M-Flow

[mrbojangles]

Has anyone registered for M-Flow yet?

 

Forgot to do it as was stuck in a queue a couple of months ago going back down south. Coming back up north yesterday, stuck again in a stupid queue whilst they force everyone into signing up to M-Flow. They should maybe do something similar with the vaccines!!

 

Anyway, a right pain to register but finally done it. The thing is, on the website it says many easy ways to pay but when registering it only gave me one option and that was by credit card. Although I have 2 Thai bank accounts I only have a credit card with my UK bank and so I presume in a couple of weeks when I head south again the grand total of 60 baht will be taken from my UK credit card and not sure what charges will be attached to that.

 

My question is, has anyone else registered and had the same experience or managed to change the payment method later? Would like to change it to my Thai bank before I head back through the toll's 

 

 

[PJ71]

I've had it for about 6 weeks now, i get a friend to pay from his bank, they only accept one bank, can't remember off the top of my head which one.

 

It was not good when it started as people still thought it was M-Pass so blocked the tolls.

 

It's getting better.

[mrbojangles]

50 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

they only accept one bank, can't remember off the top of my head which one.

Typical. They enforce a system onto people but make it so that it's difficult to register and pay. What sort of a business just lets one ban be accepted. It's supposed to be a high tech number plate recognition system.

 

I drove through yesterday and massive queues for both tolls in the cash payment lanes but M-Flow gliding through. Don't understand why they need 2 tolls in such a short distance, it just creates havoc. 

[PJ71]

17 hours ago, mrbojangles said:

Typical. They enforce a system onto people but make it so that it's difficult to register and pay. What sort of a business just lets one ban be accepted. It's supposed to be a high tech number plate recognition system.

 

I drove through yesterday and massive queues for both tolls in the cash payment lanes but M-Flow gliding through. Don't understand why they need 2 tolls in such a short distance, it just creates havoc. 

Agreed.

 

The most sensible solution is remove cashless and go to cards for all, much more efficient.

 

Or leave only one or 2 tolls for cash for the people that are not travelling frequently.

[Yellowtail]

So each time you get charged it's a separate bill on your credit card or the bill you once a month? 

 

I like the way the M-Pass works where you just top it up. 

[pj123]

5 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

So each time you get charged it's a separate bill on your credit card or the bill you once a month? 

 

I like the way the M-Pass works where you just top it up. 

You can choose to pay each time or get an invoice which I think is issued every two weeks IF you are Thai. As a foreigner you cannot select the invoice option. One other benefit is that it is currently cheaper than M-Pass. Normal rate 30 THB, M Flow 24 THB.

[mrbojangles]

On 4/4/2022 at 1:15 AM, Yellowtail said:

So each time you get charged it's a separate bill on your credit card 

I think so. I'll see in a couple of weeks what comes up on my credit card

[PJ71]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:15 AM, Yellowtail said:

So each time you get charged it's a separate bill on your credit card or the bill you once a month? 

 

I like the way the M-Pass works where you just top it up. 

You can 'top up' M-Pass.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

On 4/4/2022 at 9:15 AM, Yellowtail said:

I like the way the M-Pass works where you just top it up. 

You can 'top up' M-Pass.

erm.. thats what he wrote.. 

[PJ71]

28 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

erm.. thats what he wrote.. 

Erm -typo.

 

I meant M-Flow.

 

Good input tho.

[Kinnock]

Agree about the annoying queues.  Was heading back from the North yesterday and hit several long queues.  I have EasyPass/M-Pass, but the EasyPass and cash lanes are now squeezed on the left side while the M-Flow, with little traffic, takes up the right half.

 

I've heard that most M-Flow users are unregistered, and they assume they will never need to pay.

 

Personally I'm not keen on registering my credit card with a Thai system, as history has shown they get hacked quite often.  Also, there's been complaints of people being billed when they didn't use that specific expressway.

 

The system uses 'AS' to identify the cars (Artificial Stupidity), so I guess if someone has a similar plate, or just copies your plate, you get their bill?

 

There's also a fine for late payment - so sounds like too much hassle to me.

[mrbojangles]

4 hours ago, Kinnock said:

Personally I'm not keen on registering my credit card with a Thai system, as history has shown they get hacked quite often.

I get your hesitation and I don't really want to use my UK credit card but fortunately there is a freeze button on my app. I have all my UK cards on freeze until I actually want to use them. Takes 10 seconds to switch them on again. That's a lot quicker than being stuck in them bladdy cash queues

[ThailandRyan]

Does it really save anytime using the Easy Pass lanes etc...?  Most times I run through the booth the easy pass lanes are all backed up as well.  I was going to pop into the office and obtain a pass for the car after trying to register on the EXAT app but then every time I drive into the toll plaza near me there is a line of cars parked near the office and people in que.

