Mentally Unstable Songtow Driver

[CMNightRider]

Last week three of us stopped a red songtow driving down Nimmanhemin. We asked the driver if he could take us to Dukes, on the river. He agreed, and we entered the back of the songtow. It was an older model vehicle with the rear covering head room being much lower than the average songtow. When we arrived at Dukes, I gave the driver 60 baht. He looked at me in disbelief and demanded 1000 baht. Then I was looking in disbelief. I explained, if he had mentioned he wanted 1000 baht we would have never went with him. The driver started screaming at us demanding we hand over 1000 baht. Not wanting to agitate him further, I calmly explained we were not going to pay 1000 baht and I was going to call the police.

After the driver realized this is going nowhere, he drove off at a high rate of speed almost causing a collision with a tuk tuk. Unfortunately, there was a western tourist in the back of his vehicle with his eyes bugged out, since he knew he would be next to deal with this guy. Please be on your guard for a red songtow fitting the above mentioned description with an older unstable driver. This guy is a danger to himself and others.

[mesquite]

Maybe he was on drugs. He needed the 1000 baht to buy more drugs.

Edited March 26, 2014 by mesquite

[daveAustin]

Nim to river is quite a way for 20 baht a head.

Always check price first if going off-route/chartering even if you've been here 20 years.

[jonwilly]

I have found almost all Songtow Drivers to be Good, decent folk.

Off Hand I can only think of one occasion when I had problems with a bad one.

Returning from Thaepe Area about 8 one night I offered B100, for a trip to Tannon Suthep, Lang Mo, or Back gate of University.

Never had a problem before as this is over the odds for the journey.

I jumped in front and driver dropped off a young girl on the Irrigation canal quite close to where I was going then as he pulled away demanded B150.

Stop I get out No pay.

He mumbled in Thai and kept driving and dropped me off as agreed.

I paid the agreed B100 and he apologised.

john

[sustento]

"Please be on your guard for a red songtow fitting the above mentioned description with an older unstable driver." That's a really useful description

[CMNightRider]

Nim to river is quite a way for 20 baht a head.

Always check price first if going off-route/chartering even if you've been here 20 years.

I should have asked the driver if it was going to be the normal 20 baht. When we returned, we caught a songtow that returned us to Nimmanheimn for 20 baht apiece. Almost without exception, if a driver will want more than the standard fare, they will tell you what they want before they agree to take you. I can't imagine a songtow driver expecting someone to pay 1000 baht to go anywhere at anytime in CM.

[CMNightRider]

"Please be on your guard for a red songtow fitting the above mentioned description with an older unstable driver." That's a really useful description

I apologize for not taking a photo of the driver and his songtow, but at the time we were more concerned about the drivers unstable demeanor. This is just a public service announcement and nothing to get hysterical about. I have been here for about 6 years, and have never experienced an encounter like this before.

[Frank James]

Twenty baht a head doesn't make the nut anymore (See fuel prices!) but 1000 baht is somewhat excessive. To say the least.

[Oscar2]

Twenty baht a head doesn't make the nut anymore (See fuel prices!) but 1000 baht is somewhat excessive. To say the least.

you should have negotiated the price before getting in. 60 Baht for 3 passengers from Nimman to the Dukes is unreasonable as that is not a normal route but a private hire. i agree that 1,000 is too high but you should have expected to pay much more than 60 Baht.

[vagabond48]

Last year I returned to Chiang Mai arriving by bus at the Arcade bus station. I live no more than 10 minutes walk from the station or 3 minutes by tuk tuk. My intention was to walk. As I was leaving, a tuk tuk driver parked inside near the station asked "tuk tuk?". I said I would give him 30B. He said 100B. I politely said no and kept walking. He countered with 80B. I said 30B. He started getting mad and began to yell over and over "F U". I just ignored him and continued walking. I guess he thought he would make an easy 80B for less than 10 minutes of his time. I hate to think what he would have charged if I got in without asking how much. As a rule, I never use tuk tuks.

[kurnell]

I am surprised that more of this doesn't happen. In Thailand the police do nothing when criminals demand money, so why wouldn't every business in Thailand try to rip everyone off?

