Rip off red songtheaw drivers.

[Chiengmaijoe]

Strange how people can come here and complain about expensive prices here. Makes one wonder about what they would do if they had to go back to where they live. 100 baht to the airport US 150 baht to start the meter.

Yes it is sad some of them do gouge but there are many that don't. So how about people stop painting them all with the same paint brush. I use them a lot and have had some that tried to gouge me but I know how to dicker with them and If We don't come to an agreement I wait for the next one and chances are I will say where and they will say yes or no. About 1/3 will ask for 40 baht I counter with 20 in Thai. And generally wind up at 25 or 30 which I really don't mind as they have to make a living to. Their income has not risen in the last three years and mine has. Both of us have had are cost of living raised. I just feel they deserve a fair wage. this is 2014 not 2010.

In a month I probably pay an extra 150 baht. I can afford it. It is still cheaper than buying a vehicle insuring it maintaining it licensing it and putting fuel in it.

Last but not least I feel safer in the back of one than if I was doing the driving or riding myself. Good experienced drivers know to give them room.

edit spelling

Then again maybe I should leave it there for the spelling police.

some of them it is the high point of their day.

It never fails to amaze me as to how many people here seem to get so wound up about relatively trivial amounts of money or trivial issues. Maybe they don't have enough going on in their life, they haven't spent enough time trying to understand what's going on OR , they're naturally miserable and negative. Maybe all of the above!

Why is it I'm having to justify being considerate and slightly generous? Sometimes I get the impression that a fair few of the people here aren't happy if they haven't got something to moan about, and if they don't have something, they'll find it. I can't remember the last time I got bothered about anything here. Either I've been here too long, or they haven't been here long enough. Or both.

Remember Ian Dury's "reasons to be cheerful part 3"? A lot of guys here are still looking for part 1!!!

Edited January 5, 2014 by Chiengmaijoe

[beau thai]

Strange how people can come here and complain about expensive prices here. Makes one wonder about what they would do if they had to go back to where they live. 100 baht to the airport US 150 baht to start the meter.

Yes it is sad some of them do gouge but there are many that don't. So how about people stop painting them all with the same paint brush. I use them a lot and have had some that tried to gouge me but I know how to dicker with them and If We don't come to an agreement I wait for the next one and chances are I will say where and they will say yes or no. About 1/3 will ask for 40 baht I counter with 20 in Thai. And generally wind up at 25 or 30 which I really don't mind as they have to make a living to. Their income has not risen in the last three years and mine has. Both of us have had are cost of living raised. I just feel they deserve a fair wage. this is 2014 not 2010.

In a month I probably pay an extra 150 baht. I can afford it. It is still cheaper than buying a vehicle insuring it maintaining it licensing it and putting fuel in it.

Last but not least I feel safer in the back of one than if I was doing the driving or riding myself. Good experienced drivers know to give them room.

edit spelling

Then again maybe I should leave it there for the spelling police.

some of them it is the high point of their day.

It never fails to amaze me as to how many people here seem to get so wound up about relatively trivial amounts of money or trivial issues. Maybe they don't have enough going on in their life, they haven't spent enough time trying to understand what's going on OR , they're naturally miserable and negative. Maybe all of the above!

Why is it I'm having to justify being considerate and slightly generous? Sometimes I get the impression that a fair few of the people here aren't happy if they haven't got something to moan about, and if they don't have something, they'll find it. I can't remember the last time I got bothered about anything here. Either I've been here too long, or they haven't been here long enough. Or both.

Remember Ian Dury's "reasons to be cheerful part 3"? A lot of guys here are still looking for part 1!!!

'Remember Ian Dury's "reasons to be cheerful part 3"? A lot of guys here are still looking for part 1!!!' Or their Blockheads....

[Ulysses G.]

It is normally 20 baht to go to Airport Plaza shopping center and a bunch of drivers asked the OP to pay five times that price to go a few more blocks (because he has white skin) and they would not settle for less. I can see why he might be a little miffed.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[Chiengmaijoe]

It is normally 20 baht to go to Airport Plaza shopping center and a bunch of drivers asked the OP to pay five times that price to go a few more blocks (because he has white skin) and they would not settle for less. I can see why he might be a little miffed.

