Bhat Bus Mafia Figures Out How To Annoy Us Even More

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Supply and Demand. Still too many Baht-Buses around, that help to pollute the air. Oversupply = Hard to increase price. Nothing new, pure economics.

Cheers.

Virtually every poster missed my point. I am not "whining" about 10 baht going to 20 baht (although I do think it should remain 10 baht all the way to Central Road). I am pissed at the inconvenience they are creating. Let me state some facts: 1) there really is a baht bus mafia, 2) in the past they took you from Jomtien to Central Road for 10 baht, and you did not have to change buses (the unstated rule was 10 baht to Central Road and another 10 baht after), 3) now they are stopping and forming a cue at South Road, making it much more inconvenient for passengers because you have to change buses at South Road. How many people like that? It is hot outside. I do not like having to stop, and get out, and then get into another bus, and wait and wait and wait for passengers before the driver will finally move. It is really inconvenient! They are charging more, yes, but why not just do that across the board! Why make a baht bus switch on a well-known, well-traveled route? By the way, I have a truck. I could drive it, but that is not convenient because I can't find a place to park! The baht bus mafia does, very often,cheat customers. That is why so many are driving around the town with no passengers searching for a sucker (often a tourist from Russia or Japan or Korea) to rip off. That is why they let you get in, drive down the road a bit, then stop in some isolated spot and ask you "where are you going" and then demand an outrageous price to get you there. That is why they pack us in like sardines in a can at the cues. We should not have sympathy for them. This is a real problem that needs a solution.

Well if you pissed off about the inconvenience, you can always take a motorcycle taxi or just a taxi.

I do not believe anyone is forcing you to use baht bus,and a 10 baht a ride, you really can not be complaining about being packed like sardines.

If you like your space and comfort, you do not use public transport.

Yes, I agree. I could always just take my private helicopter! Please, can we get real here. This is about a horrible transport system that is run by a mafia that is located in a city that is pretending to be an upscale tourist destination. What they are doing now is stupid and inconvenient for passengers. If they want to raise prices, fine, just make it 20 baht to go along the main line from south Jomtien to north Naklua w/ no unecessary, time consuming, idiotic cues. If we accept the cues, sporadic or not, then we will might see others pop up along the main route in Pratumnak and other places. The cues are, in part, places that are set up to cheat unsuspecting tourists. Just walk across the street on the route from Pattaya to Jomtien and you can see it happening each day. We need a modern bus system, w/ fixed fees, to replace the bhat buses.

[lemoncake]

Supply and Demand. Still too many Baht-Buses around, that help to pollute the air. Oversupply = Hard to increase price. Nothing new, pure economics.

Cheers.

Virtually every poster missed my point. I am not "whining" about 10 baht going to 20 baht (although I do think it should remain 10 baht all the way to Central Road). I am pissed at the inconvenience they are creating. Let me state some facts: 1) there really is a baht bus mafia, 2) in the past they took you from Jomtien to Central Road for 10 baht, and you did not have to change buses (the unstated rule was 10 baht to Central Road and another 10 baht after), 3) now they are stopping and forming a cue at South Road, making it much more inconvenient for passengers because you have to change buses at South Road. How many people like that? It is hot outside. I do not like having to stop, and get out, and then get into another bus, and wait and wait and wait for passengers before the driver will finally move. It is really inconvenient! They are charging more, yes, but why not just do that across the board! Why make a baht bus switch on a well-known, well-traveled route? By the way, I have a truck. I could drive it, but that is not convenient because I can't find a place to park! The baht bus mafia does, very often,cheat customers. That is why so many are driving around the town with no passengers searching for a sucker (often a tourist from Russia or Japan or Korea) to rip off. That is why they let you get in, drive down the road a bit, then stop in some isolated spot and ask you "where are you going" and then demand an outrageous price to get you there. That is why they pack us in like sardines in a can at the cues. We should not have sympathy for them. This is a real problem that needs a solution.

Well if you pissed off about the inconvenience, you can always take a motorcycle taxi or just a taxi.

I do not believe anyone is forcing you to use baht bus,and a 10 baht a ride, you really can not be complaining about being packed like sardines.

If you like your space and comfort, you do not use public transport.

Yes, I agree. I could always just take my private helicopter! Please, can we get real here. This is about a horrible transport system that is run by a mafia that is located in a city that is pretending to be an upscale tourist destination. What they are doing now is stupid and inconvenient for passengers. If they want to raise prices, fine, just make it 20 baht to go along the main line from south Jomtien to north Naklua w/ no unecessary, time consuming, idiotic cues. If we accept the cues, sporadic or not, then we will might see others pop up along the main route in Pratumnak and other places. The cues are, in part, places that are set up to cheat unsuspecting tourists. Just walk across the street on the route from Pattaya to Jomtien and you can see it happening each day. We need a modern bus system, w/ fixed fees, to replace the bhat buses.

