Baht Bus Transportation in Pattaya

Transportation within Pattaya is provided by Baht Bus or Motorbike Taxi Services.

We recommend to use the Baht Bus (called songthaew in Thai language). Usually the Baht Bus acts like a regular Bus. They follow a route, you flag them down, and just jump in the back without talking to the driver, then hop off whenever you want to, and pay the flat fare. Since March 2010 the Pattaya Baht Bus Co-operative is asking a base fare of 10 baht and a long-distance rate of 20 baht. The new fare is approved by the Chonburi Traffic Department and can be charged for Thais and non-Thais as well. Farangs don't have to pay a higher fare than Thai citizen.

But if you ask the bus driver to go to a specific destination, you just chartered that bus, and a higher fare applies, which you should negotiate with the driver. 50 baht is pretty standard for a straight shot anywhere between North and South Pattaya roads. It's more expensive than a shared bus, but it saves the hassle of changing baht busses if the one you're on turns out not to be going where you want, and it should stop them from stopping to pick up other passengers. Also, since most baht busses just run around the main strips, it's the only way to go to out of the way places via baht bus.

To get the best fares for chartered rides, two tips: One, always negotiate the fare beforehand. If you don't negotiate the fare, but take the ride, you've just obligated yourself to accept whatever fare they charge, no matter how unreasonable. It's like signing a contract without reading the terms, or ordering in a restaurant without reading the prices. It's just common sense, establish the price before accepting the service.

Two, ignore any baht bus which is parked. Those are the likely scammers, waiting for the unknowing tourists, who will charge several times more than the usual rate. Flag down a baht bus which is already moving on the road. Those are the honest, hard working drivers running their route.

The Pattaya Baht Bus Co-operative published a Sticker that has to be on every Baht Bus. According to this Sticker a shared bus ride should not cost more than 10 Baht on short distances or 20 Baht for a long distance ride. Accidentally the Pattaya Baht Bus Co-operative forget to publish any clear information when short distance ends and long distance begins...

Fares for individual trips (or chartered rides) as published by the Pattaya Minibus Cooperative (up to 5 persons only):

From / to	North Pattaya	Central Pattaya	South Pattaya	Pratamnak Hill	Jomtien
Naklua	60 Baht	60 Baht	70 Baht	120 Baht	150 Baht
North Pattaya		40 Baht	60 Baht	100 Baht	120 Baht
Central Pattaya			50 Baht	80 Baht	120 Baht
South Pattaya				80 Baht	100 Baht
Pratamnak Hill					60 Baht

It makes a difference whether one just boards a passenger pickup and drives along its route while the driver lets other people board, or whether the trip is individual. Newcomers to Pattaya regularly are confronted with drivers who later designate a trip as individual or special and demand a higher fare than just the 20 Baht, even though the passenger intended it just a 10 Baht travel. Such situations occur when newcomers ask a driver whether he passes by a certain place. The driver interprets such a specifically named destination as a request for a special or individual trip. Those familiar with Pattaya just board a pickup along the roads and do not mention a destination but just give note when they want to alight and then pay the fare (10 or 20 Baht).