Current (or still) Pattaya transportation costs

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

What is the current cost for baht bus? Please include route served.

What is the cost for a motorcycle taxi? I used to negotiate. 

Is Nam's the best service to and from Swampy? 

I am thinking of a dual hotel trip on opposite ends of Pattaya. I don't have a lot of baggage but enough and configuration to think that a motorcycle taxi is the wrong choice (and baht bus the really wrong choice) to transport me and my belongings from/to. Thinking a decade back, I do not recall seeing actual taxis in Pattaya...Bangkok of course. Motorcycle taxis and baht busses but not taxis in Pattaya but they must exist.

Thanks in advance.

[jacko 8,822]

OMG, he's back!

Baht bus prices are unchanged. Nearly all 10 baht except for trips between Central/ North Pattaya and Jomtem. Twenty, not sure where the line is. Routes as before. 

Motorcycle taxis have no fixed price, 50 baht gets you pretty much anywhere, negotiate.

Nams is popular but I have had good service from Mr Toom, who by the way is dead and his son does the business. I mostly drive myself to the airport and get Mr Toom junior back. 

Plenty of real taxis in Pattaya, they hang around near the entrance to Malls, add T21 to that list. They refuse to use meter and hence you must negotiate, they aren't all that bad and this time of year AC cab looks very appealing. There is also the Grab App which works very well (like Uber). I use them and pay cash.They are leery of where to pick up as there is a bit of a feud with regular taxis. 

Will this be the 3rd aborted trip or is my maths wrong?

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by jacko

[VPI78 11,538]

I use Meow Ponchai to/from Pattaya/Swampy ... like all of the taxi services folks seem to book she uses subcontracted drivers. All from her for me so far (a span of 5 years and a dozen uses) have been good drivers, modern well maintained vehicles ... and no stray stops, e.g., for fuel. All-in, inclusive of tolls she charges 1100 Baht from Swampy and 1200 Baht to get me into the Sathorn area of Bangkok from Pattaya.

All Baht bus rides I have used, all routes are still 10 Baht ... but if I am traveling from far Jomtien, e.g., dining at PuPen and riding from that area into central Pattaya, e.g., Central Festival Mall, I give 20 Baht as most seem to also do.

You are a braver lad than me Gunga Din for using Moto taxis ... all my risk taking mates say fares are usually negotiable so like anything else if cost is a driver for you then make a counter offer.

There are now actual taxis in Pattaya, i.e., the yellow & green Toyotas, usually have to negotiate with them like motorcycles, rarely will they use a meter it seems. When I need something like that I use Grab Taxi which is more or less the Thai equivalent of Uber/Lyft. An advantage of Grab, especially in Pattaya where 'taxis' seem to seldom know your destination, is the destination location is shown on the App.

If you don't already have the Grab App or a smart phone ... might want to get one and download the free App.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

24 minutes ago, jacko said:

OMG, he's back!

Baht bus prices are unchanged. Nearly all 10 baht except for trips between Central/ North Pattaya and Jomtem. Twenty, not sure where the line is. Routes as before. 

Motorcycle taxis have no fixed price, 50 baht gets you pretty much anywhere, negotiate.

Nams is popular but I have had good service from Mr Toom, who by the way is dead and his son does the business. I mostly drive myself to the airport and get Mr Toom junior back. 

Plenty of real taxis in Pattaya, they hang around near the entrance to Malls, add T21 to that list. They refuse to use meter and hence you must negotiate, they aren't all that bad and this time of year AC cab looks very appealing. There is also the Grab App which works very well (like Uber). I use them and pay cash.They are leery of where to pick up as there is a bit of a feud with regular taxis. 

Will this be the 3rd aborted trip or is my maths wrong?

 

In one week I get an angiogram and a stent. I don't expect it will affect any trip as it is a 24 hour recovery.