Pleaseeeeeee.

What is horrible? the fact that the bus does not go where you want it to go?

What mafia? you pay 10 baht for a few km ride.

We need modern bus system? great,so the roads would be totally jammed with busses and you might save yourself 10 baht

Some people really need to have a reality check

[swissie]

Prices have risen for basically everything in the past few years. But transportation seems to be exempt from it. I can still take a VIP-Night-Bus with a recliner-seat to any corner of Thailand and i never paid more than 900 Bht.

So, if there are reasons to complain, it can't be the cost of personal transportation, be it the 10 Bht fare in Pattaya or the "long-haul" clear across the country.

Cheers.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Last night at around 8pm I took a Bahtbus from outside my building in Jomtien to The Avenue (in the rain). The first one that I hailed stopped for me, and he was partly full as one might expect. I paid the same 10B I always pay for the same trip, which I have been making several times a week for several years.

Coming back at midnight I declined the offer of a crowded bus by the school on 2nd Rd/South Rd, walked a few yards along towards Jomtien and hailed the first Bahtbus coming past. He took me back to Jomtien for the usual 10B, with a half-dozen other people who were on board.

I have absolutely no problem with any of this and it is a mystery to me what anyone finds to complain about, apart from the severe traffic problems coming in to Pattaya from Jomtien in the early evening.

[stoneyboy]

It's just not fare.

[longstebe]

It's just not fare.

Cheap but funny.

Sent from my Nexus S using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Jingthing]

I think you CAN use the word mafia to describe the Pattaya transport ownership scheme. The SAME company (allowed by the CITY) owns both all the baht buses and all of the FAKE taxi meter cars. Nobody is allowed to COMPETE with this system. Not for buses. Not for car taxis. And we have NO real taxis in the sense of a real modern city. That would be a METERED system. What stops us from having a metered system? See above. Use whatever word you like but I wouldn't get too worked up about people who choose to use mafia to describe this kind of system.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Jingthing

[Spoonman]

I think you CAN use the word mafia to describe the Pattaya transport ownership scheme. The SAME company (allowed by the CITY) owns both all the baht buses and all of the FAKE taxi meter cars. Nobody is allowed to COMPETE with this system. Not for buses.

Mafia or good business model, I thought the Mafia liked to kill people ?

Would love to do something business wise that nobody is allowed to compete against.

[Jingthing]

I think you CAN use the word mafia to describe the Pattaya transport ownership scheme. The SAME company (allowed by the CITY) owns both all the baht buses and all of the FAKE taxi meter cars. Nobody is allowed to COMPETE with this system. Not for buses.

Mafia or good business model, I thought the Mafia liked to kill people ?

Would love to do something business wise that nobody is allowed to compete against.

Sorry. You don't get it. PUBLIC TRANSPORT is a PUBLIC issue. Not a typical business. You can go to a restaurant or not. But if you don't run a vehicle in a city this size you MUST consume the public transport on offer. That is why in NORMAL cities the GOVERNMENT is involved in regulating these systems in the PUBLIC interest. What normal city would ever allow the SAME outfit to own all of the buses, all of the taxis, and let them get away without offering any meter service and not allow any COMPETING meter service?

Edited May 17, 2013 by Jingthing

[Spoonman]

I think you CAN use the word mafia to describe the Pattaya transport ownership scheme. The SAME company (allowed by the CITY) owns both all the baht buses and all of the FAKE taxi meter cars. Nobody is allowed to COMPETE with this system. Not for buses.

Mafia or good business model, I thought the Mafia liked to kill people ?

Would love to do something business wise that nobody is allowed to compete against.

Sorry. You don't get it. PUBLIC TRANSPORT is a PUBLIC issue. It is like a utility. Not a typical business. You can go to a restaurant or not. But if you don't run a vehicle in a city this size you MUST consume the pubic transport on offer. That is why in NORMAL cities the GOVERNMENT is involved in regulating these systems in the PUBLIC interest.

You seem to miss the point that the "public" baht buses are owned by a private enterprise, always have been always will be, you call it "mafia"........... I call it good business sense.

Monopoly seems to be a better choice of words than mafia, but then you would have nothing to go frothing at the bunghole at every chance would you if it was a monopoly as it aint got the same ring to it as "mafia".

