Metered Taxis, Bangkok

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Try to use the metered taxis which are very comfortable and with AC rather than Tuk Tuks as the price is more or less the same when bargained. We used metered taxis most of the time as we found they are more comfortable and price wise the same.

I AGREE WITH JOHNALEX ON THE INFORMATION ABOUT MR TOM BANGKOKS FRIENDLY TAXI DRIVER.WE WERE IN THAILAND IN DEC 2012.TOMS A GOOD DRIVER KEEPS IN TOUCH YOU FEEL VERY SAFE HE WILL TAKE YOU DAY TRIPS OR TRANSFERS TO BEACH RESORTS.I HOPE TO GO AGAIN THIS YEAR AND WILL CONTACT TOM AGAIN.

Mr (Jhirakit) "TOM"

OK his English could be better, but it is very good for a Bangkok Taxi driver. Also the car is bigger than the standard Meter Taxi. In addition to airport transfers Mr Tom will do city tours and also consider longer distances such as Hua Hin, Pattaya and Ayuthaya.

UPDATE January 2013. Mr Tom now has a very nice, brand new Mini Bus to take groups of 4 or more people. This year I have used him for the usual airport transfers, a trip to the floating market at Damnoen Saduak and Mae Klong "railway market as well as a transfer to and from Pattaya.

I have used him numerous times and he has been very punctual, polite and a good driver each time.

If he is double booked he wil arange for another driver, but he will phone after you have been picked up to check all is ok with what he has arranged.

A very nice, polite and professional guy.

Bangkok is a very crowded city, with a lot of traffic; rash hours are not only in the early morning and late evening as in Europe, but all over the day. However the best way to move in BKK is by taxi (metered taxi), which bring you everywhere you need for a ridiculous amount (from/to airport the very center of the city costs about 250 bath (one hour), while within the city you can drive for 20 minutes with not more than 70 bath).

BE AWARE:
- only taxis by meter (just say "by meter" while boarding) are so cheap, other ones are only tourist traps....
- if a taxi driver invents strange excuses not to bring you somewhere (like "there is a revolution" or "it is closed today") just take the next taxi; they just tell you so because they don't earn anything (extra) by driving you to your destination.
- avoid tuk tuk (don't even answer to them, it is better not to care about them at all, otherwise they could be really noisy and annoying)

I would also say take a cab. Instead of getting one from outside arrival, go up to departure instead. It's slightly cheaper..I stayed at Fraser Suites Sukhumvit when I was in bangkok.

http://bangkok-sukhumvit.frasershospitality.com/

If I remember correctly, the fare from the airport to Sukhumvit was less than 500 baht. Just make sure that the driver turns on the meter, that way he doesn't just quote you any price. Happy travels!

One of the transportation modes while traveling in Bangkok is taxi. Although riding taxi will be quite expensive and if you take taxi during rush hour, be prepared to get stuck in the traffic.
We used taxi from the airport to our hotel in Shukumvit road. The taxi charged us 400THB with toll road inclusive, plus 50 THB for surcharge (charged by the airport). As it was nearly midnight and we were unsure about using MRT to the downtown, it seemed pretty good deal.

The taxi driver offered to take us without meter on. On our return, we were charged 280 THB, excluded toll road fee.

Whenever you can, please choose taxi with meter. If you are in the tourist area, we found that it would be better to walk for a while to stop the taxi. As we found out that taxi parking in the tourist spot has to “pay” to park there.

Taxis in Bangkok are very colorful and I see more pink colored taxis around the city. Not all Thai taxi drivers know how to speak English but they can still help you to reach your destination. Also, I guess all taxis are metered now. When we’re in Bangkok, we rode the taxis and all used their meters. Fare starts at THB35. They aren’t fond of tipping too.

However, taxis from Suvarnabhumi Airport gives higher meter rate, they say that fare meter starts at 50Baht… I dunno but when we arrived at 9pm, there were only a few taxis lined up along the airport. So we decided to take a taxi going to the hotel since we’re so exhausted from the trip. We were given a specific fare amount of THB300 and they say that it’s the normal rate for airport taxis. but we talked to a few locals, they say that taxis from the airport really cost that much. I really dunno, but I recommend you to take the train going to the city instead of taking the taxis from the airport. But I didn’t regret to take that ride because the driver was very friendly and talkative too. I had a few Thai phrases written in my small guide notebook that I used to communicate a little with him and he was very pleased. We kept laughing inside the taxi.

I guess.... our THB300 was worth it after all.

There have been several negative comments about taxis in Bangkok lately. Here are some helpful suggestions:

There have been some comments on the website about Bangkok taxi drivers. I have had few problems with them. Make sure they start the meter and make sure they understand that BEFORE you get into the taxi. Also a good idea to photograph the taxi number (and make sure the driver sees this) in case of problems. You can tell him you do this so you can locate the taxi again if you forget something. If problems DO occur, you can let him know you sent a picture of the taxi information to a friend. Oh, and if you threaten to report him to the "Tourist Police" make sure the taxi is stopped or on a straight road. Told one that onetime and he nearly lost control while in a curve!!

You will nearly always come out ahead by paying the meter-rate instead of a negotiated rate. Exceptions might be if you are familiar with the meter rate and the driver offers a better deal. Other times during heavy traffic or long trips, the driver may refuse to accept a meter rate passenger. (When I get what I consider to be excessive requests, I usually tell him, "I want clear title and a full tank of gas!")

Passengers are responsible for tolls.

There is a service charge from (but not TO) the airports

Don't be afraid to contact the Tourist Police if you have problems!!!

MOST IMPORTANTLY--Have a good trip. Thailand is by far my favorite country and I get there about 5-10 times a year!

Look for the public taxis outside the airport; there is a 50 baht surcharge, then we paid an additional 270 which was around $10 to take us directly to Khao San Rd. I think it would also depend on what time you arrive, we arrived at midnight so there probably wouldn't be much other public transportation anyway.

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If you don’t mind spending a little more money for transit into Bangkok from the airport and depending on the time of day you will go into town from Suvarnabhumi Airport this might prove to be a decent way to spend a few extra Baht.

I found and used a METERED taxi on the GROUND LEVEL from Door 8. The doors are numbered and you will easily find the line for taxis, access is controlled and assigned in a pretty organized fashion. Go down a level from the main Arrivals level and you’ll find the taxis. I was staying in the Banglamphoo area and I think I paid about the equivalent of about $ 20.00 including the tolls used for the freeway. Given the distance involved I thought it was a pretty reasonable cost.

The LITTLE catch with using this mode of transit is that to save money in transit time its BEST for the driver to use the TOLL freeway and you must pay for the TOLL in addition to the taxi fare, however in the long run it’s still faster than using the buses that are available.

If I was arriving mid day during the week I would consider other cheaper options to get into the city because of traffic congestion but during off hours this proved to be a fast and efficient way to get to my accommodation. Nowadays the airport is served by a sky train to move you to the downtown area of Bangkok so the train might be a better option for you although I like the idea of hopping into a taxi.

If you use the taxis on the MAIN floor Arrivals level you can negotiate a fixed rate but it will not be metered and it’s MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE so BEWARE of this….CHEAPER and METERED taxis are to be found on the ground floor level below ARRIVALS…take the elevator or escalator down and walk to door 8.