Tollway Fees

[kkerry]

Does anyone know what the current situation is with paying Bangkok tolls by smart card, electronic tag or any other way apart from cash?

I thought I read a newspaper article a while ago about being able to use those smart purse cards but when I take a look at the Thai Smartcard website (really slow) I couldn't see anything to show you can.

[Kwasaki]

Does it cost that much now that you cannot pay cash.

[bkksw]

What you're looking for is called "Easy Pass."

There are many references to this if you google "easy pass bangkok expressway"

I've ran over 15,000 baht through mine, mostly inside central Bangkok, since the system started and haven't had any trouble.

Other people report the system only reads their Easy Pass device half the time, some of the time, etc. I think this is probably due to the very common tint strip most cars in Thailand have. Many cars have the entire front windshield film tinted which I find.. dangerous.. If the stock windshield, or the tint, has a metal content, like a metal screen which many do, then this will block your signal. It will also block your GPS signal. I'm always careful to buy 3m film without the metal.. a bit more expensive but..

I had someone in my car the other day telling me his doesn't work right for this reason, and he sees other drivers holding their device out the window, etc.. and made the statement the system is poorly designed.

In the interest of minimum RF radiation I respectfully disagreed. The metal in the windshields (usually in the aftermarket (read cheap)) is usually not a problem on new cars, but on the windshield replacements that aren't factory. The tints with metal are usually base (read cheap) levels too. When Toyota tried to replace my Fortuner windshield with "the one everyone else uses" I noticed it was not real safety glass and it had metal.. they really argued against an original windshield, claiming they'd never ordered one before. Everyone liked the aftermarket models better because they were 500 baht cheaper. So.. perhaps there's a problem out there with many people having these windshields and/or cheap film. Metal in the film effectively makes the windshield a RF shield. So not poor design on the part of the Easy Pass, assuming an inside windshield mount is the most desired..

Anyway I'm rambling.. It's Easy Pass and it works great if your windshield/film has no metal in it. And you get a 5% discount when buying refills..

[kkerry]

bkksw, thanks for your comprehensive answer, found the website for Easy Pass so will sort that out soon.

Interesting about the film. Just getting a new car and the film comes with it. I don't like it much myself but every car in our street seems to have it so I gave up arguing why it's not a good idea, especially for the windscreen. Pretty sure in Australia it's illegal to have it completely cover the windscreen like they do here. Car was also supposed to come with a parking sensor but that got vetoed because it's too noisy... aesthetics more important than safety.

[bkksw]

bkksw, thanks for your comprehensive answer, found the website for Easy Pass so will sort that out soon.

Interesting about the film. Just getting a new car and the film comes with it. I don't like it much myself but every car in our street seems to have it so I gave up arguing why it's not a good idea, especially for the windscreen. Pretty sure in Australia it's illegal to have it completely cover the windscreen like they do here. Car was also supposed to come with a parking sensor but that got vetoed because it's too noisy... aesthetics more important than safety.

Kerry -

Good luck.

The film on the windshield is certainly illegal in western countries as it severely restricts vision, and even the side films can't be past a certain tint or those won't be legal either. I'm convinced windshield tint is very dangerous and I didn't allow them to put it on mine. Even the top strip was a point of contention. They wanted it to be almost 24 inches.. and I wanted 8 inches. I finally had to explain the top strip is there to only keep the sun from your eyes and while they're only 5'2", I'm a great bit taller.

If you don't specify the film without metal.. you might get it. I'd ask.

Btw - The beeper on the parking sensors has a volume control.. ;o)