Edited May 17, 2013 by Spoonman

[Jingthing]

I think you CAN use the word mafia to describe the Pattaya transport ownership scheme. The SAME company (allowed by the CITY) owns both all the baht buses and all of the FAKE taxi meter cars. Nobody is allowed to COMPETE with this system. Not for buses.

Mafia or good business model, I thought the Mafia liked to kill people ?

Would love to do something business wise that nobody is allowed to compete against.

Sorry. You don't get it. PUBLIC TRANSPORT is a PUBLIC issue. It is like a utility. Not a typical business. You can go to a restaurant or not. But if you don't run a vehicle in a city this size you MUST consume the pubic transport on offer. That is why in NORMAL cities the GOVERNMENT is involved in regulating these systems in the PUBLIC interest.

You seem to miss the point that the "public" baht buses are owned by a private enterprise, always have been always will be, you call it "mafia"........... I call it good business sense.

Again, you don't get it. This is not a normal private business. This is a scheme where the CITY enforces the baht bus cooperative total monopoly. To see this as free enterprise is ridiculous. Free enterprise would be FIVE taxi companies COMPETING and then there would be meters. What do you think would happen if another private company decided to compete for the public transport service here?

If ONE COMPANY owned ALL the restaurants in town, city hall approved that, and any other restaurant that tried to open would not be allowed by city hall and/or have the monopoly ENFORCED like they are by mafias the world over, would you call that private enterprise?

It's no biggie to me if people don't think the Mafia word fits, but to paint it as some kind of free market business model is total rubbish!

Edited May 17, 2013 by Jingthing

[Spoonman]

Ahhh so the Pattaya City (council) enforces the monopoly and is therefore the mafia, the baht buses are just plying their trade under direction from above....... glad you clarified that point.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Spoonman

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I think you CAN use the word mafia to describe the Pattaya transport ownership scheme.

"Cartel" would be more accurate. Especially as Thailand is a country that absolutely thrives in just about every sector on cartel pricing and everything that goes with it (price control, anti-competition laws, anti-defamatory laws etc, etc).

The end result is largely the same though. A rose by any other name ......

[Jingthing]

Ahhh so the Pattaya City (council) enforces the monopoly and is therefore the mafia, the baht buses are just plying their trade under direction from above....... glad you clarified that point.

I did not say that nor do I agree with your statement. Do no put words in my mouth. Express your opinions but don't tell me what I think.

[Spoonman]

Ahhh so the Pattaya City (council) enforces the monopoly and is therefore the mafia, the baht buses are just plying their trade under direction from above....... glad you clarified that point.

I did not say that nor do I agree with your statement. Do no put words in my mouth. Express your opinions but don't tell me what I think.

Just reading your claims, not my issue if your are wildly incorrect in your diatribe.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

What normal city would ever allow the SAME outfit to own all of the buses, all of the taxis, and let them get away without offering any meter service and not allow any COMPETING meter service?

A metered system can never compete with a shared fixed-route system such as exists here. No matter how you calculate it the metered vehicle would always be many times more expensive than the shared vehicle.

Personally I am not in the slightest bit interested in getting more expensive metered solutions, only cheaper/better fixed-route shared solutions.

[Spoonman]

"Mafia" would have one to consider the Baht Bus operators to be a criminal syndicate.

Really this a big stretch to consider them as a criminal syndicate (maybe they are all running yaa Ba for Mr Big and using the baht buses as a front ????).............

"cartel" as mentioned by Black Pudding is very much fitting though.

Anywho those that do will always have a hard on for the "mafia"............

Edited May 17, 2013 by Spoonman

[Jingthing]

What normal city would ever allow the SAME outfit to own all of the buses, all of the taxis, and let them get away without offering any meter service and not allow any COMPETING meter service?

A metered system can never compete with a shared fixed-route system such as exists here. No matter how you calculate it the metered vehicle would always be many times more expensive than the shared vehicle.

Personally I am not in the slightest bit interested in getting more expensive metered solutions, only cheaper/better fixed-route shared solutions.

What are you on about? I am talking about the metered TAXI CARS which are owned by the baht bus company but refuse to offer a meter system. The cars. That is a different mode of travel than BAHT BUSES.

[Jingthing]

Call it whatever you want. I already said I don't care. The point is the structure of the system and the public interest is clearly not of so much interest to the people running this show.

That said, would a cartel enforce its monopoly with violence or threats of violence?

"Mafia" would have one to consider the Baht Bus operators to be a criminal syndicate.

Really this a big stretch to consider them as a criminal syndicate.

"cartel" as mentioned by Black Pudding is very much fitting though.

