Apr
15
Unlike in busy Bangkok where you will see a passing colored taxi every few seconds, this is not the case in Pattaya. In Pattaya the closest thing you will find to a taxi cab is a baht bus. The most common baht bus cruising the streets in Pattaya is a dark blue open back cage like design with long flat bench seats on either side of the vehicle. The seating arrangement is the same as the typical troupe carrier. The Pattaya baht bus usually carries up to about 12 people sitting side by side but quite cramped. There is usually a small platform on either side of the vehicle at the back that can accommodate one person each side standing up.
Baht buses are cruising the streets of Pattaya 24 hours a day. They usually run around in a regular circuit from one end of Beach road up to Walking Street then turning left and back along Second road up to the Dolphin roundabout then turning left again passing the Dusit Resort and back onto Beach road for another lap. Some buses though travel a different route and you can catch them for trips to Jomtien Beach, the Pattaya bus station or anywhere you want to go if you ask the driver. The standard trip on the Beach Road and Second road circuit will cost 20 baht at the time of writing, this is very good deal. If you ask the driver to take you to a specific location within the Pattaya area you will have to negotiate a price with him. Don’t take his first price, try to bargain with him and you might save yourself a few baht. Most baht bus drivers cannot speak too much English so you might have to give him specific direction or sit up front with him.
Catching a baht bus is virtually your only alternative for transport if you don’t have your own wheels unless you want to take short trip on a Thai motorcycle taxi. With a motorcycle taxi though, you would not be able to carry anymore luggage than a small backpack with you. Baht buses are always zooming around Pattaya so you will never have any trouble finding one at any time of the day or night. When you want to get off the bus all you need to do is press a button mounted on the inner ceiling of the bus either in the middle of the roof or on the edges. A bell will ring in the drivers cabin and the bus will stop. It’s a convenient system, cheap and readily available.
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