How much do you tip Taxi Drivers?

[TotallyOz]

Our of curiosity, do you tip taxi drivers in Bangkok for a short in town trip? If so, what do you tip?

 

Do you think Thais tip taxi drivers?

[Guest fountainhall]

Most of the time, I up the fare to the nearest Bt. 5 or 10. So, only a few Baht. To and from the airport, I tip about Bt. 20 - 25. Not much, I know. I don't think most Thais tip as I often see them looking for Bt. 1 and Bt. 2 coins to pay a fare.

[Guest]

The first time I used a BKK taxi, I tipped 10%. After that, I haven't bothered.

 

I never understand why certain professions seem to command a tip. Do we tip the staff in Tesco or Boots, who probably earn considerably less? The staff at the pharmacy will usually be considerably more helpful than a taxi driver.

 

I find BKK taxi drivers often don't deserve a tip. Some "Meter Taxis" decline to use the meter and quote a fare that's near to double the meter rate (wait for another taxi). Others make little navigational "errors" that increase the length of the journey by a few percent.

[Moses]

I tip till next "10" in condition "tip must be more than 5% and not more than 10%"...

[Guest fountainhall]

I find BKK taxi drivers often don't deserve a tip.

I don't seem to have the same problems, but that may be because I can usually say my destination or name a nearby landmark in Thai and make it known that I live here.

 

I forgot that in the early morning of January 1st when lots of people take taxis, I always give a Bt. 100 tip with a "Sawasdee pimai". And once or twice when the heavens have really opened and my journey home can take an hour instead of 15 - 20 minutes, I'll add Bt. 20 - 30 as a kind of thank you for picking me up.

 

Drivers' worst traits, in my view, are not picking you up because they can't be bothered going to your destination, and giving incorrect change when they know you have your hands full with shopping. So, I make sure I have plenty of Bt. 20 notes and coins. (Change larger bills at BTS and MRT stations regularly!) But then I have come across both traits elsewhere in Asia (apart from Singapore and Japan). And don't even speak about Turkey (which you mentioned in another post) where they happily switched higher value notes when I was distracted. Compared to those thieves, Bangkok taxi drivers are almost saints!

[Guest]

I don't seem to have the same problems, but that may be because I can usually say my destination or name a nearby landmark in Thai and make it known that I live here.

 

This doesn't always work. On a recent trip, I asked to go to Chong Nonsi BTS (for the Om Yim) & even though there was a massive concrete railway line in the sky to provide guidance, the driver still chose to drive away from that line in the wrong direction. Hence adding about 30% to my journey length even though other cars were clearly taking the direct route. People like that don't really deserve what's shown on the meter, never mind a tip.

 

Anyhow, why does a taxi driver deserve a tip any more than some helpful staff in a shop? The whole thing seems to be some illogical & arbitrary western custom which has no place in Thailand. Or the west.

[Guest buckeroo2]

Anyhow, why does a taxi driver deserve a tip any more than some helpful staff in a shop? The whole thing seems to be some illogical & arbitrary western custom which has no place in Thailand. Or the west.

 

I went to see Dr Olivier the other day in Soi Day Night and on his reception desk is a box clearly labeled "Tip Box" - now that was a new one for me - expecting a tip for the professional staff of a doctor.

[Guest fountainhall]

People like that don't really deserve what's shown on the meter, never mind a tip . . . The whole thing seems to be some illogical & arbitrary western custom which has no place in Thailand

I definitely agree it’s a western concept that has now become a sort of norm, certainly in Bangkok. We may not like it, but I think it's important to remember a few things.

 

Firstly, it’s not that long ago that meter taxis were introduced in this city – certainly less than 2 decades. Prior to that time – and for quite a number of years afterwards until all taxis were fitted with meters – it was the custom to bargain the fare with the driver of the taxi or the tuk-tuk. The agreed on fare was what was paid – no tips on top. If a driver didn’t want to go to your destination or could not accept your lowest price, he drove off and found someone else. He had no obligation to take you.

 

Secondly, even though there were no tips, Bangkok was host to millions of tourists, most much wealthier than the average Thai. If a driver quoted Bt. 100 for a trip that most Thais would only pay Bt. 40 for, a majority of tourists either automatically accepted – or got the fare dropped by just a handful of baht. Bangkok was relatively a lot cheaper for tourists then, and if it was raining, who wanted to haggle over peanuts? This could be seen as overpaying in western terms. But, as most people know, bargaining is deeply enrooted in Thai culture, whereas many westerners, even today, find it bothersome and difficult, failing to understand that as long as both parties are pleased with the outcome, the system works.

 

So a lot of taxi drivers, especially those who worked near hotels, became used to farang visitors paying a lot more. With the meter taxis, many tourists then would automatically add on a bit more, either as the tip they were used to paying at home, or because they could’t be bothered rummaging around their purses for a few baht. Quicker to round the fare up to the nearest note and let him keep the change. This satisfies the passenger who is effectively tipping, and the driver who has successfully screwed the farang as in the old days.

 

Lastly, z909 will be used to the system in the UK where there is a strict licensing system for taxis and a requirement that drivers know the territory. In London, for example, taxi drivers must pass an exhaustive test called “The Knowledge”. If they cannot provide the correct answer for the shortest distance from A to B , C to D or anywhere else within the city limits, they fail the test!

 

In Bangkok, not only is there no such requirement, my guess is that most drivers haven’t a clue about the location of sois in vast tracts of the city. And on Sundays, there are often relief drivers who are even more clueless. When you add to that the facts that all Thais, in my experience, are hopeless when it comes to reading maps, and that most visitors cannot even give simple directions in Thai like “please turn left/right here”, you have a recipe for a lot of misunderstanding and wrong turnings. Having lived here 10 years, I know most of the short cuts for my regular routes and just direct the taxis to them, even if they want to take a different route. That works - every time. Learning a few directional phrases only takes about 10 minutes.

