Strange baht bus ride

[balo]

The same thing happened to me but late at night, .... I was in Pattaya and got on a baht bus to go back to Jomtien. There were 4 other people on board, so I thought it would be safe. They all got off just before the turn on to Thapraya, but I stayed on, ..mistake!!

The guy drove straight ahead on Second Road and would not stop until we were next to the go-cart place, ...big fence, no one around. I started walking back to Thepraya when 2 Thai guys about 20 years old, high on Yaba tried to rob me.

One had a weird looking homemade gun and the other a kitchen knife. They made the mistake of looking at each other. I kicked one in the nuts and punched the other in the nose, then ran like hell, (I was 66 years old then)

Never get on an empty baht bus!

You sound like a brave old man , I have some doubts about the truth to this story but if it's true you can be proud of yourself.

[fred Kubasa]

Same thing happened to me except I did the same & he insisted I get back on as he was going to an out of the way hotel to pick someone up and then continue back on to Thrappraya to Pattaya Central which he did.

[Jingthing]

Never heard of a baht bus hijacking crime but have heard numerous reports of such behavior about motorcycle so called taxis.

[misterphil]

Its not uncommon for the baht bus drivers to take passengers to a secluded area and rob them.

Was he on the phone while he was driving like a lunatic? Possibly arranging with his friends to meet somewhere and have you mugged.

Maybe his friends didnt answer the phone so he just stopped and let you off. Or are you of the strong built type? Then he may have thought you might of fought back so decided to abort the plan of robbing you.

Remember these ass holes dont fight 1 on 1. They need to have a bunch of them to take on a fight.

Secluded area in the middle of the afternoon? You really think a baht bus driver is going to plan a crime out, when his name and bus number are clearly displayed. Add in the fact that anytime they stop it is likely that people will try and get on. Seriously, I don't know where some of you guys get your information. The Thais are not known for planning out thier crimes, and If they were I would hope they could come up with a better one than what you suggest.

Obviously you never read the post on here a few years ago about a guy that got taken off route, and he had to jump off the back of the bus to get away.

A friend of mine has also been taken off route by a motorbike taxi and been threatened to give up his cash and mobile phone.

"It's not uncommon" equates to a few YEARS ago a guy got taken off route and jumped off the bus. If he jumped off before he was robbed, then how did he know it was going to happen?

And your friend on a motorbike taxi has nothing to do with a baht bus doing what you described.

In the post he explained that the driver started to drive erratically and he tried to stop the bus, but the driver wouldnt stop. He started to drive down the back alleys of Pattaya instead of going to the requested destination. He jumped off the back and ran off to the main road. Why else would a taxi driver take someone off route to a secluded area? Obviously something dodgy was about to happen.

Baht bus driver, taxi motorbike, all the same same.

[misterphil]

Its not uncommon for the baht bus drivers to take passengers to a secluded area and rob them.

Was he on the phone while he was driving like a lunatic? Possibly arranging with his friends to meet somewhere and have you mugged.

Maybe his friends didnt answer the phone so he just stopped and let you off. Or are you of the strong built type? Then he may have thought you might of fought back so decided to abort the plan of robbing you.

Remember these ass holes dont fight 1 on 1. They need to have a bunch of them to take on a fight.

Secluded area in the middle of the afternoon? You really think a baht bus driver is going to plan a crime out, when his name and bus number are clearly displayed. Add in the fact that anytime they stop it is likely that people will try and get on. Seriously, I don't know where some of you guys get your information. The Thais are not known for planning out thier crimes, and If they were I would hope they could come up with a better one than what you suggest.

Obviously you never read the post on here a few years ago about a guy that got taken off route, and he had to jump off the back of the bus to get away.

A friend of mine has also been taken off route by a motorbike taxi and been threatened to give up his cash and mobile phone.

You're just being silly. No one says it's never happened. You come up with something that happened years ago, and a story "from a friend" (on a motorbike - not even the baht busses the OP is talking about!), and that makes the whole thing typical and commonplace does it?! People win millions on the lottery, too. That hardly makes it common. Lol. Nice try. No, on second thought, 'actually pretty lame trying to extrapolate some isolated incident into a crime wave...

True stories that have happened and have been posted on here. What about the crimes that have happened and not reported that we never hear about?

[KittenKong]

Never heard of a baht bus hijacking crime but have heard numerous reports of such behavior about motorcycle so called taxis.

Seems to happen to Thais quite a lot on motorbike taxis, many of which dont seem to be official.

Numbering/registration of baht-buses seems to be much more rigorous.

[hawker9000]

You're just being silly. No one says it's never happened. You come up with something that happened years ago, and a story "from a friend" (on a motorbike - not even the baht busses the OP is talking about!), and that makes the whole thing typical and commonplace does it?! People win millions on the lottery, too. That hardly makes it common. Lol. Nice try. No, on second thought, 'actually pretty lame trying to extrapolate some isolated incident into a crime wave...

True stories that have happened and have been posted on here. What about the crimes that have happened and not reported that we never hear about?

Oh, you mean like the one where the passenger finally discovered he had to push the call-button just so? I suspect some of these stories are similar misunderstandings & confusion and some others either hearsay or outright fiction. As I said before there are the isolated cases from time-to-time where the driver really is taking someone for a ride. TIT. Freer-spending westerners are dwindling making some Thais a bit desperate for cash; there's no escaping that. But so far in the baht bus universe it's not a crime wave and such incidents are anything but "commonplace". To say they are is just preposterous, wild exaggeration, and blatant fear-mongering. By and large, baht busses are probably the safest transportation available in Pattaya; and that includes renting (& therefore driving...) your own car or motorbike. I would avoid an empty, stopped & waiting, baht bus however, if only because they may not be plying any normal route and are instead acting as, or hoping to act as, and assuming you realize they're acting as, taxis. Tourists & short-timers alone should probably stick to flagging down ones on their normal routes if possible. In groups - no problem negotiating where you want to go and how much it's going to cost.

Edited July 28, 2015 by hawker9000