Car & Motorbike Taxis

Taxis

Taxicab is an usual form of public transport in Thailand, highly appreciated and often used both by locals and visitors for their cheapness. Taxis are well represented in all major cities and tourist areas of the Kingdom, more numerous in Bangkok, where their presence will not go unnoticed. They are ubiquitous in the capital. Most of the cars rushing in city traffic are taxis, and they are indispensable to move. Bangkok's Taxis are one of easiest and most convenient way to get around the capital and, when used in combination with the Skytrain or subway, are efficient. Bangkok is a huge city with heavy traffic, cross the city from side to side by car can take 2 hours or more. Taxi is twice slower than BTS or MRT, but reaches streets and areas that other means of transport cannot reach. The right compromise to reach some neighborhoods is approaching to it with BTS or MRT and then completes the path with a taxi. The bright two-colour taxis are very numerous in Bangkok and available virtually 24 hours a day and it is widely used by tourists and residents. Nowadays, there are at least 100,000 cars, 60,000 motorcycles and 9,000 tuk-tuks registered for use as taxis in the capital. However, when it rains and during peak hours, there is a really long wait to get one. Car taxis are either privately owned, or belong to a company or cooperative. Such ownership is reflected in their bright two-tone badge: private taxis are green-yellow, while different companies have varying color schemes like red-blue or red-yellow, there are also in funky colors like bright orange, purple and even pink. In Thailand, since 1992, taxis are all equipped with a taximeter that calculates the rate based on the distance covered. In all Kingdom, the fare is calculated as follows: 35 THB are charged for climbing into a taxi as a use fee; 50 THB for the destinations of Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang in the capital; 5.50 THB for each of the first 10 km; 6.50 THB per kilometer for 10 to 20 km; 7.50 THB per kilometer for 20 to 40 km; 8 THB per kilometer for 40 to 60 km; 9 THB per kilometer for 60 to 80 km; 10.50 THB for each kilometer more than 80 km away from the departure point. In the event that the taxi is slowed down by traffic and is forced to stop or move at less than 6 km per hour, there is an extra charge of THB 2 per minute. Highway tolls are to be paid by the passenger. Roughly, the cost of a 6-km ride is 71 THB, but can rise up to 170-200 THB in the event of heavy traffic. In the major cities of Thailand, Taxi’s stands are everywhere, in front of the airport arrivals terminal, along the streets, close to major tourist attractions, shopping areas, government offices and in front of the most popular Hotels. The available taxis are the ones with the glowing red vacant sign. The drivers are usually polite, but someone is reluctant to use the meter preferring to haggle on the price, in this case you insist decided but politely and if taxi driver still refuses, do not worry, come down quiet and look for another taxi. In the seaside resorts and in some neighborhoods of Bangkok like Patpong, and sometimes in the area between the Oriental and the Shangri-La, taxi drivers in the late evening ask exorbitant rates and refuse to use the meter. If you cannot convince them politely moved to other taxi stands along the street or stop one of the taxis that pass on the street. Most of the taxi drivers do not speak any word of English and often do not know how to read a map, therefore, for tourists it is a good precaution to have the destination address written in Thai. In case you do not have it, ask the hotel staff to write it for you, they are usually very happy to help you.Read More