Baht bus Pattaya

[ichigo]

Excuse my ignorance, but can someone explain in detail how one catches a baht bus from Jomtien complex to boyztown (and opposite)? I’ve never done it before and just want to make sure I do it correctly lol. Thanks 

[bkkmfj2648]

Hello

You walk onto the main road, Thappraya road (the busy road in front of the main entrance of Supertown) and you flag down (wave with your hands) the bahtbus and if he is:

Not full

Or in-service

He should pull over and then you get on the back of the pickup truck. 

You ring the bell when you see from your mobile phone map app that you are near your destination.

Then you disembark and walk up to the driver and give him 10 baht.

Good luck and have fun.  I use the bahtbus at least 3 to 4 times each week.

[floridarob]

10 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Then you disembark and walk up to the driver and give him 10 baht.

Doesn't the price increase once you cross S. Pattaya rd  ?

 

[bkkmfj2648]

No, if you are northbound from Jomtien going into Pattaya city - 10 baht can bring you as far north as the Terminal 21 shopping mall before the bahtbus heads towards beach road to head south.

Yes, if you are southbound and decide to return to Jomtien from the heart of northern (Terminal 21) or central (Central Festival), then you have to pay for 2 different bahtbuses at 10 baht each.

You will need to disembark at the below mentioned intersection and walk over to the southbound Jomtien bahtbuses.

What I usually do is just walk to the route beginning point at the intersection of South Pattaya road and Pattaya Sai 2 road (near BoyzTown) where the bahtbuses heading southbound into Jomtien begin.

[thaiophilus]

4 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 you flag down (wave with your hands) the bahtbus

 

... but don't flag an empty bus, and don't ask the driver where he's going. Otherwise you might find you've chartered the entire bus as a taxi, for a lot more than 10 baht 😲.

[ichigo]

5 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Hello

You walk onto the main road, Thappraya road (the busy road in front of the main entrance of Supertown) and you flag down (wave with your hands) the bahtbus and if he is:

Not full

Or in-service

He should pull over and then you get on the back of the pickup truck. 

You ring the bell when you see from your mobile phone map app that you are near your destination.

Then you disembark and walk up to the driver and give him 10 baht.

Good luck and have fun.  I use the bahtbus at least 3 to 4 times each week.

Thank you - this is incredibly helpful!

[macaroni21]

I have experienced at least one occasion when the songthaew I boarded in Jomtien heading towards Pattaya and which I intended to ride all the way to Boyztown, unexpectedly turned right into Pattaya Tai road in the direction of Third Road and Sukhumvit Road. Of course I had to alight quickly as did some other passengers. Fortunately I could walk the rest of the way to Boyztown, but the others had to catch another songthaew to continue their journey north for another 10 baht fare. 

Similarly, there was one occasion when I was headed to Central mall but the songthaew turned right into Pattaya Klang Road instead of continuing up Second Road. This time, thought I might walk the rest of the way to Central, until it started to rain when I had to resort to flagging down another songthaew and expend another princely sum of ten baht for a 2-minute ride to my destination.

On these occasions, the first passenger must have negotiated the route with the driver, but all the subsequent passengers, myself included, simply assumed it would travel the full length of Second Road to the dolphin circus. Or maybe there was a sign on the windshield to indicate the unusual route except that tourists like me were illiterate fools.

[bkkmfj2648]

Yes, in rare occassions the bahtbus (songthaew) does deviate and/or abrubtly terminate its route. But I would say that this only happens 1% to 2% of the time, as it is a very rare event.

A Dutch friend of mine back in Jomtien sent me this recent photo of the back of a bahtbus, which I found to be hillarious.

 

Meanwhile, over here in Cebu, Philippines, the bahtbus equivalent = Jeepney are very different than what we have back in Pattaya. They are more colorful and can accomodate more passengers, but they have low ceilings making them feel somewhat claustophobic.

[gerefan]

And make sure you have the correct amount of money.

I have seen several passengers get off and pay with 50 or 100 baht notes and the driver has just driven off!
 

Even saw one farang yelling that the driver had just driven off with his 1000 baht note.