Using Bangkok Taxis Guide and Types of Taxi Services Available

Taxis in some form or another are the most commonly-used form of transportation in this sprawling and chaotic SE Asian city, aside from the BTS Skytrain and the MRT Metro systems. The easily-identifiable, traditional green-and-yellow vehicles also come in a range of other sometimes bizarre colours like pink, orange, and bright green, with a few slightly more subtle blue-red and light blue ones in their too.

And yet, although there’s little chance of encountering any issues when it comes to finding a Bangkok taxi, using them can be a different matter entirely—and that does go for both locals and visitors alike. Let’s just say for now there are a few ‘nuances’ that newcomers to the city might need to be aware of beforehand.

The Types of Taxi Services in Bangkok

In the old days visitors and locals alike had little choice if they needed to use the services of a taxi in Bangkok. This often meant firstly having to battle with the masses to try and secure a ride and then having to put up with the various eccentricities often displayed by the drivers.

But thankfully there have been a few positive developments in recent years that have resulted in more choice and much better services from taxis. Let’s first take a look at some of the main options for taxi services in Bangkok.

Metered taxis 

Undoubtedly the most common type of taxi in Bangkok is the metered kind that you have to hail. All taxis in Bangkok have meters, and any driver refusing to turn his vehicle’s on is a sure-fire indication of a ‘dodgy’ operator. This type of driver is common in tourist areas and will usually be lurking near hotels or other tourist spots.

Some of them might try to offer you a fixed fare (which will most likely change later on) and should not be entertained even in the spirit of the holiday. It’s really not part of the fun and there are much better options as will be explained.

So if you do manage to hail a cab that actually stops the first thing to do is check the meter is running. If not, insist on it or get out. Depending on your own intuitive warning systems you may want to exit the cab anyway if you land this type of driver.

Keeping in mind the following pointers regarding fares will also be to your great advantage—at least once you do manage to secure a driver who seems okay with your destination and apparently has a turned-on meter ready to go:

• The fare starts at 35 baht (roughly a dollar)
• It usually stays there for the first 2 kilometres or so, so any numbers that seem to be increasing with an unnatural rapidity might be taken as an alarm bell to stop the cab. The fare on a genuine meter works its way up a bit more gradually by approximately 2 baht per km
• A minor surcharge is applied in slow-moving traffic jams that work out at around 1.25 baht per metre—but you should never agree to verbal demands from drivers for extra ‘top-up’ money because he’s gone and got you all stuck in stationary traffic
• Typical taxi fares for travelling just a couple of kilometres are in the region of 50 baht, and rides of 20-30 minutes or so that are mostly moving will take you past 100, with the majority of city centre rides rarely exceeding 200 baht.

Verbal communication is a major problem as other language use (including English) is still few and far between even in Bangkok, with the majority of the drivers being poorly or totally uneducated farm hands from the sticks.

It is what it is.

With that in mind it’s fair to say that you can expect all the tricks in the book from some of them (although not all), including not having any change. So it’s a logical move to ensure that you are always carrying smaller notes and coins if you are likely to be using these services.

In some instances it may even be necessary and/or prove useful to subtly bring to their attention the fact that you are in possession of a phone that takes pictures and records audio and video. That said, avoid conflict or seeming rudeness with these rather sensitive if not misguided souls, being polite yet firm in your approach. Many seasoned travellers (and expats) in this country have found themselves with little choice but to do likewise as they have simply had enough of this nonsense. 

Airport Taxi Rank Services

The airport has an area designated for taxis. You might still spot the other Herbert lurking somewhere and looking for un-ticketed arrivals.

To be sure look for the automated ticketing machines—they issue a queue number and assign a taxi. The queues may be long at some times of day but these taxis here are the best option from the airport as far as being meter-regulated goes. An additional surcharge of 50 baht is added to the final bill for these taxi rank vehicles, and you will also have to pay for the toll fee if you take the expressway to the city.

Keep in mind that drivers tend to prefer routes with tollways as there is less traffic and you pay for them—about 40 baht. They are obliged to ask first and you are not under any obligation to take this route just to suit the driver.

Pre-Arranged Airport Transfers 

Anyone who has pre-booked accommodation will commonly be offered the option of an airport pick-up, paid or otherwise, according to the residence involved. Either that or you can arrange your own if you have a trusted source.

It’s possible that you may be paying above what is a standard taxi fee for the distance involved, but it does add peace of mind and a little more comfort. If this is not provided as a free service by the residence the additional fee should be determined beforehand.

(It is NOT recommended that you take any other taxi from an airport aside from these two options, especially the ones waiting in predatory spots, on the lookout for clueless-looking new arrivals.) 

Using Transport Applications for Taxis in Bangkok 

In our humble opinion based on years of experience, the Transport App phenomena is the hands-down best way to go anywhere in Thailand.

This is the best antidote to the rogue Thai taxi driver anyone has ever had the pleasure of using. In fact, the way things stand right now it looks as though all roads lead to the transport application. The absolute bottom line here is that with this method of finding, booking, using, and paying for road transportation many of the challenging or negative issues previously mentioned with Bangkok taxis are pretty much done away with.

