Why Do Songthaews In Chiangmai Charge 20 Baht?

[kharmabum]

why do songthaews in chiang mai charge 20 baht? in pattaya they charge 10 baht. and i've read on thaivisa forum that in bangkok they charge as little as 5 baht to 7 baht? so what's so special about the ones in chiangmai?

[thaicbr]

why do songthaews in chiang mai charge 20 baht? in pattaya they charge 10 baht. and i've read on thaivisa forum that in bangkok they charge as little as 5 baht to 7 baht? so what's so special about the ones in chiangmai?

I know. I know... they are in Chiang mai... did I win a prize?

[JomtienEats]

so what's so special about the ones in chiangmai?

They work more like taxis - you tell them your destination and they bring you there. If there are other passengers on board, it might be a bit of mystery tour and take some time. If the journey is a long one, the price might go up to 40 or 60 baht, but it is a point to point service. You need to be able to describe where you're going, so it's a good idea to stay at a well known place, or near a well known landmark if you're going to be making a lot of use of them. I generally much prefer them to tuk-tuks which don't seem much safer than a motorcycle, and are targeting the inexperienced farang with higher prices.

The Baht bus in Pattaya is great if you know the routes and want to travel along them, but even that can be a bit of a crap-shoot. Sometimes you'll need to take two or three of them. And if you want a specific destination, you've got to charter the whole thing which will be 100 or 150 baht.

The Chiang Mai Red Taxis work a lot better once you're used to them.

Edited March 23, 2013 by JomtienEats

[bigbamboo]

That's because in Chiang Mai we cater for high end tourists. Toodle pip!

Edited March 23, 2013 by bigbamboo

[kharmabum]

The Chiang Mai Red Taxis work a lot better once you're used to them.

i'm plenty used to them. i just can't fathom why they are so much more expensive in chiangmai than in pataya and bangkok, when everything else is cheaper in chiangmai. and i don't know where you're being charged 60 baht for a ride with other people on board. unless it's from CMU to doi suthep.LOL

[hellodolly]

so what's so special about the ones in chiangmai?

They work more like taxis - you tell them your destination and they bring you there. If there are other passengers on board, it might be a bit of mystery tour and take some time. If the journey is a long one, the price might go up to 40 or 60 baht, but it is a point to point service. You need to be able to describe where you're going, so it's a good idea to stay at a well known place, or near a well known landmark if you're going to be making a lot of use of them. I generally much prefer them to tuk-tuks which don't seem much safer than a motorcycle, and are targeting the inexperienced farang with higher prices.

The Baht bus in Pattaya is great if you know the routes and want to travel along them, but even that can be a bit of a crap-shoot. Sometimes you'll need to take two or three of them. And if you want a specific destination, you've got to charter the whole thing which will be 100 or 150 baht.

The Chiang Mai Red Taxis work a lot better once you're used to them.

Well said. In Pattaya if you don't know the routes you might as well stay home.

We recently stayed at a nice hotel the Asian Pattaya there was no baht buses or tuk tuk's there you had to walk a mile or take a taxi. Or wait for one bringing a 200 baht fare there.

The question should be why is public transportation so easy and cheap in Chiang Mai and while cheap in Pattaya a mystery as how to use it.

One other point I noticed in Pattaya a lot of times they just ignore you unless you are at a certain loading point.

[Beetlejuice]

Maybe it`s because in Chiang Mai the songthaews are smaller and therefore carry less people, so they charge more to make up the difference.

This is only a guess so please don`t send me any death threats for being wrong.

[JomtienEats]

i'm plenty used to them. i just can't fathom why they are so much more expensive in chiangmai than in pataya and bangkok, when everything else is cheaper in chiangmai.

Well, Jeremy, I just explained it. It's the difference between a taxi and a bus. You'll only get the higher 40 or 60 baht quote if its a long distance and there aren't any other passengers on board.

[kharmabum]

The question should be why is public transportation so easy and cheap in Chiang Mai and while cheap in Pattaya a mystery as how to use it.

yeah, those bus routes in pattaya are one of the great mysteries of the universe. right up there with 'why is there something rather than nothing?'LOL

once i stayed in noklua for the whole 60 days of my visa because i couldn't figure out how to get to the beach.

[kharmabum]

i'm plenty used to them. i just can't fathom why they are so much more expensive in chiangmai than in pataya and bangkok, when everything else is cheaper in chiangmai.

Well, Jeremy, I just explained it. It's the difference between a taxi and a bus. You'll only get the higher 40 or 60 baht quote if its a long distance and there aren't any other passengers on board.

sorry i misunderstood. i thought you wrote that they could charge as much as 60 with other passengers already on board, and as much as 150 if you charter it solo.

anyway, i try and walk most places to save money and get excercise at the same time. plus, my wife is usually with me so if we go far we usually pay the extra 20 and take a tuk tuk for about 60 and feel like a king and queen riding around the moat.

btw, who is jeremy?