[daoyai]

I am surprised that more of this doesn't happen. In Thailand the police do nothing when criminals demand money, so why wouldn't every business in Thailand try to rip everyone off?

Because 90% of the people here are decent?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Nim to river is quite a way for 20 baht a head.

Always check price first if going off-route/chartering even if you've been here 20 years.

Well, if it's a long trip like this that might be more than the usual I might just stick two fingers in the air to confirm the 20 baht. But I wouldn't ever ask "How Much?" that just opens the door to a big negotiation that isn't needed. Also the OP mentioned he went back to Nimman for the usual 20 baht (x 3 people), proving it's not unusual to expect the regular fare. (Also, going out to Nimman tends to be more expensive than going into town from anywhere) Plus it would have been later at night by then, which also makes a request for more money more likely.)

Of course it's easier to get a regular 20 baht fare when you're with three or four people, as that adds up to 60 or 80. It's harder by yourself.

As for asking 30 baht from a tuk tuk driver, that is kind of like taunting him, especially for one of the 'wait around do nothing' ones at the bus station. TUk tuks don't typically go anywhere for less than 50, other than perhaps an incredibly short hop. And then the ones at the bus station especially don't go anywhere for less than 70-80 so it's really best to just say no: they're not providing a reasonable service so you're not interested. No need to pretend you are by offering an unacceptably low amount.

Edited March 26, 2014 by WinnieTheKhwai

[CMNightRider]

Twenty baht a head doesn't make the nut anymore (See fuel prices!) but 1000 baht is somewhat excessive. To say the least.

you should have negotiated the price before getting in. 60 Baht for 3 passengers from Nimman to the Dukes is unreasonable as that is not a normal route but a private hire. i agree that 1,000 is too high but you should have expected to pay much more than 60 Baht.

When we returned to Nimmanheimn from Dukes, the songtow driver charged us 20 baht apiece. When the drivers are going in the general direction you are requesting, 60 baht for three people is normally what is charged. Almost without exception, if the drivers want more than 20 baht apiece, they will share this information with you before embarking on your journey.

[naboo]

I pay 20B from Canal Road to Kaad Luang, nearly Dukes, never a problem.

People paying more are causing problems like the OP experienced.

And whoever said 20B doesn't cut it, fuel prices are up, needs to check the price of diesel. Been 30B a litre for years.

[Ulysses G.]

Twenty baht a head doesn't make the nut anymore (See fuel prices!) but 1000 baht is somewhat excessive. To say the least.

you should have negotiated the price before getting in. 60 Baht for 3 passengers from Nimman to the Dukes is unreasonable as that is not a normal route but a private hire. i agree that 1,000 is too high but you should have expected to pay much more than 60 Baht.

I agree with Winnie. Asking how much means that you don't know the system and the driver will normally ask for more than the going price. If it was fairly early, not late at night, with 3 people, 20 baht per person would be reasonable, although some drivers might ask for a little more. Asking for 1,000 baht is insane.

[northernjohn]

Twenty baht a head doesn't make the nut anymore (See fuel prices!) but 1000 baht is somewhat excessive. To say the least.

you should have negotiated the price before getting in. 60 Baht for 3 passengers from Nimman to the Dukes is unreasonable as that is not a normal route but a private hire. i agree that 1,000 is too high but you should have expected to pay much more than 60 Baht.

When we returned to Nimmanheimn from Dukes, the songtow driver charged us 20 baht apiece. When the drivers are going in the general direction you are requesting, 60 baht for three people is normally what is charged. Almost without exception, if the drivers want more than 20 baht apiece, they will share this information with you before embarking on your journey.

True enough.

But you might want to consider changing your avatar on a topic like this.

[Joop50]

I've noticed quite some kon Thai mix up thousend with hundred and so on. Maybe he just wanted 100? Btw,20 baht for that ride is greedy.

[uptheos]

I wonder how the guy left in the back got on?

[PostmanPat]

20 Baht from one side of the city to the other? You have to be joking. have a bloody heart, whatever you think these guys have to make a living and for this distance, 20 baht is nowhere near reasonable.