It was the Singapore-based Grab that edged Uber off the Thai roads, and the latest addition to the fold is Bolt. These apps make travelling in Thailand super-easy compared to trying to negotiate with a bumpkin driver with no English (or any other) language or communication skills to speak of.

The apps are nothing less than life-savers in many situations, especially as both your pick-up and drop-off destinations are managed by GPS and verified before booking. This means you can order from pretty much anywhere and chat to the driver if necessary through the app, which utilises a translation device.

Grab offers various options when booking transport like car, taxi, larger vehicles (6-8 passengers) or bike. Traditionally the only option in a strictly tourist destination are the predatory local types with fixed fares or any random passing vehicles that may or may not stop when hailed.

These apps are fairly easy to use and allow you to choose the pick-up and drop-off locations from a drop-down list or add them yourself. Either way, everything is determined beforehand, as is the fare.

The applications also cancel out the necessity of any verbal communication at all, with cashless payment being another option.  Anyone coming to Thailand and NOT using these apps is clearly looking for a challenge—which could include any or all of the previously mentioned negative issues common when using taxis in Thailand. 

 

Using Bangkok Taxis in Rush Hour 

There is no shortage of these vehicles whatsoever, as we have already established. However, you could still find yourself in for a wait if you are trying to flag one down during rush hour periods (between 7.30 am and 9.00 am then again between around 5-7pm).

On a side note, the same could also be true when it rains (and we are talking tropical monsoon rain here that can flood the ill-planned infrastructure of the city in no time at all).

If you actually manage to get yourself into a taxi at these times of the day, you could find your vehicle virtually stationary for up to 2 hours. So planning the travel times is essential on the roads of Bangkok, which has some of the worst congestion in the world.

It’s also common for drivers who don’t own a vehicle to share the rental on one. This means two split shifts will be operated (usually 6am-6pm followed by a 6pm-6am night shift), and a changeover will occur—just after the rush hour kicks in after 5 pm. This is one of the reasons some drivers won’t stop around this time as they are trying to return the vehicle.

Even the (almost) infallible Transport Apps won’t save on waiting time at this time of day as everyone is trying to use them and you’ll notice the prices also increase somewhat dramatically at this time (one of the downsides to Grab).

Hailing a Bangkok Taxi 

This is usually done locally with a raised or beckoning hand motion—with the hand facing down rather than up.

You’ll be forgiven of course for not having that particular style down, but not using it will also do more to identify you as a clueless outsider to the worst type of taxi driver on the road.

When you actually find a cab that seems intent on pulling up, you should look brave. Some of the best advice might even be to simply open the door, jump in, and state your destination. You might even have an address in Thai from the place you are heading (or on Google Maps) handy.

The best approach then would be head down checking the phone, as he’ll be accustomed to with natives. Basically don’t give them the chance or make it easy to refuse by asking them before getting in.

Most taxis looking out for tourists are still unaware that they are now much more clued-up and thus know they are breaking the law if they refuse to take you—so you are well within your rights to take a photo of his ID (on the dashboard) and make any relevant reports.

The only problem is, the photo ID on the dashboard is likely to feature a different person to the one actually doing the driving!

Being Aware of the Potential Challenges  

It’s true. Most visitors will experience some kind of challenge with Bangkok taxis at some point, even if only to very slight degrees. So it pays more than ever to be clued-up these days, especially when there are other much better options around.

You may be starting to get some ideas about this anyway, and as we have already mentioned you simply cannot be coming to an ‘undeveloped’ country like Thailand (even though the proportion of millionaires in Bangkok alone is somewhat staggering) and not expect to run into a few issues here with the transportation.

And without making any deliberate attempt to paint taxi drivers in Thailand in a negative light, it is also worth keeping in mind that there have been and still are numerous reports (and arrests) over the years involving various crimes committed by taxi drivers in Thailand that range from the thoughtless and stupid to the downright evil.

This includes rape and other types of sexual assault on women—the main reason why it’s unlikely to see lone females using them late at night. On top of that you can add to the list robbery and/or failure to report items left in the cab, violent assault, and even murder. Put it this way—in the eyes of the general population they are not always seen in the best of terms.

Take heed of the heinous incident more than a decade back when a foreign passenger annoyed with his driver exited the cab and threw his coffee over the driver through the window. He was subsequently macheted to death in broad daylight on the street with the weapon that came from under the driver’s seat.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, using taxis in Thailand needn’t be the nightmare that it is on occasion for many unwitting travellers. With a keen approach (and the right apps) the chances of becoming the victim of a scam or much worse a violent crime at the hands of a city cab driver are decreasing. But it is all still well worth bearing in mind.

The transport applications have not only reduced many of the existing issues with regular taxi drivers they have outright cancelled others. They may not be completely without issues every time, but you wouldn’t be expecting that, right?

The Thai capitol has become way more expensive in recent years for both visitors and locals alike—but thankfully not enough to impact the prices of taxis. Transportation use in Bangkok doesn’t come without its challenges, it is much better than ever before with the help of modern innovations.