Baht bus stopping zones slated

[reader]

From Thai Visa News

 

PATTAYA:--Pattaya will add more signage to bus stops on Second and Beach roads following complaints they weren’t being used.

 

Anuwat Thongkham, director of the Traffic Department, acknowledged the city has been bombarded by complaints that baht-bus stops the military ordered built are a waste of money and don’t correspond to how people actually use public transport.

 

In its efforts to bring order to the chaotic baht-bus system, the National Council for Peace and Order had Pattaya paint 168 stopping zones on streets across the area. The goal was to have the pickup truck taxis and tour buses stop only in designated areas, not wherever they wanted, as they normally do.

 

That hasn’t happened. Baht buses continue to stop, double-park, pick up and drop off people as they always have. Except for those in front of large shopping malls or office buildings, the stops are ignored.

 

https://news.thaivisa.com/article/18111/signs-to-be-erected-at-ignored-pattaya-bus-stops

 

[bkkguy]

That hasn’t happened.

 

yawn

 

I forget when the first Baht buses started operating in Pattaya - or the first metered taxis for that matter - but in all the years I have been visiting they have never followed the directives of the local, Bangkok or national authorities despite all the threats of serious enforcement with each new directive announcement, and even Grab and Uber have not managed to seriously challenged their rip-off pricing

 

bkkguy

[hanan]

What they should put their effort to instead is getting more bahtbuses to actually pick up passengers between Jomtien and Pattaya. 2 of 3, if not more, are driving that distance empty - probably just looking for groups of indians and chineese to take excessive payment from as "taxi". The few bahtbuses that actually stops along Thappraya and pick up passengers for 10 baht each as they should do, are often very crowded and it is difficult to get a seat.

[Guest]

To improve efficiency, they could:

 

1  Introduce buses on the main routes, with defined stops.

2  Prevent baht buses operating on the main routes during the hours of the bus service and revoke licenses for those who ignore this.

3 Have dedicated bus lanes, with cameras so any vehicles that misuse the lanes get fined.

 

That way you get less congestion, a better service, less pollution & so on.

 

Whilst the baht bus service meets my needs on holiday, it does offend to see the things sometimes making several stops at intervals of just 20m or so, because people are too lazy to walk a little.  

Often these are people under 50 years old who are a little overweight and might benefit from walking more.

[kokopelli]

 

 

I forget when the first Baht buses started operating in Pattaya - or the first metered taxis for that matter - but in all the years I have been visiting they have never followed the directives of the local, Bangkok or national authorities despite all the threats of serious enforcement with each new directive announcement, and even Grab and Uber have not managed to seriously challenged their rip-off pricing

 

bkkguy

10 Baht for a ride on a Baht Bus is not a rip-off.

[bkkguy]

10 Baht for a ride on a Baht Bus is not a rip-off.

 

yeah sure 10 Baht for a hop-on hop-off shuttle along Beach Rd or Second Rd is fine but anything outside that limited scenario on a Baht bus, or anything at all in a "metered" taxi is at a rip-off price

 

Grab caved into pressure on its reasonable initial prices after a coupe of months and now Grab and Uber while still condemned as pariahs by the entrenched operators are not much of an improvement price- and service-wise, particularly compared to their operations in Bangkok

 

perhaps someone can enlighten me as to the difference between the cost of vehicle operation and the cost of living for the operator between Bangkok and Pattaya that justifies these outrageous prices

 

perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why in 2018 the cost and range of public transport options in a place like Pattaya are still controlled by powerful local forces that seem to be completely above the law

 

perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why the local, Bangkok and national authorities still have not learnt the definition of insanity and keep announcing new and more punitive directives with no serious attempt at enforcement and somehow expect the public to believe that this time the outcome will be different

 

perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why ... don't bother we all know the answer - as Trink in the Bangkok Post used to say TIT (this is Thailand), but Pattaya outgrew the Baht bus system 20 years ago, it is time to move on

 

bkkguy

[vinapu]

I'm only occasional short term visitor to Pattaya but for my needs baht bus system works pretty well system . I my hour of need I'm not afraid to take motorsai taxi and I'm still alive to tell the tale

[traveller123]

Baht bus works for me when I'm in Pattaya.

