Songthaew (red truck) Chiang Mai: how the shared taxi system works

The red songthaew (รถสองแถว, "two-bench truck") is Chiang Mai's shared-taxi backbone — a converted pickup with bench seats in the bed, running flexible routes across the city for ฿30 per person shared or ฿100-฿250 private. Once you understand the flag-down etiquette and price structure, it's the cheapest, most authentic way to get around the Old City and immediate suburbs. This guide is what we tell guests on their first morning in Chiang Mai.

What exactly is a songthaew?

A songthaew is a Toyota pickup truck (almost always a Hilux or Vigo) with two padded benches running lengthways down the truck bed, a metal roof over the back, and a rear-entry step. The cab is the driver only. The bed seats 8-12 passengers.

The word songthaew literally means "two rows" in Thai — referring to the two facing benches. They're the local equivalent of a jeepney or matatu, and they fill the role of city bus in Chiang Mai. The city has no formal bus network; songthaews are the public transport substitute that emerged organically and never got formalised.

The system has no fixed routes in the strict sense — drivers choose their direction based on demand and traffic. Most stick to consistent patterns (the major moat-perimeter loop, Nimman-Old-City, Old-City-east-side) but they'll deviate if multiple passengers are heading somewhere specific.

How do you flag one down?

Stand on the side of the road in the direction you want to go, extend your arm out at waist height, and tell the driver your destination when he pulls over. If he nods, climb in the back. If he waves, flag the next one.

The flag-down sequence in detail:

1. Position. Stand on the side of the road in the direction you want to go (your destination is forward). Pavement curbs work fine; you don't need a designated stop.
2. Signal. Extend your arm horizontally with palm down, in the direction of traffic. Don't wave or raise it high. Some songthaews will slow without a signal if they see a clearly-tourist person looking lost.
3. Verbal. When the driver slows, say your destination clearly. "Old City" / "Tha Phae Gate" / "Nimman Soi 1" / "Maya Mall" — keep it short and use the famous landmark name. Don't try to explain a soi address.
4. Confirmation. The driver will nod and gesture for you to climb in if your destination is on his route. He'll wave or shake his head if not. Don't take it personally; flag the next one.
5. Boarding. Climb in via the rear entry-step. The benches are first-come-first-served. The seats nearest the cab are best; the open-air rear has the wind and the view.
6. Pay on exit. When you arrive, press the buzzer (most songthaews have a button on the roof) or knock the cab roof to signal you want to get off. Pay through the driver's window after dismounting.

The whole process feels strange the first time. By the third ride it's intuitive.

What does the ride cost exactly?

฿30 per person for any shared ride within the Old City and immediate suburbs. ฿100-฿250 for a private charter ride across the city. After-dark fares ฿40-฿50 for shared, ฿200-฿300 for private.

The fare-confirmation tip: before you climb in, say the number you expect to pay. "Old City, ฿30?" — if the driver nods, you're confirmed at that rate. If he says anything else, that's the new rate.

The ฿30 vs ฿100+ split matters because some drivers will quote the private rate to obvious tourists hoping they don't know better. Knowing the shared rate exists and naming it upfront keeps you in the right category.

What's the right songthaew etiquette?

Pay in cash with small notes (฿20s and ฿100s ideal), don't slam the rear gate, don't put feet on the opposite bench, don't smoke. Greeting other passengers with a smile is normal.

The unwritten rules:

• Have small bills ready. A ฿1,000 note for a ฿30 fare is annoying. Carry ฿20s and ฿100s for transport.
• Don't yell at the driver. Drivers don't have a passenger view of their bed. The buzzer or roof-tap signals you want to stop. Yelling "STOP" doesn't work and feels rude.
• Make space for others. Slide toward the cab end when new passengers board. The system depends on flexibility.
• No food or drink that might spill. Coffee, ice cream, sticky food gets glares.
• Be patient with route detours. The driver may pick up other passengers along the way and detour briefly. That's the system working.
• Tip not expected. Round-up tips are uncommon and not expected. If your shared fare is ฿30, you pay ฿30.

What are the songthaew colours?

Red is Chiang Mai city default (Old City and inner suburbs). Yellow runs north to Mae Rim. White runs south toward Hang Dong and the airport. Blue runs east to San Kamphaeng. The colour suggests the route but isn't strictly enforced.