Anywho those that do will always have a hard on for the "mafia"............I

Edited May 17, 2013 by Jingthing

[yoslim]

Last night at around 8pm I took a Bahtbus from outside my building in Jomtien to The Avenue (in the rain). The first one that I hailed stopped for me, and he was partly full as one might expect. I paid the same 10B I always pay for the same trip, which I have been making several times a week for several years.

Coming back at midnight I declined the offer of a crowded bus by the school on 2nd Rd/South Rd, walked a few yards along towards Jomtien and hailed the first Bahtbus coming past. He took me back to Jomtien for the usual 10B, with a half-dozen other people who were on board.

I have absolutely no problem with any of this and it is a mystery to me what anyone finds to complain about, apart from the severe traffic problems coming in to Pattaya from Jomtien in the early evening.

Why not use your car, plenty of parking available at The Avenue ?

[Spoonman]

Call it whatever you want. I already said I don't care. The point is the nature of the system and the public interest is clearly not of so much interest to the people running this show.

"Mafia" would have one to consider the Baht Bus operators to be a criminal syndicate.

Really this a big stretch to consider them as a criminal syndicate.

"cartel" as mentioned by Black Pudding is very much fitting though.

Anywho those that do will always have a hard on for the "mafia"............I

You obviously do care though as you are always on many threads chomping at the bit to have a dig at the "Mafia".........

[Jingthing]

Ahhh so the Pattaya City (council) enforces the monopoly and is therefore the mafia, the baht buses are just plying their trade under direction from above....... glad you clarified that point.

I did not say that nor do I agree with your statement. Do no put words in my mouth. Express your opinions but don't tell me what I think.

Just reading your claims, not my issue if your are wildly incorrect in your diatribe.

You twisted what I said. It is my issue when you do that. Please don't.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

What are you on about? I am talking about the metered TAXI CARS which are owned by the baht bus company but refuse to offer a meter system. The cars. That is a different mode of travel than BAHT BUSES.

I'm aware of that. But the topic is "baht bus mafia scams", not taxi-related scams. Changes to the metered taxi system, whilst surely desirable to some, would have no effect on the baht buses or their way of operating and would be of no interest at all to me as I never take taxis.

[Jingthing]

You obviously do care though as you are always on many threads chomping at the bit to have a dig at the "Mafia".........

I am not. You just made that up.

[Spoonman]

Ahhh so the Pattaya City (council) enforces the monopoly and is therefore the mafia, the baht buses are just plying their trade under direction from above....... glad you clarified that point.

I did not say that nor do I agree with your statement. Do no put words in my mouth. Express your opinions but don't tell me what I think.

Just reading your claims, not my issue if your are wildly incorrect in your diatribe.

You twisted what I said. It is my issue when you do that. Please don't.

I read black and white and not what aint written.......... seems it is very much your issue if that is how I read your post.

[Jingthing]

What are you on about? I am talking about the metered TAXI CARS which are owned by the baht bus company but refuse to offer a meter system. The cars. That is a different mode of travel than BAHT BUSES.

I'm aware of that. But the topic is "baht bus mafia scams", not taxi-related scams. Changes to the metered taxi system, whilst surely desirable to some, would have no effect on the baht buses or their way of operating and would be of no interest at all to me as I never take taxis.

They are RELATED because they are owned by the same outfit. They bought out any chance of competition for CHARTER fares, both by car or truck.

[Jingthing]

I read black and white and not what aint written.......... seems it is very much your issue if that is how I read your post.

You just want to provoke me now. I already told you that you twisted my statement and I did not agree with your characterization of my beliefs. That is going to have to stand.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Jingthing

[Swiss1960]

I read black and white and not what aint written.......... seems it is very much your issue if that is how I read your post.

You just want to provoke me now. I already told you that you twisted my statement and I did not agree with your characterization of my beliefs. That is going to have to stand.

The Master is back

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Why not use your car, plenty of parking available at The Avenue ?

A very good question.

Part of the reason is that I enjoy a couple of beers when I go that particular place (though not enough to cause any sort of problem with driving). Another part of the reason is that I also enjoy the walk back along Beach Rd or 2nd Rd, as far as where I catch the Bahtbus to Jomtien. Sometimes I walk all the way back to Jomtien, which I also enjoy.

The third part of the reason is that I am ashamed to say that I still haven't worked out how the parking/charging works at The Avenue, or even at what time it closes (if indeed it does close). When I go to Pattaya in my car in the daytime I generally park elsewhere, and generally I dont use my car in the evening at all.

[Spoonman]

I read black and white and not what aint written.......... seems it is very much your issue if that is how I read your post.

You just want to provoke me now. I already told you that you twisted my statement and I did not agree with your characterization of my beliefs. That is going to have to stand.

I twisted nothing, you want to post in riddles good for you, I'll read em how I see em.