Edited March 23, 2013 by kharmabum

[rene123]

Again, it's a case of tightwad cheap charlies trying to save every baht at the expense of people earning about $10 a day.

As was already explained, the Pattaya busses are running a set route.

Why do beach front hotels in Pattaya cost 3500 baht a night or more when I can get a nice hotel in Chiang Mai for under 1500 baht?

Edited March 23, 2013 by rene123

[kharmabum]

Again, it's a case of tightwad cheap charlies trying to save every baht at the expense of people earning about $10 a day.

As was already explained, the Pattaya busses are running a set route.

they only earn 10$ a day? so they only get 15 passengers a day? i'm so sorry. i didn't know. Edited March 23, 2013 by kharmabum

[hellodolly]

The question should be why is public transportation so easy and cheap in Chiang Mai and while cheap in Pattaya a mystery as how to use it.

yeah, those bus routes in pattaya are one of the great mysteries of the universe. right up there with 'why is there something rather than nothing?'LOL

once i stayed in noklua for the whole 60 days of my visa because i couldn't figure out how to get to the beach.

For some strange reason I believe you.

By the way the $10 a day just pays their expenses unlike where ever you come from people need food and clothing here plus shelter.

[kharmabum]

The question should be why is public transportation so easy and cheap in Chiang Mai and while cheap in Pattaya a mystery as how to use it.

yeah, those bus routes in pattaya are one of the great mysteries of the universe. right up there with 'why is there something rather than nothing?'LOL

once i stayed in noklua for the whole 60 days of my visa because i couldn't figure out how to get to the beach.

For some strange reason I believe you.

By the way the $10 a day just pays their expenses unlike where ever you come from people need food and clothing here plus shelter.

so they earn 10$ a day and that 10$ "just pays their expenses"? so they work for free? and people in thailand need food and shelter and clothing too? i thought they just ate free mangosteens growing wild and slept in rent free thatch huts in the forest where they walk around naked except when they have to come downtown to serve us beer and american breakfasts. oh well. learn something new everyday.

[hellodolly]

The question should be why is public transportation so easy and cheap in Chiang Mai and while cheap in Pattaya a mystery as how to use it.

yeah, those bus routes in pattaya are one of the great mysteries of the universe. right up there with 'why is there something rather than nothing?'LOL

once i stayed in noklua for the whole 60 days of my visa because i couldn't figure out how to get to the beach.

For some strange reason I believe you.

By the way the $10 a day just pays their expenses unlike where ever you come from people need food and clothing here plus shelter.

so they earn 10$ a day and that 10$ "just pays their expenses"? so they work for free? and people in thailand need food and shelter and clothing too? i thought they just ate free mangosteens growing wild and slept in rent free thatch huts in the forest where they walk around naked except when they have to come downtown to serve us beer and american breakfasts. oh well. learn something new everyday.

In your case I doubt it.

Learning is not a natural attribute of a Cheap Charlie.

[muchogra]

Give me a break! The songthew travelling down the soi in my Bangkok home charges 7 or 8 bahts which is less than 1 kilo to the end of the soi (increased from B5). Like many say, Thais don't like to walk. Also, in my moobaan in Bangkok, no motorcycle taxis are allowed!

20 bahts in CM gets you far, my friend. There was a time before I moved into CM, I took a Song taew from Chang Puk to Airport Plaza, he was asking for B20 but I gave him B40 for I was the lone rider and he told me beforehand that he had to make a stop at Worarot Market. Yes, it cost me time but I was told beforehand and I appreciated that.

If you are not Thai, don't do like Thais who don't like to walk! Do the walking and save, lol!

[kharmabum]

i think i've found a solution to my dilemma. after finding out songthauw drivers earn only 10$ a day on this thread i had an idea. i walked outside and woke one up who was sleeping in the back of his truck. i think he was still drunk, but i when he heard what i had to say he sobered right up. i offered him a job for 11$ a day to be my personel shaufer and drive me to and from the country club each day. and the best part is i will now have more than enough space for my titanium golf clubs without any annoying kids taking up premium bench space and making me late for tee off because THEY needed to be dropped off at school!LOL

thanks to everyone who contributed such valuable information about how songtauws work in chiangmai and pattaya and bangkok. and oh, i almost forgot. that hellodolly guy gave me a great idea and i've already sold the rights. coming soon.. an iphone app that will use gps to lead you through the mistifyingly complex world of pattaya baht bus routes,from noklua all way to walking street!( incuding a built in breathalizer!)

Edited March 23, 2013 by kharmabum

[britgent]

The ones in cm operate to where you want to go as opposed to its route. So cheap almost unbelievable.

I tired of tuk tuks and their grabby nasty ways and eventually stopped renting a scooter and bought one.

I really want a pickup butvtge traffic and parkibgbin cm forbids it.