As to you, it isn't math, just simple arithmetic but I don't keep count and I am not sure of the motives of those who do.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

26 minutes ago, VPI78 said:

I use Meow Ponchai to/from Pattaya/Swampy ... like all of the taxi services folks seem to book she uses subcontracted drivers. All from her for me so far (a span of 5 years and a dozen uses) have been good drivers, modern well maintained vehicles ... and no stray stops, e.g., for fuel. All-in, inclusive of tolls she charges 1100 Baht from Swampy and 1200 Baht to get me into the Sathorn area of Bangkok from Pattaya.

All Baht bus rides I have used, all routes are still 10 Baht ... but if I am traveling from far Jomtien, e.g., dining at PuPen and riding from that area into central Pattaya, e.g., Central Festival Mall, I give 20 Baht as most seem to also do.

You are a braver lad than me Gunga Din for using Moto taxis ... all my risk taking mates say fares are usually negotiable so like anything else if cost is a driver for you then make a counter offer.

There are now actual taxis in Pattaya, i.e., the yellow & green Toyotas, usually have to negotiate with them like motorcycles, rarely will they use a meter it seems. When I need something like that I use Grab Taxi which is more or less the Thai equivalent of Uber/Lyft. An advantage of Grab, especially in Pattaya where 'taxis' seem to seldom know your destination, is the destination location is shown on the App.

If you don't already have the Grab App or a smart phone ... might want to get one and download the free App.

Thanks to both you and Jacko for the info. It has been 15+ years since my first trip and baht busses cost the same. I have no idea how the make money but pleased to see stable prices. I have no problem giving 20. With my old knees it is worth it.

I will look into Grab App but I have issues with Uber and cc. At least there you pay cash.

Only been almost killed once in Pattaya on a motorcycle taxi. On a night drinking on WS and not wanting to wait for baht busses to fill up (not to mention ladyboys on Soi Diana), MS taxis are better than walking or waiting. The passenger helmets are such a joke. One thing I love about Pattaya and the third world in general, there is risk to life and limb that has been legislated out of our western lives. 

[VPI78 11,538]

9 minutes ago, midlifecrisis said:

Thanks to both you and Jacko for the info. It has been 15+ years since my first trip and baht busses cost the same. I have no idea how the make money but pleased to see stable prices. I have no problem giving 20. With my old knees it is worth it.

I will look into Grab App but I have issues with Uber and cc. At least there you pay cash.

Only been almost killed once in Pattaya on a motorcycle taxi. On a night drinking on WS and not wanting to wait for baht busses to fill up (not to mention ladyboys on Soi Diana), MS taxis are better than walking or waiting. The passenger helmets are such a joke. One thing I love about Pattaya and the third world in general, there is risk to life and limb that has been legislated out of our western lives. 

Buen suerte ... I like that on Grab you get a quote for the fee but you pay the driver in cash. As far as risk in Asia goes ... I just don't use credit or debit cards here.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

I have a separate account in not my main bank with a separate debit card for emergencies.

 

And of course I put this in the wrong section.

Edited April 13, 2019 by midlifecrisis

[Butch 3,456]

For a hotel transfer, I'd bite the bullet and use a proper taxi. nothing screams "cheap charlie" more than sitting on an MC taxi while holding a suitcase btween you and the driver. In the rain.

Baht bus costs on "the circle" of second & beach rd remain 10 baht, bukhao 10 baht all the way along from klang to the market, and they seem to be a better class of Bahtbus Somchai there, they actually give you change when you hand over a 20 instead of driving off in a cloud of non DPF'd diesel fumes.

Motorsomchai as always negotiate, I got stung 100 baht for Bukhao to Walking at midnight, following day the very same guy charged me 50 baht at 8pm. I asked him why and he just smiled but oddly when we stopped he bought me a "bag" of coca cola from a vendor along with one for himself. Weird. I try to use him whenever I see him now, we have a gentlemans agreement of 70 baht regardless of time of day and destination.

Otherwise Nam does local stuff as well as Airport runs.

[Blackwell 288]

23 hours ago, VPI78 said:

You are a braver lad than me Gunga Din for using Moto taxis ... all my risk taking mates say fares are usually negotiable so like anything else if cost is a driver for you then make a counter offer.

