How to make sure that you get off at the correct bus stop in Thailand?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 26 Jul, 2023
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As of July 2017, many buses (including the non-air-conditioned ones) in Bangkok have a television installed in the front. Though the font size is small, you can see the name of the next stop in Thai and English from anywhere in the front half of the bus.
I have read that they will install the television with a ticket machine that supports the subway/skytrain cards by the end of 2017.
Some of the buses have conductress. Sometimes I ask the conductress to remind me to get off at the right place. And sometimes I ask young people nearby if there is one. Thai people are friendly. They always help me and give me the direction.
Notice that the main thoroughfares in Bangkok are all called Thanon something (where Thanon is sometimes anglicised as Road), and they all have small streets, often dead ends, sprouting off them all the way along, which are called Soi something (anglicised as Something Alley), and they are usually also numbered sequentially along the Thanon, with odd Soi numbers along one side of the Thanon and even Soi numbers on the other. It’s not quite as regular as Manhattan’s streets and avenues, but it’s half way there!
So let’s say you’re looking for Sukhumvit Soi 57, i.e. the 57th side street off Sukhumvit Road. Jump on a bus that goes along Thanon Sukhumvit and look out for numbered Soi signs. You notice Soi 30, so you know you need to look out of the opposite side of the bus for the odd numbers. Here’s the blue sign that tells you you’re at Sukhumvit Soi 53, so hop off at the next stop and you won’t have far to walk.
Enjoy Bangkok!
Some possibilities:
- Count blocks instead of stops.
- How good are the buses at keeping to a schedule? Use the original mobile device, the one on your wrist.
- Find out the latitude and longitude of your destination, then use a (not necessarily phone-based) GPS.
- Look for numbers, rather than words, on signs. (A bit of pre-research with the “street view” on Google Maps might help.) All I can say is, my God, Manhattan has the right idea: it’s a shame that not literally every other place with roads follows it!
Write the following phrase in Thai script on a piece of paper:
“Please tell me when when we reach < insert destination >“
Then show this piece of paper to the conductor/driver when paying your fare.
The phrase in Thai script is: รบกวนบอกผมลงรถถ้าถึง < insert destination here > แล้ว
Example, if you are going to ‘Sukhumvit Rd’ you would write:
รบกวนบอกผมลงรถถ้าถึง ถนนสุขุมวิท แล้ว
ถนนสุขุมวิท being Sukhumvit Rd
My advice is to print this phrase in large font(for the long sighted as many Thais don’t wear glasses even if they need) or store on your phone, then just insert the destination name for each journey.
If you feel brave you can try to pronounce it, here are the Thai phonetics in Latin alphabet:
róp guan bòk pŏm long rót tâa tĕung < insert destination here > láew
Be sure to research the tonal markings shown above the letters to ensure proper pronunciation …
- In an emergency, how do I find and share my position?
- What is the easiest place to cross the US Rocky Mountains, going to Oregon, in a large truck?
Even when I can read signs, it’s not always easy to navigate public transport. [Try the New York subway system, although there may be announcements they are not always intelligible. Add in a few service alterations (The downtown F will be running on the Q) and all kind of fun may ensue ;-]
Strategies for buses in general, not just in Bangkok:
1). Research in advance. Try at least to have learned the correct pronunciation of your destination. [Note Alissa Lee’s comments that in some countries, pronunciation may be difficult, so perhaps a written text may be useful.] Identify landmarks on the route. Keep track of where you are.
2). Look out for friendly locals. Even if you don’t share a common language it’s often possible to get help. Have a good sized map to point to. If early in your journey you can make contact with someone it is often possible to get guidance.
As far as I am aware, the Public Transit Navigation option never made it back into Google Maps but Citymapper and Moovit both will happily warn you with a voice to get off the bus.
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘
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