The colour-coding evolved organically. The Chiang Mai City Transport Cooperative (the loose association most drivers belong to) settled on broad colour conventions in the 1990s. The conventions have eroded somewhat — you'll see red songthaews running to Mae Rim and yellow songthaews running in the city centre. But the broad pattern still works as a starting point:

• Red: Old City + Nimman + immediate suburbs. The default city songthaew.
• Yellow: Mae Rim, Mae Sa, northern suburbs. Useful for elephant-camp routes.
• White: Hang Dong, Sanpatong, the airport zone, southwest.
• Blue: San Kamphaeng, Bo Sang, eastern suburbs.

For visitors, the red ones in the city centre cover 95% of what you'll need. The other colours matter mostly if you're heading out to a specific suburb or sanctuary.

When should you use Grab or Bolt instead?

After dark, in heavy rain, with luggage, when you need precision pickup, or when you don't have small cash. The convenience premium is worth it in those cases.

Grab and Bolt (Bolt is more common in Chiang Mai than Uber-equivalent) both operate widely in the city. The price comparison:

• Songthaew shared: ฿30 for most short rides.
• Songthaew private: ฿100-฿150 for the same ride chartered.
• Bolt/Grab: ฿80-฿150 for the same ride, with air conditioning, GPS pickup, no language barrier, and a clean car.

The premium for Bolt/Grab is small enough that it's worth it in many situations:

• Airport runs. Bolt to the airport is ฿200-฿300 and faster than negotiating with a songthaew driver.
• Rainy season afternoons. Songthaew open-back gets wet.
• Late night. Songthaews are sparse after 10pm.
• With luggage. Songthaew bed doesn't have proper luggage space.
• Group of 4 with kids. Bolt SUV at ฿250 beats two songthaews at ฿120 total.

We use both. The mix is roughly 60% songthaew, 30% Bolt/Grab, 10% walking for short city distances.

What are the scams to watch for?

Two minor scams: reverse-direction (driver detours wrong way to pad the fare) and quoted-private-fare (driver picks you up shared rate but charges private at the end). Both are mostly trivial cash-grabs.

The reverse-direction scam:

• How it works. Driver picks you up, drives the wrong direction first for a few minutes, then loops back toward your destination. You don't notice because you don't know the city.
• Cost impact. Adds 5-10 minutes and ฿20-฿50 to the fare if charter, or just wastes your time if shared.
• How to spot it. Watch your phone's map. If the route is going wrong direction for more than 30 seconds, ask the driver about it. Usually he was hoping you wouldn't notice.

The quoted-private-fare scam:

• How it works. You flag a songthaew, say "Old City ฿30 right?" The driver nods. At the end he says "actually that was private, ฿150." If you don't push back, you pay.
• How to spot it. Confirm fare verbally before boarding and ideally show small-notes when discussing fare. The driver who's planning to charge ฿150 hesitates when he sees you have exact ฿30 in hand.

Can I use songthaew for day trips outside the city?

Sometimes, but it's usually inefficient. For elephant camps, Sticky Falls, Doi Suthep — a private charter songthaew works but a guided tour or chartered minivan is usually better value.

The math on longer trips:

• Doi Suthep round-trip: Songthaew charter ฿500-฿700 (one driver, one truck, waits at the temple). Reasonable for groups of 4-6 splitting the cost, though our private Doi Suthep and Wat Pha Lat tour bundles the driving and the temple context.
• Elephant sanctuary (Mae Wang valley): Songthaew charter ฿1,200-฿1,800 round-trip. Comparable to guided-tour pricing minus the sanctuary admission, and our Karen hill tribe elephant sanctuary day includes hotel pickup either way.
• Sticky Falls: Songthaew charter ฿1,500-฿2,000 round-trip. Pricier than a guided Bua Thong sticky waterfall day-tour from us.

Where songthaew charter wins: flexible schedule, you set the pace, and for a group of 4-6 the per-person cost is competitive. Where it loses: language barrier with longer drivers, no commentary or tour-guide value, and your driver might not know the destination as well as a dedicated tour operator.

We sometimes recommend songthaew charter to backpackers on tight budgets or to small groups who want a specific custom day. For the average traveller, a proper day-tour bookable direct from us is the easier choice.

Further reading worth your time:

• Grab vs taxi vs songthaew in Chiang Mai: full transport breakdown
• Chiang Mai airport transfer guide: every option compared
• What to pack for Chiang Mai by season

External references: Chiang Mai City Municipality transport information for official municipal transport context, and TAT's Chiang Mai tourist guidance for tourist-facing transport tips. Both accessed 2026-05-17.