With words like scoundrel, rip-off and hate all used in a matter of a few lines I get the impression that he's a bit more than miffed. I had visions of him fuming, but it was probably something in between.

If the fare for a songthaew around town is 20b then normally he is quids in. If on , I assume, the rare occasions he goes to the airport (once a year in my case, two or three in his?) he has to pay more, then maybe it would be best to bite the bullet on the airport songthaew fare and factor that in on the price of his ticket..... 50 baht over the odds going, and slightly more coming back. So next time he wants to fly somewhere he could add on 100b that he will have to pay on extraordinary taxi fares and take it from there. Not much over the space of a year.

I'm not sure about the white skin argument. I imagine plenty of Asians, Africans, and Arabs may also pay more than 20 baht to go to the airport, including Thais.

[mizztraveller]

What confuses me is that a yellow and blue aircon, comfortable taxi costs 120 baht FROM the airport but 150 baht TO the airport. Normally it would be the other way round!

On airport trips I always choose the taxi option for the extra couple of baht and a door to door service.

Sent from my GT-I8552 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Rob8891]

If you are so desperate to save a few baht (recalculate to your own currency and you may well be ashamed!) you could get a yellow songtaew to Central Airport Plaza (10 baht) and then catch a red to the airport (20 baht)......or, (dare I say it), WALK that short stretch..... Whole journey for 10 baht. Happy now?

We (thai gf and I) usually catch a red songtaew from Chiang Mai Gate and pay 100 baht... that's 50 baht each. Door to door, no fuss.

And no, I do not have an income, I am retired. ...... I have also walked the whole way, with just carry-on luggage. It's good exercise and helps to reduce blood pressure (it sounds like you need it with all that stress over a cheap fare!)

[wigantojapan]

the cost of the extra is a bottle of whisky here ,,please have some perspective BTw i am drinking a nice wee nip of 17 year old caperdonich at 57.8%

[Rob8891]

of course, the other option is to find a driver who gives you a good rate and then get his phone number so that you can call him up whenever you need.

We're going to the airport tomorrow - 100 baht in a tuktuk owned by a neighbour. Once I have dropped the gf off, I'll be walking back (gotta try to keep those pounds off, eh?)

[FolkGuitar]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

[beau thai]

the cost of the extra is a bottle of whisky here ,,please have some perspective BTw i am drinking a nice wee nip of 17 year old caperdonich at 57.8%

Where is 'here' that you can get a bottle of whisky that cheap - miniature though maybe??

[beau thai]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

[FolkGuitar]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

Yes, no question he was asking far too much. There is simple greed everywhere. But this is Thailand, run for Thais and by Thais. What ever direction Thais choose for their city is entirely up to them. Not something I worry myself over. I have the choice of either staying or leaving. Nothing else.

[thaibeachlovers]

If you are so desperate to save a few baht (recalculate to your own currency and you may well be ashamed!) you could get a yellow songtaew to Central Airport Plaza (10 baht) and then catch a red to the airport (20 baht)......or, (dare I say it), WALK that short stretch..... Whole journey for 10 baht. Happy now?

We (thai gf and I) usually catch a red songtaew from Chiang Mai Gate and pay 100 baht... that's 50 baht each. Door to door, no fuss.

And no, I do not have an income, I am retired. ...... I have also walked the whole way, with just carry-on luggage. It's good exercise and helps to reduce blood pressure (it sounds like you need it with all that stress over a cheap fare!)

<or, (dare I say it), WALK that short stretch>

#36 <Normally I'd take a red songtheaw to Central for 20 and walk the rest, but I currently have a very painful leg and can't walk that far.>

Oh I do get bored with posters that don't read the thread and then come up with so called solutions which have already been explained to have no relevance.

I had a sore leg and COULDN'T walk- Got it now??????????

[MESmith]

If you are so desperate to save a few baht (recalculate to your own currency and you may well be ashamed!) you could get a yellow songtaew to Central Airport Plaza (10 baht) and then catch a red to the airport (20 baht)......or, (dare I say it), WALK that short stretch..... Whole journey for 10 baht. Happy now?