 

So, yes. The system is definitely “illogical” – to western thinking. But as has often been expressed on this Board, Thai logic is largely incomprehensible to westerners, even those who have lived here for decades!

[TotallyOz]

Thank you for that history lesson. It will make me reconsider my anger when my taxi driver goes the wrong way. My BF always has to be the interpreter as I know the short and fast way to get most places I want to go so I tell him where I want the driver to turn. If he is not with me, I just sit back and moan.

[Moses]

I just sit back and moan.

 

me don't...

I just switch my GPS to Thai and put it in front of driver

[Guest anonone]

Thank you for that history lesson. It will make me reconsider my anger when my taxi driver goes the wrong way. My BF always has to be the interpreter as I know the short and fast way to get most places I want to go so I tell him where I want the driver to turn. If he is not with me, I just sit back and moan.

 

Funny. I just sit back and moan when my friend IS with me...

 

As I mostly hang out in Pattaya, I love the song taew system. Easy and cheap to get most anywhere in town.

 

In Bangkok, I used the skytrain / subway pretty extensively. Very convenient as well.

Of course, I fully understand for those spending more time in Bangkok, or even living there, you need to go more places where the trans do not serve.

 

It could be worse. I couldn't imagine hanging on the back of a motorcycle taxi in Bangkok traffic. I would take the meter taxi and all its issues anytime.

[Guest aot87]

IF you were useing a taxi from the airport to downtown hotel on silom would u think 50bht was too much

[Moses]

IF you were useing a taxi from the airport to downtown hotel on silom would u think 50bht was too much

 

yes It is too much... usually airport-Silom raid with taxi-meter cost about 250-300 baht... so 20-30 baht is enough... only once I got bill more than 300 - it was at evening peak time and we spend about 30 min only in traffic jam... then bill was about 400 baht

[Bob]

IF you were useing a taxi from the airport to downtown hotel on silom would u think 50bht was too much

 

If you felt the service was fine and that's the amount you wanted to tip, it's fine by me. I probably would have tipped the same.

[Guest fountainhall]

IF you were useing a taxi from the airport to downtown hotel on silom would u think 50bht was too much

Not sure if you're referring to this as the tip, as the basic price of the trip - or the trip plus tip?

 

As Moses says, airport to Silom using the expressway should be around Bt. 250 in a metered taxi provided it's not the rush hour and you pay the tolls in addition. Coming in on the Sukhumvit/Rama 9 expressway, the these total an extra Bt. 70 (not sure what they are if you use the more southerly Bangna/Trat Expressway). Plus you add another Bt. 50 if you pick up the taxi from the official taxi rank at the ground floor at Arrivals.

 

So the actual total cost before tip would be around Bt. 370. Some guys just go up to Departures and try and pick up a taxi there to avoid the Bt. 50 surcharge. I've done it in other airports but never at BKK.

 

I've also never done the trip without using the expressway. SInce you would be in normal traffic for about between a third and a quarter of the trip, the basic fare is bound to be higher. So it's just not worth it for the modest savings you might achieve.

 

You tip whatever you want. Give Bt. 500 for the trip including a tip, and the taxi driver will certainly be delighted. Give him Bt. 500 as just the tip - he'll probably take the rest of the day off!

[pong]

Our of curiosity, do you tip taxi drivers in Bangkok for a short in town trip? If so, what do you tip?

 

Do you think Thais tip taxi drivers?

This last is easy: they do not-generally speaking. Round up-forget the odd coins, that is about it. In fact fairly often a fare like 91 or more as 101 or 102 gets downed-the driver tips the passenger 1 or 2 bt-but not much more.

[pong]

Oh-and the explanation may be is-like khun Fhall pointed out-Thai consider it being normal to point the way to the driver-certainly if it is in unknown territory to him. And agin-it has by now been said so many time-smaps are useless. If you have anything to show-it must be the name and full adress in THAI-preferably with khet=district and some written instructions on how to get to that place ftrom the nearest known landmark. That is why all those obscure massageshops, etc. have them all printed out on their ads on on their sites.

The taxi service is just the car with driver-not the London style city knowledge.

[ChristianPFC]

I always round up to the next ten Baht.

 

I don't tip extra during slow traffic or heavy rain, there is a counter for time spend standing (or driving slower than 5 km/h if I remember correclty), so this is already included in the fare.

 

I never accept "flat fares". So far, I had no problems with a driver not finding my destination.

 

When alone, I often take a bus, when with a friend we almost always take a taxi.

 

Tuk-tuk or motorcycle only in rare cases (as they cost as much as a taxi and I hate negotiating the fare).

[baobao]

Normally just around town for a fare of less around Bt50 I round up to the next 10, so 46 becomes 50 - something I learned from my Thai friends who scold me if I try to tip more than that. If it's just me in the cab the driver will usually get a bit more, but don't tell my friends.

 

If it's an airport run or a longer distance I tend to base it on what the total will be. Arriving from Suvarnabhumi and being excited to be back in Thailand the driver usually gets the benefit of that and I tip better. Driving me into a congested place where they're likely to have to crawl a while burning gas to get back out or find a fare I try to show some compassion, too, and will over-tip, based on circumstances - i.e. time of day, weather, where I've asked to go.

 

If I accept a flat fare it's because I'm burned out or desperate and then I almost always figure they've taken me for a tip and almost never tip anything on top of their overcharged rate... with one exception: one time that I grossly over-tipped a guy just to get the reaction. I posted that story last April, but you can read it here if you're interested.