My journeys from Jomtien to Pattaya second road are covered with a frequent service

[kokopelli]

I have always had good service with a Baht Bus. Although now they pack them in from Pattaya to Jomtien.  Ok on reverse direction.

[bkkguy]

I like in Bangkok and go down 3-4 times a year for a week, stay in Jomtien and these days happily spend most of my time in Jomtien but once or twice a visit I go over the hill to Pattaya to Central Festival or a restaurant on Second Rd or (increasingly) want to go to a restaurant not on the main road or not easy walking distance in Jomtien

 

I have never found Baht buses comfortable but used to just put up with the heat and dust, the overcrowding and the bad drivers but at this stage I really couldn't be bothered and over the last few years the situation has got worse and more frustrating

 

as noted by hanan, recently trying to get a Baht bus into Pattaya along Thappraya is increasingly difficult - on my recent trips I have waited sometimes more than 15 minutes and still not been able to get a Baht bus on Thappraya near the top end of Jomtien Complex around 2:00 PM on a Friday or Saturday afternoon or around  8:00 PM most nights, they are either full or empty and do not stop

 

getting back to Jomtien from Beach Rd near central Pattaya was always annoying at any time of the day or night having to always  change buses at south Pattaya and it became even more annoying when the drivers all ignored the new routes that would have addressed this! and yes Kokopelli they put sardine factories to shame at the stop outside the school in south Pattaya

 

Grab initially offered good rates and then had regular promotions usually getting me over the hill Jomtien to Pattaya or return for about 100 Baht - I can go a long way in a taxi in Bangkok for 100 Baht but I still found this better than using a Baht bus, now on Grab or Uber it is more likely 150-200 Baht and a 10 minute wait time for a driver that can't even manage to follow the details for the booking given in the app!

 

I would quite happily walk out of Central Festival on Beach Road to get back to Jomtien and use one of the (usually) 10 taxis parked there at the advertised meter rates but the meter taxi drivers still refuse to accept the concept of a meter taxi service and the (usually) 10 Baht bus drivers parked there (or even the passing ones) start salivating as soon as you walk up to the passenger side window and open your mouth and they all ignore the route signs they display

 

OK so this is an increasingly intolerant 1st world person's problem in a third world country but really is this the best that Pattaya can do, or should be able to do, in 2018? it obviously is given some of the other favorable comments above

 

bkkguy

[kokopelli]

bkkguy, there is always a motorbike taxi unless one does not want to use one. Usually that is what I take when traveling from Pattaya to Jomtien. On the return I almost always use a Baht Bus. Sometimes have to wait a bit but cheaper than a taxi.

[bkkguy]

bkkguy, there is always a motorbike taxi unless one does not want to use one.

 

ten years ago I made the mistake of taking a motorbike taxi from Silom across to Sathorn then on to Babylon in evening peak hour and I am still on Valium and hypnotherapy to suppress the nightmares - given the choice of a mode of transport to go over the hill from Pattaya to Jomtien  I will always prefer the back seat of an air-conditioned car with a seat belt rather than a motorbike taxi or an overcrowded Baht bus!

 

as they say "your mileage may vary" even if it does or does not include a trip to the local hospital!

 

bkkguy

[Guest abang1961]

I would rather DIE than to pillion one of those moving devil's..No way will I try to motorcycle taxi..

[ChristianPFC]

I find it convenient that baht-buses stop anywhere a passenger wants to get on or off.

 

I'm quite happy with the baht-bus system in Pattaya. It has served me well over the years and 10 THB per ride is cheap, compared with Bangkok (from 7 THB), Chiang Mai (30 THB! Outrageous) and Phuket (I have no numbers but expect similar outrageous fares).