We (thai gf and I) usually catch a red songtaew from Chiang Mai Gate and pay 100 baht... that's 50 baht each. Door to door, no fuss.

And no, I do not have an income, I am retired. ...... I have also walked the whole way, with just carry-on luggage. It's good exercise and helps to reduce blood pressure (it sounds like you need it with all that stress over a cheap fare!)

<or, (dare I say it), WALK that short stretch>

#36 <Normally I'd take a red songtheaw to Central for 20 and walk the rest, but I currently have a very painful leg and can't walk that far.>

Oh I do get bored with posters that don't read the thread and then come up with so called solutions which have already been explained to have no relevance.

I had a sore leg and COULDN'T walk- Got it now??????????

I guess you'd better stump up & pay the inflated price, cos those rip off songteaw drivers know you don't have a leg to stand on.....

[saroq]

US$3.06 to get to the airport!!!! Disgraceful. What were they planning to do with all that money? Buy a Mercedes? One things for sure they wouldn't buy food for their children with it.

Airport taxi to my condo here 120 baht. Airport taxi to my old home in Texas - about the same distance - $18.00 US (approx. 590 baht at todays rate). I wouldn't squeak about 100 baht, though in all honesty, the most I have ever paid a songtheaw was 60 baht and that was from the train station to my condo. Was I overcharged? Maybe but I haven't missed any meals because of it.

David

Clearly you have not picked up on the sarcasm in my post. To complain about a $3 charge to take the OP to the airport is rediculous. How do people expect a songtheaw driver to feed his family if he can't charge a $3 fare for this type of trip? I often see posts here that indicate that some farang think that the rediculously low wages paid to Thais are adequate or that they can somehow tap into a secret economy that allows them to live like kings on 5,000 baht a month.

[hellodolly]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

I have used the songthaew's now for 7 years and never once been asked for more than 60 baht. Which I refused.

I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai before I even mention where I want to go.

[thaibeachlovers]

US$3.06 to get to the airport!!!! Disgraceful. What were they planning to do with all that money? Buy a Mercedes? One things for sure they wouldn't buy food for their children with it.

Airport taxi to my condo here 120 baht. Airport taxi to my old home in Texas - about the same distance - $18.00 US (approx. 590 baht at todays rate). I wouldn't squeak about 100 baht, though in all honesty, the most I have ever paid a songtheaw was 60 baht and that was from the train station to my condo. Was I overcharged? Maybe but I haven't missed any meals because of it.

David

Clearly you have not picked up on the sarcasm in my post. To complain about a $3 charge to take the OP to the airport is rediculous. How do people expect a songtheaw driver to feed his family if he can't charge a $3 fare for this type of trip? I often see posts here that indicate that some farang think that the rediculously low wages paid to Thais are adequate or that they can somehow tap into a secret economy that allows them to live like kings on 5,000 baht a month.

So you obviously think you should pay a lot more for rice, as the workers only get 3,000 a month.

If a Thai only pays 20 baht to the airport, why should I pay more, based on my skin colour?

Why are you using $ when writing about Thailand? They don't use $ here. They also have a lower cost of living than where they do use $. Your argument is flawed and irrelevant.

[thaibeachlovers]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

I have used the songthaew's now for 7 years and never once been asked for more than 60 baht. Which I refused.

I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai before I even mention where I want to go.

<I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai>

Do you wai them as well?

The official price for a trip around C M city is 20 baht, not whatever they think they can get away with because it's a farang ATM. If some posters on here think they should pay more just because they are rich, do they also pay 5 times the meter price when using a Bkk taxi?

[bangkok blue]

With the amount of malls and new condos going up everywhere I think songtows could well be a thing of the past in the next 5 years or so. Yes they do serve a purpose, but contribute heavily to the ever increasing traffic problem in the city. Yes petrol prices have gone up, when I used to use them regularly I would speak in perfect Thai. Often they'd ask me how much I'd wanna pay, with a wry smile on their face, to which I reply with how much. Yet some of these daft fookers with no one in the back, when faced with someone who clearly isn't a tourist would sooner drive around empty handed than give a normal price to a farrang. Yet I've met many good ones,which are in fact in the majority. The best advice is play them off each other, there's so many of them. As you speak to them make it obvious you are keeping one eye on the oncoming traffic behind. If they quote you a stupid price back away from the window saying nothing, waving the next oncoming truck into the side. The price comes down rapidly! But by which point they've blown their chance with me and go empty handed. Of course at night expect to pay more.

