Thailand – The Rules of The Tuk Tuk Drivers
I love Tuk Tuks. They’re so much fun. In Lonely Planet they are totally slated but they are definitely an experience that you need to do at some point when you’re traveling through Thailand. It is important to understand the rules of the Tuk Tuk game because if you don’t you will get totally ripped off. I wrote a post about improving your negotiatings skills a little while ago and a lot of the same rules apply here but it definitely helps to know how they’re going to operate so you can have the best chance to get a good deal.
Firstly, if you’re in a hurry don’t bother getting a Tuk Tuk. You’re just wasting your time. True they can cut through traffic much more easily than a taxi but the driver will likely try to charge you insane amounts of money. Getting good deals in Tuk Tuks takes time. Get in a Metered Taxi and make sure they put the meter on. You won’t get a terrible deal.
If you’ve already got a metered taxi you probably know that the minimum fare is 35 Baht. This will get you quite some distance so be aware of this. I’ll typically start my negotiations at this price if I want to take a short journey.
You should be aware that Tuk Tuk drivers will tell you that they get gas for taking you to various shops. I don’t know if this is true. They tell you that they don’t get a commission on anything you buy but I find that very hard to believe. I just assume that they do get a commission. A Tuk Tuk will usually take around 100 Baht of fuel to be filled. Factor that into your negotiations.
The deal with these shops is you go for 10 minutes and take a look around. If you don’t buy anything you don’t buy anything. Often these places are high pressure sell environments. Especially the tailors. I actually bought a suit from Ram Fashion, a tailor I was introduced to by my tuk tuk driver. My suit was lush and exactly what I wanted. I managed to negotiate them down to half price on that too. I like these guys and will likely make them my tailor in the future. The quality is excellent.
If you’ve got a lot to do, it can be worth negotiating with your driver and using these visits to shops as a bargaining chip for you.
For three shop visits, I was able to get a tuk tuk for 4 hours and paid 10 Baht. It’s not that difficult to shrug off salesmen if you don’t want anything. 10 minutes can be a long time in a shop where everyone is trying to sell you something but at the end of the day, just enjoy the chilly air conditioning that they inevitably will have in these shops.
So here’s what you’ve got to negotiate with:
Money (obviously), trips to shops for gas tokens, commission on purchases from these shops.
If I bought something in a shop, I would make sure that I pay no more than 30 Baht for a ride in a Tuk Tuk. If it’s a short journey, example from Khao San Road to Hua Lamphong Station, I would expect a 30 Baht ride for simply stopping at a shop for 10 minutes.
Remember, no matter what they tell you, they can always do it for a cheaper price. Decide on the price you want to pay beforehand and make sure you don’t pay any more than that. There are other ways to bargain with the drivers apart from money. Make the most of them. Trade trips to shops for extra miles in the Tuk Tuk. Don’t be afraid to drive down the price because these guys are businessmen and they are sharks. They are looking to take every single penny that they can from you. Treat them with no mercy because they will not treat you with any.
If all else fails, just give them what you think is fair and walk off. They don’t like that.