Please forgive the rhetorical question in the title, which I have used so that people might find this thread... I actually want to rant/impart some info on a little transaction I just saw in Soi 6 Sukhumvit.

Farang guy in front of me, with his Thai lady, flags down a tuk tuk approaching.
Farang Guy: "How much to Siam?"
Tuk Tuk Driver: "200 Baht"
Farang Guy: "OK" - and gets in with his lady!

!!!

Tuk Tuk burns down the soi only to meet the Wall of Traffic that is Sukhumvit. A few minutes later I catch up with them at the Soi 6-Sukhumvit junction, walk past them and up into Nana BTS.

So here's the rant... tourists: DON'T use tuktuks in central Bangkok! EVER! If you need to travel along Sukhumvit/Silom or to Chatuchak Market or wherever, use the BTS. It's dirt cheap - had this chap just walked a few mins to the BTS like I did and then hopped on a lovely smooth skytrain, him and his lady could've been in Siam in about five minutes in a nice airconditioned environment for a quarter of the price (or less!) than he paid. Instead he was sitting in a noisy tuktuk in no-go traffic in the day's heat, breathing in petrol fumes and probably taking nearer 20-30 mins to get to his destination. FAIL!

If you need to get from somewhere touristy away from the BTS line and onto it, DON'T take a tuktuk! Take a green & yellow meter taxi (or a hot pink one, if you're feeling flush) to the nearest BTS line. Ensure the meter is turned on when you get in, otherwise get out. Never take a taxi at a fixed price offered to you by a driver when you get in, or on the street (unless you are really, really desperate) - it will ALWAYS be more than the meter price!

Tourists in Bangkok really shouldn't need to take tuktuks, except maybe for one little ride a short distance (negotiate hard) just for the "experience" of having done so. Sorry for the rant - I needed to get it off my chest! The fewer people that pay over the odds for tuktuks or fixed price taxis that lurk on the street, the less likely we will all be hassled by drivers when walking down the street...

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My latest travels: Shikoku Pilgrimage

Tuk Tuks do have their place. Cruising down Bangkok's main roads isn't it.

My complaint is that the tourist, heaping large sums of baht on them, makes them less accessible to the people that need them. It not only hikes prices, it makes many drivers hunt down tourists.

Correct, I only use Tuk Tuks when I am on my way to a disco, most major discos give the drivers 100 Baht for bringing customers, so If getting a Tuk Tuk to a disco and they want paid off you... Go elsewhere.

I haven't used a tuk-tuk in Bangkok in 10 or 12 years! Meter taxis, when using the meter, are cheaper than tuk-tuks unless you are Thai! Besides a meter taxi has A/C to cool you off when you get stuck in traffic.

I do like the Skytrain for many situations. When you bargain the fare for a taxi or tuk-tuk you pay more! I never saw a meter on a tuk-tuk!

dew to its style of TUk Tuk which allow you to talk and ask for the fare before ,so it depends like if you are in a hurry and need to go now ,then Tuk tuk is your choice,however if you have more time just walk to find BTS,which is cheaper and faster some case.