I accept what you say, and that's certainly the case in Phuket, but many tourists use the baht buses in Pattaya. Also, apps are now widely used, even by the not so young.
'The good ole days" which is what you describe, when all the local riders could collude to set inflated prices are well and truly over, and guys like this are trying to hold onto the past.
Also, these apps give an indication to a possible customer of the market price for their journey. For a few baht more, they may still go with a rider at a stand because they are there and ready to go, but for a rip off price, they will wait a few minutes for a rider off an app. I suspect this rider put to the passenger a rip off price.