 

All I can wish for is a bit more frequent on North Pattaya road. When coming by bus, I ignore those standing offering ride to Walking Street for 50 THB, but walk across North Pattaya road and have to wait on average 5 minutes until one comes and stops, to take me to Walking street for 10 THB.

[macaroni21]

Here's hoping those who live in Pattaya  or visit more frequently than I do can help:

My main question is this: On a recent visit, I noticed that the baht buses or what the locals call songtiew now have numbers painted on them, which I assume represents the route they are plying. Does anyone know where (preferably on the internet) one can find information what what routes go where? A map perhaps?

I also noticed that all the songtiews lined up at the South Pattaya schoolground facing Jomtien are No. 5s, except that it's also painted on them "Naklua-Jomtien". Simply by being parked there waiting for passengers, they clearly do not originate from Naklua. On one occasion, I was riding one of them in the reverse direction from Thappraya Road into Pattaya, and once we reached the South Pattaya junction, the driver told all passengers to get off (several big Russians were very unhappy) so once again it seems to indicate the mini-truck buses don't go to Naklua. 

So my secondary question is: even if there is information available about the supposed routes, would it all be codswallop?

Mack.

[spoon]

https://www.pattayaunlimited.com/getting-around-pattaya/

Whether the baht bus wants to continue the journey to naklua or not is really up to the driver. Website above is pretty a ccurate and have a link to google map with the routes highlighted. 

[macaroni21]

Thank you. That's exactly what I was hoping for. Now I have to bookmark it, though, knowing myself, when sometime in the future I need it, I'm going to wonder, where the hell have i placed the bookmark!

What I'm noticing is that the map is showing the actual, customary routes (or so I believe). It's by someone who is trying to help (and succeeding, kudos to him/her) rather than published by officialdom. The fact that the routes marked on the map are not numbered suggests that there may be such a thing as official routes which are ignored in practice. But then, TiT I suppose.

Mack.

[spoon]

Yup, in my report i did observe baht bus driver taking slight detour from jomtien to south pattaya, going through the area of sunee, my guess is when the bus isnt full, to get more customer, or when a local specifically asked the driver to let them off near the area. It happened twice out of the 5 days ive been back and forth that route.

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

 

I also noticed that all the songtiews lined up at the South Pattaya schoolground facing Jomtien are No. 5s, except that it's also painted on them "Naklua-Jomtien". Simply by being parked there waiting for passengers, they clearly do not originate from Naklua. On one occasion, I was riding one of them in the reverse direction from Thappraya Road into Pattaya, and once we reached the South Pattaya junction, the driver told all passengers to get off (several big Russians were very unhappy) so once again it seems to indicate the mini-truck buses don't go to Naklua. 

 

from my experience you just had a bad luck with that one as on quite a few occasion I boarded songtaew  nr 6 "Jomtien-Naklua" in front of  Jomtien Complex and it ALWAYS took me to my destination north of South Pattaya Road , be it Boyztown , Central Festival Mall or even Terminal 21

[Guest]

Earlier this week, I got all the way from South Pattaya to North Naklua on a baht bus and it was still only 10 baht.   The system mostly works and at a reasonable price.   

Compare with Chiang Mai, where the baht bus mafia have a 30 baht fare.  The Chiang Mai baht buses are also ancient and a 30 baht fare allows for too many of them to cruise around almost empty, causing pollution and congestion.

Of course, I can afford 30 baht.   However, in a country with a minimum wage of approximately 330 baht per day, the city leaders in Chiang Mai should hang their heads in shame for allowing the transport system to be run by mafia, for the mafia.  They even have a token bus system, just for show, with buses every 45 min ! and a fare also fixed at 30 baht.   Whoever is responsible should be shot.

Most places I go in Thailand, the baht bus is 10 baht.  Exceptions include Nakhon Ratchisima (8 baht) and Mae Sot (20 baht, from border).

[vinapu]

46 minutes ago, z909 said:

 Whoever is responsible should be shot.

 

Hanging is more environmentally friendly and creates less pollution.