 

In over 25 years of travel to Pattaya, I have never once taken a Moto Taxi. I decided (after I first understood what they were), that if I ever hoped on one, I would probably end up in Hospital, or worse. I am a bit overweight, averaging 100kgs. Never ridden a bike.

To overcome my aversion to MotoTaxis, I choose hotels on -or very near – to the baht bus route.

On the rare occasion that I have Barfined from walking street, then I catch a taxi (or a Baht bus acting as a taxi) from Second road, just by Windmill. They charge THB200- seems standard- although I have been asked for THB300, the driver willingly accepted THB200. To me, this seems so much better than paying THB120 (60 each) or more.

Outside of Walking street, a Baht Bus will generally accept THB200 for a private hire during the daytime, for travel within Pattaya.

[teelack 9,646]

Just confirming that there seems to be no problem getting a cab from the airport to Pattaya for 1100 baht and 1000 baht in the other direction. The reality is that you can pay any price you want up to 18000 for Devils Den bus. Up to you. The Bell bus is now 270 baht and that is door to door but you need to book online now. Don't think I can add to that.


Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

[VPI78 11,538]

4 minutes ago, teelack said:

Just confirming that there seems to be no problem getting a cab from the airport to Pattaya for 1100 baht and 1000 baht in the other direction. The reality is that you can pay any price you want up to 18000 for Devils Den bus. Up to you. The Bell bus is now 270 baht and that is door to door but you need to book online now. Don't think I can add to that.


Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk
 

Just my view but I would not book Bell Bus after I used it once and came to find out the last bit to your hotel is by minivan ... and they packed you in on them and woe to you if you are the last hotel on their list ... added more than an hour to my travel ... never again.

[teelack 9,646]

Just my view but I would not book Bell Bus after I used it once and came to find out the last bit to your hotel is by minivan ... and they packed you in on them and woe to you if you are the last hotel on their list ... added more than an hour to my travel ... never again.

I think that this is more your bad luck rather than a bad service . I have used the bus dozens of times and my pick up and (occasional) drop off have never been more than 30 minutes. The other point to remember is that some people are on a budget and need to use the lowest cost method. Don't get me wrong. After 20 plus hours traveling to Pattaya I want a cab and also if I was sharing but say returning from Cambodia or when I am departing Pattaya for overseas it is a great service.

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk

[VPI78 11,538]

1 minute ago, teelack said:

I think that this is more your bad luck rather than a bad service . I have used the bus dozens of times and my pick up and (occasional) drop off have never been more than 30 minutes. The other point to remember is that some people are on a budget and need to use the lowest cost method. Don't get me wrong. After 20 plus hours traveling to Pattaya I want a cab and also if I was sharing but say returning from Cambodia or when I am departing Pattaya for overseas it is a great service.

Sent from my Nokia 6.1 using Tapatalk
 

Maybe, but as you note; last thing you want as you are ending a long journey is for it to drag on and on, especially as you are being carted all over town and anxious to get to your hotel for SSS.

As far as cheaper goes, I have also used the public bus ... half the price of Bell and instead of minivans you transfer to Songtaew at Pattaya bus station. Can go cheap and just get on a common one and pay 20 Baht or splurge and get your own for 100 Baht. Still comes in cheaper than Bell, the bus runs much more frequently, and you get to your hotel faster.

But different strokes/folks.

[nkped 1,208]

You can make it from Jomtien to Central on the same baht bus for 10 baht.  Going back, you'll almost certainly have to change at the school.  If you get the rare one which goes from Beach Road to Jomtien, they charge double but it's well worth it.

[midlifecrisis 4,048]

2 hours ago, nkped said:

You can make it from Jomtien to Central on the same baht bus for 10 baht.  Going back, you'll almost certainly have to change at the school.  If you get the rare one which goes from Beach Road to Jomtien, they charge double but it's well worth it.

The dollar against the baht is low the last I checked so it is quite a deal to ride the distance you suggest for under a dollar at most.