Baht Bus driver tries ripping off tourists
Just before 10:00pm on May 17th, Pattaya police were called to the scene of an argument between some Chinese tourists and a Baht bus driver.
The incident took place on Second Road, right outside of Central Marina shopping centre.
Police arrived at the scene to find a group of Chinese tourists, 8 in total, arguing with the driver regarding the price of the taxi fare.
Police probed for answers and found out, with a little difficulty due to translation issues, that the tourists had been picked up on 3rd Road, North Pattaya. They had made their way down to Central Marina, which is estimated to be around 3 Kilometers.
No price was agreed before hand, so after arriving at the destination, the driver requested a total of 400 Baht.
The tourists were obviously not first timers and quickly realised that this was far too much for the journey. They refused to pay the requested 400 baht and offered 20 baht per person instead. This offer was refused by the driver and the argument escalated before police were eventually called.
After hearing and understanding both sides of the story, the police told both parties that a fee of 250 Baht was fair. The fee was paid and both parties went their separate ways.
Police did comment that the 400 Baht was in fact to much and stressed that it was important not to take advantage of tourists as they bring a lot of value to Pattaya.