Edited April 6, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Does it really save anytime using the Easy Pass lanes?  Most times I run through the booth the easy pass lanes are all backed up as well.  I was going to pop into the office and obtain a pass for the car after trying to register on the app but then every time I drive into the toll plaza near me there is a line of cars parked near the office and people in que.

I don’t know about that....   on a daily occasion there is significant time saving using the Easy Pass.

 

Its one of things I have never understood with Thai traffic - why people will sit in a queue to pay, then do the same the next day and the next day, never thinking to get an Easy Pass....  

 

At least with an Easy Pass, IF you do see the easy pass queue much longer than the ‘pay queue’ then you have the option to use the pay lane. 

 

 

An Easy Flow system will of course be excellent....  I wonder how many will try and cheat that before it simply gets abolished as a failure !!!.... 

 

 

 

[Yellowtail]

There are some booths in BKK where at time times the wait times for Easy/M-Pass are longer than cash, but that seems to me to be the exception rather than the rule.

 

Topping-up the M-Pass with the K-Bank app takes less than 30-seconds and you can put as much as B5K on at a time. 

 

I assume over the next several years it will all go to M-Flow.

[Yellowtail]

7 hours ago, PJ71 said:

Erm -typo.

 

I meant M-Flow.

 

Good input tho.

So once the M-Flow is registered I can just top it up with a bank app? That seems perfect to me.

[digbeth]

you can also deduct the M-Flow charge from your easy pass or m-pass 

[Yellowtail]

32 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I don’t know about that....   on a daily occasion there is significant time saving using the Easy Pass.

That has been my experience.

 

32 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Its one of things I have never understood with Thai traffic - why people will sit in a queue to pay, then do the same the next day and the next day, never thinking to get an Easy Pass....  

What about people on the BTS that wait in line day after day first for change, and then to buy a pass?

 

32 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

At least with an Easy Pass, IF you do see the easy pass queue much longer than the ‘pay queue’ then you have the option to use the pay lane. 

Exactly

 

32 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

An Easy Flow system will of course be excellent....  I wonder how many will try and cheat that before it simply gets abolished as a failure !!!.... 

You mean a system that charges at-speed? It works other places. Thais generally do not seem more dishonest to me than people in other places. 

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, digbeth said:

you can also deduct the M-Flow charge from your easy pass or m-pass 

How do you do that? I wonder is I can even find the card...

[PJ71]

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

So once the M-Flow is registered I can just top it up with a bank app? That seems perfect to me.

Yes.

 

Or stop on the highway and top it up.

[digbeth]

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

How do you do that? I wonder is I can even find the card...

When signing up, when it asks for your credit card, M-Pass/Easy pass is one of the option, if you have the card number you use to top up, that's enough

[richard_smith237]

 

2 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

An Easy Flow system will of course be excellent....  I wonder how many will try and cheat that before it simply gets abolished as a failure !!!.... 

You mean a system that charges at-speed? It works other places. Thais generally do not seem more dishonest to me than people in other places. 

Thai's are not more dishonest than anyone else....  If drivers in other countries thought they could get away with not paying for a toll way, they’d also try it on... 

 

The system in Thailand is not geared to ‘catch those cheating the system’....  How are people who pass through without paying going to be forced to pay? People don’t even pay for speeding tickets here.

 

 

[digbeth]

People who worries that toll dodgers will be using cloned plate with your number should also register as the process of registering mean submitting a photo of your vehicle from multiple angle, even if the cloned plate car is of the same make and model or even colour or your car, it's likely there will be other distinguishing points such as marks or dent that won't match, plus you get notified when 'your' plate went through the system, so it's best to register first, rather than find out later that someone's been using your plate when you get ticket or worse unable to renew your tax due to unpaid tickets years later

[mrbojangles]

2 minutes ago, digbeth said:

People who worries that toll dodgers will be using cloned plate with your number should also register as the process of registering mean submitting a photo of your vehicle from multiple angle, even if the cloned plate car is of the same make and model or even colour or your car, it's likely there will be other distinguishing points such as marks or dent that won't match, plus you get notified when 'your' plate went through the system, so it's best to register first, rather than find out later that someone's been using your plate when you get ticket or worse unable to renew your tax due to unpaid tickets years later

Exactly that. The registration process was tedious. Pictures of registration book, address, credit card details (which then had to be verified by your bank, a selfie of you holding your passport. My first application got sent back as I'd only done a jpeg of my passport. I had to re-do with me holding it. I think there must have been a manual approval link in the system

[hjst45]

On 4/6/2022 at 8:58 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Its one of things I have never understood with Thai traffic - why people will sit in a queue to pay, then do the same the next day and the next day, never thinking to get an Easy Pass....  

I also never understood until I started working. Companies need the original cash receipt to claim back if you travel for business purposes. I primarily pay cash nowadays since the company also covers transport costs to the office and back. Only use Easy Pass for personal use on weekends now.

[richard_smith237]

Deleted.

Edited September 16, 2023 by richard_smith237