Edited January 10, 2014 by bangkok blue

[mikemac]

Considering the tuk tuks charge 300 baht... 100 baht is a bargain!...

My wife and I have lived in a condo just behind the Night Bazaar road, between Thapae and Loi Kroh, for 4 years now. Have caught many tuk-tuks to the airport in that time and never been asked for more than 120 baht. I always tip them well and still consider it a cheap trip, so all are happy.

Whenever I hear these heart wrenching stories of foreigners being overcharged I can't help wondering why this happens.

Is it the attitude displayed when asking the price, the tone of voice ? Is it just a case of striking a crooked driver ? Or are these stories sometimes fabricated or exaggerated as an excuse to bash Thaland ?

Either way I find by using the limited Thai language I have picked up, smiling, and speaking politely, I don't have a lot of problems with pricing. And I have found if you give them a tip they will look after you every time you return, Thais have good memories when money is involved.

[chuang]

<I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai>

Do you wai them as well?

The official price for a trip around C M city is 20 baht, not whatever they think they can get away with because it's a farang ATM. If some posters on here think they should pay more just because they are rich, do they also pay 5 times the meter price when using a Bkk taxi?

20 baht is not the 'official " price for a" trip around CM "...it may be the "official " price if the songthaew operates on a fix route from point A to point B..

going from Thapae gate to the airport is deviation from the standard route..so you expect to be 20 baht..holy cow..wake up.

if you don't like the asking price don't take it, unless the driver forces you with a machete..how long have you been in CM..

Edited January 11, 2014 by chuang

[hellodolly]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

I have used the songthaew's now for 7 years and never once been asked for more than 60 baht. Which I refused.

I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai before I even mention where I want to go.

<I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai>

Do you wai them as well?

The official price for a trip around C M city is 20 baht, not whatever they think they can get away with because it's a farang ATM. If some posters on here think they should pay more just because they are rich, do they also pay 5 times the meter price when using a Bkk taxi?

No I do not wai them.

They are more advanced in thinking than you are. They do niot expect it from a farong and to say hello in Thai lets them know that you are polite and also not just off the boat. If you approach them with the attitude I am sensing from you here they are going to be less likely to accept the 20 baht price. Be polite and if they quote a figure to high politly suggest another price. Don't go running home to post how a songthaew driver tried to rip you off.

Not sure I think the official price is 17 baht but be what it is to ask them to go some where that they figure will not allow them to pick up other fares it is only natural for them to ask for more. I would not be surprised to see them asking for a higher fare with the traffic getting to be as blocked up as it is now. They depend on many passengers to make their living.

[bangkok blue]

I was behind two Chinese girls who flagged down a selor and wanted to go from near Thapae Gate to Kad Suan Kaew. They showed the driver a map, pointed, and said the name itself quite clearly. The driver gave a puzzled look, asked to see the map as one of the girls pointed and repeated the name. After 20-30 seconds of intense confusion on the part of the driver, he finally decided that he could wend his way to Kad Suan Kaew, and do so for a paltry sum of 600 baht... each. To their credit, the young ladies simply looked at each other, smiled, said something in Mandarin, shook their heads and walked off. I leaned in the window, asked (in poor Thai) to be taken to the gas station just past Kad Suan Kaew. The driver nodded, and I got in. Paid my 20 baht when I got off, and didn't think any the less of the driver who tried his best to make his day in one trip. Caveat emptor.

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

I have used the songthaew's now for 7 years and never once been asked for more than 60 baht. Which I refused.

I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai before I even mention where I want to go.

Do you wai them as well?

The official price for a trip around C M city is 20 baht, not whatever they think they can get away with because it's a farang ATM. If some posters on here think they should pay more just because they are rich, do they also pay 5 times the meter price when using a Bkk taxi?

