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As has been said about many other institutions ‘Love them or loathe them – you can’t ignore them’.
Whereas there are many ways to get to Pattaya (public buses, private buses, taxis, limousines and even a train), for getting around Pattaya there is only one form of public transport currently available – the ubiquitous ‘Baht Bus’ (actually there is one alternative, the motor cycle taxi but these are only for the foolhardy, completely insane or those too drunk to care. Your correspondent has used them but refuses to divulge into which of the above categories he fell at the time)..
These ‘Baht Buses’ are in fact are converted pickup trucks with the rear section having a covered roof but open sides and a step at the back for boarding. The Thai’s also refer to these as ‘Song Taews’ from the Thai words ‘Song’ meaning ‘Two’ and ‘Taew’ meaning ‘Seat’. This refers to the two bench seats, one on either side of the rear compartment, and similar ‘Song Taews’ are used in most towns and conurbations around Thailand.
However in Pattaya because of its burgeoning non Thai population they are usually referred to as ‘Baht Buses’ or even ‘Taxis’. The number of them has also grown to excess – at the last count there were more than 700 of them plying for trade in and around Pattaya.
To use one of these depends on where you want to go. If you are on one of their set routes and want to go to somewhere on the same route, then you simply flag down the first one you see coming (because of the sheer number, if you are on one of the major routes, you will rarely have to wait more than a few seconds). You then climb in the back and sit on one of the two bench seats. Other occupants are usually very obliging about moving up to make room for you. If the bus is full you may have to stand on the platform at the rear (and hang on for dear life) – this is not recommended for those of a nervous disposition – better wait for the next bus. Occasionally there is a spare seat available in the front cab beside the driver – although you may then find yourself collecting the fares.
When you arrive at your destination, you simply press one of the many bells usually found under the roof or along the sides. The bus will then pull into the side (often quite suddenly and ignoring any traffic in the way) and stop. You alight, walk to the front and pay the driver (or front seat passenger) the fare for the journey and off you go.
Sounds easy doesn’t it? And for the most part – it is.
Of course we have skipped over a couple of major points here.
Firstly what the routes are so you can know if your starting and finishing points are on one, and secondly what the fare is?
The routes within the Pattaya area are actually quite straightforward. There is one major circular route going down Beach Road, along the South Road, back up Second Road, across North Road and thus back to the top end of Beach Road
(see Maps of Pattaya).
Then there are a number of ‘there and back routes’ i.e. from South Pattaya to Jomtien and back, from Central Pattaya to the main highway and back etc. etc.
Outside the main Pattaya area, the situation becomes more complicated and the colour of the ‘Baht Bus’ determines what route it plies (all Baht Buses within the main Pattaya area are coloured dark blue).
As regards the fare to be paid – again whilst on one of the set routes, this is also quite straightforward. There is a sign inside each bus that states ‘The Maximum fare for transporting passengers within the Pattaya area is 10 Baht’. This is about 15p.
Note however the words ‘Maximum’ and ‘Pattaya Area’.
In practice this means that for a journey from say South to North Pattaya, a foreign visitor (or resident) will be expected to pay 10 Baht. Even for a shorter journey the fare will still be 10 Baht. A Thai will usually only pay 5 Baht. This dual pricing is very common for all sorts of charges here and irritates many people – personally given the overall cost compared to the price of a similar journey in most Western countries, your correspondent don’t find it worth getting upset about. Some foreigners try to only pay the driver 5 Baht – this usually results in an argument and general unpleasantness and is not to be recommended. Even travelling with a Thai companion and getting them to pay the fare still results in you being charged twice as much as them.
For a longer journey, say from Jomtien to North Pattaya, you have to use your own discretion as to what you think is an acceptable amount to tender – unless you have a Thai companion who can actually discuss it with the driver upon alighting (don’t ask when boarding on a set route or you will invariably be quoted a larger sum). Your correspondent usually pays 20 Baht from Jomtien to anywhere beyond Pattaya Central but some people would argue that this is too much.
And by the way, don’t expect the driver to have change – always try to have the exact amount you intend to pay.
Another way to board a Baht Bus on one of the set routes is to go to the point where the buses wait to set off on their run. There are several places around town where you can see a queue of buses lined up waiting to start off on their journey.
There you find the last bus in the queue and board it. There will usually be someone there to direct you. Note that it is the last bus in the queue that goes off first unlike most taxi or bus ranks in the world where the leading one goes first. A new bus joins the queue at the head and after each rear one sets off, they all shuffle down one. After all ‘This is Thailand’.
However, here you may have some time to wait. There is no timetable as such; instead a bus will go when it has enough passengers on board to make the journey worthwhile. This is not usually much of a problem at busy times but at quieter times of day can result in waiting more than a quarter of an hour. Of course you can get on another bus in the queue and offer an agreed fare to go there and then.
Now your Baht Bus has become a taxi.
For circumstances like this and also if you want to go to somewhere not on a set route, you need to agree the fare with the driver before setting off. This will usually involve a degree of negotiation and here the assistance of a Thai companion is a definite advantage in obtaining a lower fare.
So to do this you either find the first (I mean last) empty bus at one of the queues or alternately flag down an empty passing bus. After agreeing your fare (and making sure the driver actually knows where you want to go – written directions in Thai can help), you board your bus as before.
Like I said your Baht Bus has now become your private taxi. However that doesn’t stop the driver from trying to attract other passengers to join you. But with a bit of luck and a following wind, you will eventually reach your desired destination.
Overall however in your correspondent’s opinion, for all their faults, as a pedestrian trying to get around in Pattaya, I find the Baht Buses one of the best forms of transport I have used anywhere in the world. The service is cheap (by Western standards) and the sheer number of buses means that you never have to wait very long.
However from the viewpoint of a driver of a vehicle (car and motor cycle) around Pattaya, then Baht Buses are another matter altogether. They are a pain in the proverbial …….
They have no sense of road discipline – they stop without warning and sometimes when a potential passenger is spotted, almost as in an emergency. There have been attempts to limit them to only allowing passengers to board or alight at set points within the town but these have been ignored by both drivers and passengers.
They crawl along looking out for potential passengers and criss cross lanes when one is spotted on the other side of the road.
And the sheer number of them on the major routes in and around town is one of the major causes of the increasing traffic jams. How they all make a living is anyone’s guess.
But like many things here, they have become one of the many institutions of Pattaya and something that the town would be less without.
Currently there are plans being floated to have proper mini-buses plying set routes in Pattaya. If this ever happens and the Baht Bus becomes a thing of the past, something unique will have disappeared from the Pattaya lifestyle.
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