Guest Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 This is a question that I have been meaning to ask but never got around to it before. If the correct Sang Taew fare on the route around Pattaya is only 5 baht why the hell do we all pay 10 baht? Time and time again I see it printed that the fare is 5 baht per journey but almost everybody including the Thai girls all pay 10 baht. So on my last trip two weeks ago I tested it out. Most drivers said nothing when I paid 5 baht, but one driver did wind down the window and start shouting at me but by that time I was on the other side of the road. So what do you pay and if you pay 10 baht why do you do it? I know that it is such a small piffly amount of money but the correct fare is only 5 baht per trip per person. uniformguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robaus Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Up to a couple of years ago I often paid 5 baht for short journeys, but these are my reasons for paying 10 baht now: The fare has been the same for about 10 years now My $$ has increased 40% against the Thai baht in the last 5 years, and the fare has remained the same The taxi drivers? fuel expenses etc have increased about 50% in the last 5 years, and the fare has remained the same The fare is the same whether I travel from N Pattaya to the market in S Pattaya (4km+?), or 1 km (swings and roundabouts) If farangs all paid 5 baht too they?d probably introduce a new fare structure: 15 baht farangs, 10 Thais. The stress of verbal abuse and worse, if you reciprocate, is just not worth 5 baht to me personally I don?t sweat the small stuff having just spent the night buying lady drinks, a skinful of Heineken and stuffing 100 baht notes down dancers' knickers. :hubba: ..and I'll probably die with 5 baht in my bank account, and I'd rather a Thai baht taxi driver got that than the fucking Aussie taxman, who'd only give it to some politicians to waste on an overseas fact-finding tour to Thailand ... I could tell them all the barfines in Walking Street if they'd commission me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai3 Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 It's the principle of not wanting to be double charged that always put me off using them at all. When I did go to Pattaya I used to walk. It's all very well to say the dollars gone up and it's the same fare as it was ten years ago, but they were doing the same thing back then. If the fare officially went up to 10 I expect whitey would be expected to cough up 20. What happened to the planned free busses in Pattaya? Those Baht buses are just another reason not to like the place, who wants abuse hurled at them for paying what, after all, is the correct fare-peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CondomKing Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I don't live in Pattaya so I'm not an expert on the subject but it is unnerving to be faced with the prospect of either being a "cheap charlie" or a sucker who over pays even if it is only 5 Baht. A couple of years ago my wife asked a baht bus driver what the official price was and he said 5 B in the daytime 10 B after dark, for Thai and Farang alike. That's what we've been paying ever since with no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gummigut Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 5 baht up to about midnight I guess. That's what I pay. I think most Thais who live in Pattaya pay 5-baht. It's only some of the gogo-girls and Thais visiting Pattaya who pay 10 baht. When asked the cost by a thai (not accompanied by a farang), I seen some Thai drivers say 10baht. I think the drivers try and get what they can. Only twice can I remember getting into an argument about the cost of the ride. One of them was with Nervous Dog. Then again, I don't get down to Pattaya that often. <<burp>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai3 Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 I never heard of the nightime tarif before. Once in a mini bus to Pattaya I heard the guide telling all the tourists the fare was 10 baht. -peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 Uniformguy, The only rate I've seen posted in English in Sang Taews in Pattaya, over many years of careful observation, is 10 baht per trip, though often that part of the stick-on sign (according to the markings the sign is required by some government agency) was either cut out or obscured if the sign was there at all. These are (as I remember) white with black or redn and black printing with and adhesive back. Is this the sign you are referring to, or am I missing something? 5 Baht? I don't like to over-pay, unless there is exceptional service involved -then its a tip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robaus Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 The sign I think is ambiguously worded (deliberately??). Something like: "Within Pattaya the fare shall be no more than 10 baht" with a list of additional fares to Jomtien etc for various numbers of passengers. So presumably a long trip ought to be 10 baht, and a short trip 5 baht. All of which implies that: 1) I am overpaying on short trips 2) Some farang cheap charlies are short changing a poor Thai driver on long trips within Pattaya, risking the hassles of verbal abuse and worse for a matter of UK 6p, A$ 16 cents, US$ 12 cents, Euro .09 Don't sweat the small stuff, I reckon. It interferes with my sanuk. Life's too short. Plenty of time to count up my 5 bahts when I'm looking at the lid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 robaus said:The sign I think is ambiguously worded. Robhaus is correct about the wording. That's what lets them charge 10B to farang and 5B to Thais. I pay 10 Baht for long trips. Short trips, e.g. Big C to Pattaya Klaang, or Soi 8 to Pattaya Tai, I pay 5 Baht. Rules for 5 Baht fare: - it's a short trip - you're not the only passenger - have exact change ready - hand the money over, pull your hand out quick - turn around and walk back (against the direction of the Song Thaew) - if confronted, smile and hand over 5 more Baht I've been asked for the addt'l 5 Baht maybe once out of fifty rides. I don't usually ride after midnite. I mean, I do, but not a Baht bus. I agree though, I'm glad to see the other farang are mostly paying 10 Baht, otherwise the fare probably would go up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayRay Posted December 23, 2004 Report Share Posted December 23, 2004 uniformguy said:If the correct Sang Taew fare on the route around Pattaya is only 5 baht why the hell do we all pay 10 baht? Because some people can't count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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