Irishman reports alleged assault by Pattaya Baht Bus Driver

[truckerjoe]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

If you have spent the night drinking then be wise enough to keep your mouth shut.

Raising your voice and giving orders to a bus driver is not going to get you home any quicker anywhere in the world.

The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation.

But had he taken a taxi and mouthed off to the driver he might have been hacked to death with a sword like the guy in Bangkok

[Rimmer]

A profane as well as most disrespectful post has been removed

[khaowong1]

if the tourist offered to pay the 100 or 150 baht fee to get to his destination asap,and the baht bus driver stopped in front of the mall to pick customers......i am by the tourist side

if the tourist pretended to get to his destination asap just with 10 baht....i am by the driver side

Do you pay baht bus drivers 150 baht for rush deliveries?

i never did but many russian or chinese tourists do.thats also the fee they ask at the pattaya bus station

Interesting. I wrongfully thought that if people wanted to get somewhere in a hurry they would take a cab and not attempt to get a bus full of people to break its schedule.

Thanks

I have never seen many cabs in Pattaya.. I normally either take the baht bus or a motorcycle taxi..

[thrilled]

If something like that happened to me.When he stopped at the mall,I would have got out gave the driver 10 baht and started walking checking for another songthew.It's as easy as thai.I will not mess with A Thai in his or her country.

[Ulic]

In the early hours after you have been over-served don't get belligerent with the baht bus drivers.

You are paying 10 baht for a lift home, it is not a taxi. Relax,

[richard peters]

Years ago an elderly American journalist friend and long time Pattaya resident, (plus Rotary Club Official) took a short trip and the driver wanted a very big fee, so as it was next to the old Tourist Police Office, he said " I think you are charging me far too much, so let the Tourist Police decide and I will pay what they recommend." (The Transport Department do lay down fare charges, which were once displayed in all Baht Buses). With that, the driver punched him, causing considerable injury and broke his spectacles, - then put a big "Knuckle Duster" on his hand to inflict more serious injuries. My friend got up and ran into the Tourist Police Office, but they were not really interested, until another journalist friend turned up and told them that the victim was a journalist, so they had better take some action. I do not think he ever got any real justice over the injuries for what started as a very small difference in the baht costs involved. Whilst I knew some very good Baht Bus drivers from the larger family managed groups, there are also some very "low life" lone operators, wherever you go in Thailand, but every country has them and they are often "stoned out of their minds" on drugs. The Thais are often too polite to complain, but we Westerners will do so in such cases, so it is a case of "Caveat Emptor" - Let the buyer beware.

[jacko45k]

if the tourist offered to pay the 100 or 150 baht fee to get to his destination asap,and the baht bus driver stopped in front of the mall to pick customers......i am by the tourist side

if the tourist pretended to get to his destination asap just with 10 baht....i am by the driver side

Do you pay baht bus drivers 150 baht for rush deliveries?

You know the routine. If you talk to the driver and specify a destination, he is in 'taxi mode'...... pay more, go directly.

If you board without speaking and just 'do the circle' the driver is entitled to stop and wait at places and pick up other passengers. He may even pick up a group of tourists and go off route and you can go to hell.

They are supposed to be offering a service and treat customers with respect. Would you expect a bus driver in your home country to be assaulting you?

The driver needs to have his licence revoked, he is creating a bad image of Thailand and not treating the quality Pattaya tourist with respect.

Other quality tourists please note, for the baht bus driver you will need 10 baht and a bunch of flowers and must wai him while down on your knees,

[VINCENT2012]

Baht Bus are absolutly not like a taxi, they work normally with a number and have a precise line or road;they stop when you ring the bell....easy no? the difficult thing for a foreigner is that you need to know where you go and where you want to stop, otherwise it is your problem....!there is no point at all to argue with the driver who work all day long for a few baths .....so if you dont have a clue dont take that kind of local cheap transportation.

i hope that fellow will learn from his mistake, i think he deserved that eye, to many foreigners dont speak the local language, dont know s.h.i.t from the country they visit and after all they want to be understand and treated specially.

come on man! give them a break....for sure some locals i in these hudge tourist places must be really fedup of these stupid farangs behavior too.

Whats going on here, all the seniors and Platinums are blaming the guy that got assaulted. Maybe he could not speak Thai, and BTW, you could do with an English lesson. A tourist can not speak Thai, he is a tourist. He is also unaware of the Baht bus system, still no reason to be assaulted.

1)- i know my english isn't perfect..( i am not anglo saxon).thanks to remind me... but everybody understand me anyway..also in thai, spanish, german, italian and french....what about you bright spark?

2) -as you excuse that guy for not being aware of that bus system, in my opinion if he was such in a hurry, he could have change of transportation instead of chouting to that driver letting him loosing is nerves wich is quiet difficult here, he must have been very rud to him for sure, and pissed him.

3)-if the seniors and Platinums here thinks like me, it must be for a good reason as they mainly live in thailand long enough to have an idea about what could have happend...and majority normaly win

[The manic]

i believe it all started off when the thai driver said in a mock Irish accent

"is that yourself there now"

Oh Jazuz!

[fabphil]

Simple pay ur 10 baht and jump on the next one passing...job done

[Tolley]

Years ago an elderly American journalist friend and long time Pattaya resident, (plus Rotary Club Official) took a short trip and the driver wanted a very big fee, so as it was next to the old Tourist Police Office, he said " I think you are charging me far too much, so let the Tourist Police decide and I will pay what they recommend." (The Transport Department do lay down fare charges, which were once displayed in all Baht Buses). With that, the driver punched him, causing considerable injury and broke his spectacles, - then put a big "Knuckle Duster" on his hand to inflict more serious injuries. My friend got up and ran into the Tourist Police Office, but they were not really interested, until another journalist friend turned up and told them that the victim was a journalist, so they had better take some action. I do not think he ever got any real justice over the injuries for what started as a very small difference in the baht costs involved. Whilst I knew some very good Baht Bus drivers from the larger family managed groups, there are also some very "low life" lone operators, wherever you go in Thailand, but every country has them and they are often "stoned out of their minds" on drugs. The Thais are often too polite to complain, but we Westerners will do so in such cases, so it is a case of "Caveat Emptor" - Let the buyer beware.

The Thais aren't too polite to complain they are too scared to complain because they know what these scumbags are capable of.