Bhat Bus routes

[Captain Swing]

It's perfectly possible to hail or jump on an empty baht bus and tell the driver your destination "non-stop" - and use him as a private taxi. For an appropriate and agreed fare of course!

Done this several times to avoid waiting for a stinking hot bus filling up outside the school - which can be a considerable time if not busy

He won't stop to pick up other passengers but you do have to prevent them hopping on to your exclusive baht bus at traffic lights etc.

I've done this, most memorably coming back from Jomtien. I didn't want to cram into a stuffed bus at the regular stop and I didn't want to face the walk from Second Rd. to my hotel. It was worth the 200 or 250 baht and, creep that I am, I especially liked seeing the uncomprehending looks on the porcine faces of a couple of Russians when the driver shooed them away from getting on.

More commonly, I did it a number of times with my BF in order to go somewhere not on the regular route.

[colmx]

First: nobody in Pattaya calls a Baht Bus a "baht bus".... its either a Songtaew or a "taxi"... have never EVER heard it being called a "baht bus"... except on these boards

I especially liked seeing the uncomprehending looks on the porcine faces of a couple of Russians when the driver shooed them away from getting on..

I like it even better when they get on board my Boystown to NAB Songtaew and my Thai/Khmer friends shoo them of and say that its a private hire...
Sweet revenge for the number of times I haven't been allowed onto a Pattaya to Jomtien Private hire!

[frequent]

First: nobody in Pattaya calls a Baht Bus a "baht bus".... its either a Songtaew or a "taxi"... have never EVER heard it being called a "baht bus"... except on these boards

Indeed - it's amazing how many posters can't spell "baht" - as in this thread's title (bhat"!!!) or quite often "bath" - although the latter may be the software the poster is using making an auto-correct to the spelling

[paborn]

[QUOTE=colmx;244378]First: nobody in Pattaya calls a Baht Bus a "baht bus".... its either a Songtaew or a "taxi"... have never EVER heard it being called a "baht bus"... except on these boards

That may be true. But, I can tell you that it is not just this board. I have seen a dozen videos, read blogs and guide books and while they give a bow to the name "songtaew" - they, uiversally, call it a Bhat bus.

[frequent]

That may be true. But, I can tell you that it is not just this board. I have seen a dozen videos, read blogs and guide books and while they give a bow to the name "songtaew" - they, uiversally, call it a Bhat bus.

Or, more usually, a baht bus

[lonelywombat]

don't get me started on metered taxis who never use their meters, and even Grab started out with decent fares but soon realised the only way to stay alive was to conform to local practice!

I am waiting for miracles from Grab now that have acquired Uber and opened in so many other cities in Thailand!

bkkguy

I had used Grab but got frustrated with drivers imported from Bangkok, who knew nothing of the roads or places in Pattaya
My first I found myself going in the opposite direction. The second time I had booked to go to the Sports Bar in Jomtien and the Grab cost was 2750 baht. The quote was for a trip to sportsmans bar in Bangkok. It took over 30 minutes arguing with driver and controller, Grab had F*****D up.
Most drivers at Grab are mostly useless, recruited from Bangkok, although I have had some good ones to return from Jomtien ,to be honest
Controllers are worse than useless as most do not know locations.

[Moses]

I had used Grab but got frustrated with drivers imported from Bangkok, who knew nothing of the roads or places in Pattaya
My first I found myself going in the opposite direction. The second time I had booked to go to the Sports Bar in Jomtien and the Grab cost was 2750 baht. The quote was for a trip to sportsmans bar in Bangkok. It took over 30 minutes arguing with driver and controller, Grab had F*****D up.
Most drivers at Grab are mostly useless, recruited from Bangkok, although I have had some good ones to return from Jomtien ,to be honest
Controllers are worse than useless as most do not know locations.

For to avoid such situation you should add drop off location yourself before to place order.

pax-maindowload-4.jpg

[lonelywombat]

Thanks Moses. I do have a Grab account on my phone. I gave the address as Sportsmans Bar Jomtien.
Grab had a delay getting a car for me and then after a delay,advised one was on the way.
He could not find my condo but eventually did. He then asked me to confirm 2750 baht.
I probably reacted badly as I was already late for dinner. Got there an hour late and still fuming.
After getting the price adjusted, I then had to guide the driver all the way ,as he was lost having just been recruited from Bangkok.

[paborn]

Frequent, at least these exchanges have taught me to ignore your constant dwelling on tiny errors in spelling, punctuation or, simply, the obvious results of auto correction software. But, you reached your summit when you complained that I debased the "like" system by using it to thank someone for kind words. You really don't have to continue .

More importantly, do the taxi cabs ( real ones ) in Pattaya respond to a dispatch system that a bar or restaurant couls call in? I do that in other places and , while it costs more, it gets the job done and does not waste precious vacation time.

[goji]

For to avoid such situation you should add drop off location yourself before to place order.
[

Is that not the whole idea of this Grab/Uber thing ? Grab knows your location. You put your destination in and get a quote for going to that destination. That's how it seemed to work, although I've only really used it in the Philippines.

Actually, any time I book a taxi by phone, the first thing I do is check the fixed price before booking. If they put in words like "approximately" before the price, time to find another taxi company.