Baht bus brawl: Phuket driver and foreign man row over fare

[snoop1130]

Photo via Facebook/ Phuket Times ภูเก็ตไทม์

 

By Petch Petpailin

 

A physical altercation broke out between a Thai baht bus driver and a foreign man outside a hotel in Phuket after the foreigner refused to pay the agreed transport fare.

 

The Phuket Times shared a video of the altercation today, January 14. However, the page did not specify when or where the incident occurred. The accompanying post read…

 

“Fighting! The foreign tourist refused to pay the transport fare of 400 baht as agreed before the trip and paid only 200 baht upon arriving at his hotel.”

 

The video, posted in the comments section, showed the red baht bus driver initiating the fight by punching the foreign man, who was wearing a white shirt, in the face. The foreigner retaliated by throwing the Thai driver to the ground and kicking him forcefully.

 

 

A hotel security guard rushed to separate the two but the driver got up and struck the foreigner on the head. Another security guard intervened, eventually succeeding in stopping the fight.

 

Since no details were provided regarding the distance of the journey, it was not possible to determine whether the 400-baht fare was reasonable. Nevertheless, some netizens argued that the foreigner should have paid the agreed amount regardless of its fairness, as the terms had been settled before the ride.

 

There has been no report on whether either party will face legal consequences for their actions.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2025-01-14

 

 

[hunkidori]

Can't believe the foreigner refused to pay the agreed price. More to it than that

[MikeandDow]

Lots of nut jobs in Phuket now

[Ben Zioner]

24 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

Lots of nut jobs in Phuket now

That has been the case for decades. Being a nut is a requirement to join the taxi mafia and/or drive a baht bus. 

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, hunkidori said:

Can't believe the foreigner refused to pay the agreed price. More to it than that

 

Maybe it's an old trick used by vans and songteows all over the place.

 

How much?

200 baht.

Arrives at destination.

400 baht please.

You said 200 baht

there are two of you - 200 baht each. 400 baht!

 

just sayin'.

[stevenl]

That's a Phuket TukTuk, not a Baht bus.

[Will B Good]

 

 

Slowly but surely, Isaan is becoming slightly more appealing each day.

[hotchilli]

Self defense your honour, he initiated the fight.

However the driver should have just called the police... he handled this badly.

[Lenthai]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo via Facebook/ Phuket Times ภูเก็ตไทม์

 

By Petch Petpailin

 

A physical altercation broke out between a Thai baht bus driver and a foreign man outside a hotel in Phuket after the foreigner refused to pay the agreed transport fare.

 

The Phuket Times shared a video of the altercation today, January 14. However, the page did not specify when or where the incident occurred. The accompanying post read…

 

“Fighting! The foreign tourist refused to pay the transport fare of 400 baht as agreed before the trip and paid only 200 baht upon arriving at his hotel.”

 

The video, posted in the comments section, showed the red baht bus driver initiating the fight by punching the foreign man, who was wearing a white shirt, in the face. The foreigner retaliated by throwing the Thai driver to the ground and kicking him forcefully.

 

 

 

A hotel security guard rushed to separate the two but the driver got up and struck the foreigner on the head. Another security guard intervened, eventually succeeding in stopping the fight.

 

Since no details were provided regarding the distance of the journey, it was not possible to determine whether the 400-baht fare was reasonable. Nevertheless, some netizens argued that the foreigner should have paid the agreed amount regardless of its fairness, as the terms had been settled before the ride.

 

There has been no report on whether either party will face legal consequences for their actions.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2025-01-14

 

 

LO$

[MalcolmB]

Brit, Russian or Kiwi?

[Smokey and the Bandit]

Is it the 'air' in Phuket that makes people go crazy????🙄

[roo860]

Aussie by the look of his dress sense.

[jippytum]

I side with the foreigner on this one. 

Aggressive taxi driver probably ripping off his customer. 

[smedly]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Since no details were provided regarding the distance of the journey

 

no detals ?, why would that matter ?,  everything is in the details 

 

why not use bolt - oh yeah they get assaulted too

 

400b gets me half way to bangkok from pattaya

[Hamus Yaigh]

1 hour ago, MalcolmB said:

Brit, Russian or Kiwi?

He could have been from any one of over 200 countries - why the stereotyping?

[Justanotherone]

better film the whole interaction with anybody to have proof of everything... he said, she said...

[Blueman1]

3 hours ago, smedly said:

 

no detals ?, why would that matter ?,  everything is in the details 

 

why not use bolt - oh yeah they get assaulted too

 

400b gets me half way to bangkok from pattaya

400b gets me half way to bangkok from pattaya....You must Use " Cheap Charlie's Taxi then " Eh ??

[PETERTHEEATER]

8 hours ago, roo860 said:

Aussie by the look of his dress sense.

Wearing a fencing suit and mask?

[BusyB]

10 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

He could have been from any one of over 200 countries - why the stereotyping?

 

You ask that on AN?

[BusyB]

6 hours ago, Blueman1 said:

400b gets me half way to bangkok from pattaya....You must Use " Cheap Charlie's Taxi then " Eh ??

 

OK, maybe a third of the way now in 2025 but the message is quite clear. Steer clear of Phuket taxis and tuktuks. Even when they're being decent they're ripping you off. Badly.

[Blueman1]

16 hours ago, BusyB said:

 

OK, maybe a third of the way now in 2025 but the message is quite clear. Steer clear of Phuket taxis and tuktuks. Even when they're being decent they're ripping you off. Badly.

 Steer clear of Phuket taxis and tuktuks......I HAVE M8, Not been near the place for " OVER 40 Years " !!!!

[BusyB]

4 hours ago, Blueman1 said:

 Steer clear of Phuket taxis and tuktuks......I HAVE M8, Not been near the place for " OVER 40 Years " !!!!

 

As I left the place after a diving expedition in 2008 I vowed never to go back. In between times it only seems to have become worse ...

 

[watchcat]

On 1/15/2025 at 2:02 AM, smedly said:

400b gets me half way to bangkok from pattaya

 

But this was in Phuket where it only takes you 1-2 km.

[thesetat]

On 1/14/2025 at 6:55 PM, hunkidori said:

Can't believe the foreigner refused to pay the agreed price. More to it than that

They only say it was an agreed upon price because the driver said so. Since no details were given and it is obvious in the OP that the foreigner did not say anything about that. That its more likely the driver is lying. 

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, thesetat said:

They only say it was an agreed upon price because the driver said so. Since no details were given and it is obvious in the OP that the foreigner did not say anything about that. That its more likely the driver is lying. 

Much more likely is that he hailed the tuktuk, negotiated the fare, and ended up feeling disappointed since the destination wasn't as far as he thought. So he attempted to renegotiate after the fact.