No I do not wai them.

They are more advanced in thinking than you are. They do niot expect it from a farong and to say hello in Thai lets them know that you are polite and also not just off the boat. If you approach them with the attitude I am sensing from you here they are going to be less likely to accept the 20 baht price. Be polite and if they quote a figure to high politly suggest another price. Don't go running home to post how a songthaew driver tried to rip you off.

Not sure I think the official price is 17 baht but be what it is to ask them to go some where that they figure will not allow them to pick up other fares it is only natural for them to ask for more. I would not be surprised to see them asking for a higher fare with the traffic getting to be as blocked up as it is now. They depend on many passengers to make their living.

true, many available so can def get a price acceptable. Although some, not all, do take the piss at times. As u said earlier. Just play them off each other so they come down to something reasonable.

[bangkok blue]

Some do take the piss with price. I understand inflated quotes if off the beat and track or put the way of their normal route... But some prices are daft. As I said play then off each other and the price goes down for sure.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[wigantojapan]

you would certainly get a driver quicker( who gave you the local thai price)than people agreeing on this ,,,,move on people,,,,like you should do when someone treats you racially.....end of

[Ulysses G.]

[ 20 baht is not the 'official " price for a" trip around CM "...it may be the "official " price if the songthaew operates on a fix route from point A to point B..

going from Thapae gate to the airport is deviation from the standard route..

There is no "standard route" for the red songthaews and the official rate is 15 baht, but even Thais pay 20.

[saroq]

US$3.06 to get to the airport!!!! Disgraceful. What were they planning to do with all that money? Buy a Mercedes? One things for sure they wouldn't buy food for their children with it.

Airport taxi to my condo here 120 baht. Airport taxi to my old home in Texas - about the same distance - $18.00 US (approx. 590 baht at todays rate). I wouldn't squeak about 100 baht, though in all honesty, the most I have ever paid a songtheaw was 60 baht and that was from the train station to my condo. Was I overcharged? Maybe but I haven't missed any meals because of it.

David

Clearly you have not picked up on the sarcasm in my post. To complain about a $3 charge to take the OP to the airport is rediculous. How do people expect a songtheaw driver to feed his family if he can't charge a $3 fare for this type of trip? I often see posts here that indicate that some farang think that the rediculously low wages paid to Thais are adequate or that they can somehow tap into a secret economy that allows them to live like kings on 5,000 baht a month.

So you obviously think you should pay a lot more for rice, as the workers only get 3,000 a month.

If a Thai only pays 20 baht to the airport, why should I pay more, based on my skin colour?

Why are you using $ when writing about Thailand? They don't use $ here. They also have a lower cost of living than where they do use $. Your argument is flawed and irrelevant.

Really? You're going to get on my case because I used dollars rather than baht,as if that somehow invalidates my comment. Why did I use $ because it puts it into a perspective that everyone can understand. The OP is complaining about a 100 baht (are you happy now?) charge to take him to the airport. He goes on to make it out to be a case of run away rip off just as you are trying to make it out to be a racial issue rather than what it is, a poor driver trying to increase his revenue so that he can provide a little better for his livelihood. I buy my rice at Rimping so I pay the going rate but I always tip the taxi drive 50-100 baht, the waitress 25-50 baht for their service as a way of acknowledging that their wages are inadequate. That's my choice just as it is yours to increase your blood pressure over such a paultry sum of money. If you live or die because 100 baht in Thailand then maybe it's worth the outrage but maybe it's also time to go home.

Edited January 11, 2014 by saroq

[Mapguy]

[ 20 baht is not the 'official " price for a" trip around CM "...it may be the "official " price if the songthaew operates on a fix route from point A to point B..

going from Thapae gate to the airport is deviation from the standard route..

There is no "standard route" for the red songthaews and the official rate is 15 baht, but even Thais pay 20.

I believe that UG is correct. As I recall, for example, students only pay 15 baht. The few Thais whom I have ever asked pay the 20 baht.

I don't doubt that a few drivers take advantage of tourists (or try to), as in the story about the Chinese above, but I am among those who have never had a problem beyond waving one off with a smile. This happens rarely. I basically need a destination within the superhighway limits.. Beyond that I would expect to pay somewhat more depending where it is.