[dave2]

re

and oh, i almost forgot. that hellodolly guy gave me a great idea and i've already sold the rights. coming soon.. an iphone app

dont forget us android users : )

and there is a beach in naklua ... its not wide ..

but its there : )

enjoy .. dave2

[jackr]

What the op is asking is why is the walk-on fare on a Songthaew's route in Pattaya 10 baht (such as down Beach Road, up 2nd Road) and the walk-on fare in CM 20 baht (such as up Huay Kaew, down Thapae Road). He wants to know why, not what workers take home or the price of cheese, and it is clear he's not talking about charter fares. Geez!

[endure]

Because they can?

[ARISTIDE]

A Red Song Taw in city area operates like a bus not Taxi , you ride with other passengers, they are expected to be paid one price all the way.

15 baths in the city area

20 baths in most chiang mai Amphur meung area (if they agreed to go)

All prices are governed by Department of land transport

Chiang mai already has taxi, the tuk tuk, the Taxi meter, the Airport taxi.

They work more like taxis - you tell them your destination and they bring you there. If there are other passengers on board, it might be a bit of mystery tour and take some time. If the journey is a long one, the price might go up to 40 or 60 baht, but it is a point to point service. You need to be able to describe where you're going, so it's a good idea to stay at a well known place, or near a well known landmark if you're going to be making a lot of use of them. I generally much prefer them to tuk-tuks which don't seem much safer than a motorcycle, and are targeting the inexperienced farang with higher prices.

The Baht bus in Pattaya is great if you know the routes and want to travel along them, but even that can be a bit of a crap-shoot. Sometimes you'll need to take two or three of them. And if you want a specific destination, you've got to charter the whole thing which will be 100 or 150 baht.

The Chiang Mai Red Taxis work a lot better once you're used to them.

[market trader]

I think the real answer as to why songthaews charge 20 bahts in Chiang Mai is because it is a city for the elderly expat and the songthaews are all equipped with wheel chairs and portable oxygen.

[stuartd1]

The songthaews that run regular routes, (different colours different routes, red are by request) charge 10 Baht up. I regularly catch the yellow one from the top of Nanatharam Road, near CM Gate, down to Airport Plaza or Tesco Lotus on Hang Dong road for 10B. If you go further thay may want a bit more.

I have also taken green ones from the back of Wararot to Meechock for 10B.

[ollylama]

I don't think this is a case of being a cheap charlie. The OP only asked why the price was higher and he was afforded informative answers by some and outright rudeness by others. It agree that it is good value for what it is, but it must be very expensive for the average Thai who until recently earned 175 baht a day (half of what someone guessed a songthaew driver makes).

Chiang Mai could benefit from a better, cheaper transport system but no one knows how to engineer it. And one of the main problems has always been that the songthaew business is so profitable that they can prop up a mafia that prevents the government from fomenting any real change. When the air con bus system was implemented 7 years ago one of the reasons it failed was it was crippled by the demands of the songthaew mob.

So get off your high horse, unless you're willing to offer someone a ride on it.

[qdinthailand]

Watch the Thais hand a 20 baht note over to driver when they get out.

If they thought it was a bad deal - a ripoff - do you think they'd hand over the 20 baht?

It's some cheap-charlie farangs it seems that have a problem with Songthaew prices in CM.

[Ricardo]

Maybe it`s because in Chiang Mai the songthaews are smaller and therefore carry less people, so they charge more to make up the difference.

This is only a guess so please don`t send me any death threats for being wrong.

Not sure whether they're smaller up here, but the Pattaya ones are usually taller, so that I can sit upright rather than stoop !

Perhaps the CM-songthaew-mafia might consider raising their roofs, as well as their prices ?

[kharmabum]

i've never heard so many people use the phrase "cheap charlie" so effortlessly. isn't that expresssion from the roaring 1920's flapper era? anyway, sorry some of you think i'm such a "cheap charlie". i'd rather you think of me as "the cats pajamas". peace out. man. that's 1960's hippie lexicon.

Edited March 24, 2013 by kharmabum

[Ulysses G.]

Cheap Charlie was used by the American soldiers from Vietnam who came here on R&R, but it is now pretty standard Thailish.

[uptheos]

Cheap Charlie was used by the American soldiers from Vietnam who came here on R&R, but it is now pretty standard Thailish.

CHEAP CHARLIE

Uc-da-loi, Cheap Charlie,

He no buy me Saigon tea,

Saigon tea costs many many P,

Uc-da-loi he Cheap Charlie.

Uc-da-loi, Cheap Charlie,

He no give me MPC,

MPC costs many many P,

Uc-da-loi he Cheap Charlie.

Uc-da-loi, Cheap Charlie

He no go to bed with me,

Bed with me costs many many P

Uc-da-loi he Cheap Charlie.

Uc-da-loi, Cheap Charlie,

Make me give him one for free,

Mamma-san go crook at me,

Uc-da-loi, he Cheap Charlie.

Uc-da-loi, Cheap Charlie,

He give baby-san to me,

Baby-san costs many many P,

Uc-da-loi, he Cheap Charlie.

Uc-da-loi, Cheap Charlie,

He go home across the sea,

He leave baby-san with me,

Uc-da-loi he Cheap Charlie

Author Unknown: written circa early 1960s