottles and even sang som grew every day till the trash picked them up. There, on the ground, for all to see ! I had two lucky escapes ,one big argument, and one miracle of an escape by getting out of a tuc tuc on Karon hill on my way to Patong. The driver was drunk and weaving over the road, so I jumped out !  I had to stop a car to ask for help. That’s when I decided to move away from Phuket. Never had that in Hua Hin, or Bangkok. I often take taxis from Jomtien to Koh Chang, all very good, but they’re KC companies. 
So, if there’s a bus, I’ll use it. I don’t drive a bike, and it’s not worth renting for 4 months.

On 9/4/2021 at 3:44 AM, NotReallyHere said:

Is the 50 Baht bus between Patong and Phuket Town (with the 3 benches) still running?

No.

I'm just at the Patong bus stop now.

 

I asked everyone working around the place and all of them confirmed that bus to Phuket is not working now.

On the other hand, cost of taxi to Phuket Town from Patong is 293 bahts using "Hello Phuket" app.