The one exception of which I am aware is the price from the Arcade bus station, say, to the center of town or elsewhere within the Superhighway limits. I forget how much, but I think more is expected than 20 bhat. I suspect that the reason for that is that access to fares might be somewhat controlled, and that individual drivers have to pay the "starter" a little something. There are somewhat similar situations, I believe, at the airport (maybe the railway station) regarding access to songtaew or tuk tuks. I believe you would find this sort of situation in almost any city worldwide.

And some routes should be negotiable when they take a driver out of the way, especially when few fares along the route are anticipated.

And I think it very reasonable for a driver to refuse some destinations. For example, the traffic chaos on some routes these days during "rush hours." The songtaew aren't responsible for that. The increase in private cars is responsible. The songtaew are not metered. It costs them! Of course, that is a heavy demand time,so those drivers can, in some instances, do well.

I do not have the foggiest idea what an average songthaew driver makes, but I can not imagine it is much. Sometimes, especially in the evenings, I see husband-wife teams together --- and I don't think it is because the wives don't trust the husbands! Maybe I am a romantic, but it has always struck me as their spending "time together."

I wouldn't want to be a songthaew driver, thank you, nor a taxi driver, here or anywhere. So, when there are so many posts suggesting that Thais think farang are "ATMs," or, as in the accusations of some posters during the very busy holidays that the drivers are some sort of ripoff mafia when the road up Doi Suthep was closed except to them by the police because of enormous traffic problems during the holiday, I believe that such accusations are not reality-based (to say the least!), or, as some have suggested, they really are not happy in Thailand and might --- although I doubt it --- be happier someplace else.

For the rest of us, enjoy the convenience of a very inexpensive sensible (for the circumstances) almost always point-to-point transportation system. But, as I have posted often, the diesel-fuel system is very harmful, and there absolutely needs to be a radical fuel change for those trucks. That is indeed not just possible, it is absolutely feasible over time.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Mapguy

[Chiengmaijoe]

The official price for a trip around C M city is 20 baht, not whatever they think they can get away with because it's a farang ATM. If some posters on here think they should pay more just because they are rich, do they also pay 5 times the meter price when using a Bkk taxi?

I sometimes advise the people that spend their lives getting agitated over minor issues that they should go out a bit more often. I think you should stay in a bit more.

[thaibeachlovers]

Caveat emptor ok but that blatant profiteering makes us look like Pattaya.Now if he had charged them 100baht each then fair game, but 1200baht for a 10 minute drive-no way.

I have used the songthaew's now for 7 years and never once been asked for more than 60 baht. Which I refused.

I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai before I even mention where I want to go.

<I find it helpful when approaching a Songthaew to say hello in Thai>

Do you wai them as well?

The official price for a trip around C M city is 20 baht, not whatever they think they can get away with because it's a farang ATM. If some posters on here think they should pay more just because they are rich, do they also pay 5 times the meter price when using a Bkk taxi?

No I do not wai them.

They are more advanced in thinking than you are. They do niot expect it from a farong and to say hello in Thai lets them know that you are polite and also not just off the boat. If you approach them with the attitude I am sensing from you here they are going to be less likely to accept the 20 baht price. Be polite and if they quote a figure to high politly suggest another price. Don't go running home to post how a songthaew driver tried to rip you off.

Not sure I think the official price is 17 baht but be what it is to ask them to go some where that they figure will not allow them to pick up other fares it is only natural for them to ask for more. I would not be surprised to see them asking for a higher fare with the traffic getting to be as blocked up as it is now. They depend on many passengers to make their living.

Even the ones WITH passengers already on board asked for 100, so they were ALREADY going near the airport, or they would have declined to take me.

If I ask to go somewhere in Thai, why would they think I'm just off the boat? Do you see Thai people engaging in pleasantries before boarding a songtheaw, LOL?

If they want higher fares, it should be paid by all, not just white ATMs.

Some of the posters on this thread think they should give their money away because they are in Thailand, which is why it becomes a problem for every other farang.