Sorry to say this, but no wonder we "Falangs" get a bad reputation here with this skinflint attitude, the best I will say in this instance is double check the price in advance with the driver for a journey thats not on his "normal" route.

The fact is Thailand is not the totally cheap option it was ten years ago. If youve been here any length of time you must surely know that.

[Ulysses G.]

Do you really think that Thais are paying more than 20 baht for that journey when the driver does not inform them in advance? Having a guarantee of 3 customers makes it a pretty average price during daylight hours. Drivers of red songteaws have no "normal" route.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[Dante99]

Hey UG, do you have any books about how get a songtaew ride?

[Frank James]

Having paid my dues for a year, driving a taxi at night in a major American city, I have a natural feeling of brotherhood for the taxi, songtaew, and tuk tuk drivers of Thailand. Driving around all night and day in this smog and heat is worth more than 20 baht a head, in my worthless and very humble opinion. Seems we have a wide divergence of opinion on this. Whatever, just avoid the hassle by calm, non-confrontational pre-agreement on the fare. Don't like what the man says, wait for the next one. Easy. (?)

[Oscar2]

all I know is when we needed a songtaew in January for about 5 of us - me and 4 Thais - from Airport Plaza, not a single songtaew would take less than 30 Baht per head. all of the Thais, including students, were paying 30 Baht without questioning it at all. i did over-hear some of them chatting among themselves wondering if fares had gone up, but they did not make a big issue of it.

[uptheos]

Do you really think that Thais are paying more than 20 baht for that journey when the driver does not inform them in advance? Having a guarantee of 3 customers makes it a pretty average price during daylight hours. Drivers of red songteaws have no "normal" route.

And going that route isn't so bad there's often someone wanting to go in the Kad Luang direction. Sounds like the driver was pissed off that this time there was no one.

[ianf]

My Thai wife says that it is not just farangs that are getting ripped off. Songteow drivers are increasingly asking for higher prices. If she is coming back home to the Moo Baan from Central Airport she is asked for 150 or so the moment they hear the name of this Moo Baan. She mumbles something about 'Mae Baan' and immediately the price drops to 50 baht. She won't pay. A frequent trip for her is from Airport Central to the new Festival. Standard fare is 20 baht. She heard them tell some farangs that it was 200 baht and she countered that and told the driver that the fare is just 20 baht. "Oh no" he said "That is the price for Thai people". But he then tried to charge a young Thai girl 60 baht. When my wife complained again, he said "We need the money for the new Lanna Republic!". That was a new one on her but she still only paid 20 baht.

[Ulysses G.]

Having paid my dues for a year, driving a taxi at night in a major American city, I have a natural feeling of brotherhood for the taxi, songtaew, and tuk tuk drivers of Thailand. Driving around all night and day in this smog and heat is worth more than 20 baht a head, in my worthless and very humble opinion.

While I might sympathize with you/them, the official rate is something like 15 baht and most Thais and English teachers could not afford more. Rich Thais pay the same rate as poor ones. In Pattaya it is only 10 baht and in some places even cheaper.

As a former English teacher who had to live on Thai salary, I don't think that farangs should have to pay more than Thais unless someone chooses to do it voluntarily and leaves a nice tip.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[chuang]

20 baht from Nimm to Dukes@River...non standard route, holy cow...no wonder thailand is full of cheap charlies..

[tfc]

While 20 baht per head may be to little for the trip, 100 baht/head would be too much. 1000 baht is just getting jibbed. Air-con taxis cost less.

[ARISTIDE]

Red songthaw are NOT a taxi so its going to be 20 or 25 bath per head all the way for both Thai and all Tourists and farangs. Prices controlled by the Department of Transport . Unless the price was initially negotiated I would advise everyone including visitors to Thailand to help enforce this price rule. Otherwise soon all local Thai will have to start paying more like some farang tourists. Red songthaw already monopolize the local mass transit and got away with many things including sabotaging other public transport including the Chiang Mai Bus and the Taxi Meter company!

http://www.dlt.go.th/th/index.php

Nim to river is quite a way for 20 baht a head.

Always check price first if going off-route/chartering even if you've been here 20 years.