Scam — Taxi "no meter, fixed price"

Bangkok's metered taxis are some of the cheapest in any major Asian capital — a 30-minute trip rarely tops 200 baht. But the most common tourist rip-off is drivers refusing to use the meter, instead quoting a "fixed price" 2–4× the metered rate. Common at airports, Khao San Road, the Old Town tourist zones, big malls, and outside hotels.

How it plays out: - You wave down a taxi or one's parked outside a hotel. - You tell the destination. - Driver says "no meter" or "meter broken" or "200 baht, OK?" — for a trip that should be 80 baht on the meter. - Tourist either accepts (overpays) or argues (driver waves them away).

What to do (in order of preference):

1. Use Grab or Bolt instead. Both apps work like Uber — meter is the app, no haggling, English UI, you can pay with a card. This is the default for any tourist. Grab is more popular; Bolt sometimes cheaper. Both have arrived in 5 min in central Bangkok at any hour.
2. If you must use a street taxi, only get in after the driver agrees to use the meter. Phrase it: "meter, please" — most drivers will. If they refuse, walk to the next taxi. There's never just one.
3. At Suvarnabhumi airport, ignore the touts on the upper level offering "limousine" (they're 4× metered). Take the escalator one floor down to the public taxi queue — you take a ticket from the dispenser, queue 5–10 min, get a metered taxi. Tell the driver your destination; the meter starts at 35 baht. There's a 50 baht airport surcharge on top, plus toll fees (60–80 baht to central Sukhumvit). Total: 250–400 baht typically. The ARL is still cheaper if you're not heavy with bags.

Adjacent variants: - "Meter is broken right now, I'll use it next time" — leave the cab. - Driver agrees to meter, then takes a circuitous route. Track on Google Maps; if the route is wildly off, ask them to follow your phone's directions. - "I take you, but special rate at this hour" — there's no such thing as a legit special rate. The meter is the price. - After agreed meter ride, driver "doesn't have change" for a 1000-baht bill. Carry small bills (100s and 50s) for taxis specifically.

Tipping: rounding up to the nearest 10 baht is normal. 5–20 baht is generous for a normal ride. No expectation of US-style 15–20% tipping.

Late night (post-midnight): ARL has stopped, BTS has stopped. Grab/Bolt still work. Street taxis are the only walk-up option in some areas; meter still applies. There's a small surcharge after 10 PM (legitimate, on the meter).

When the agent should reference this: any first-day arrival flow, any Old Town day plan, any "how do I get from A to B" question where taxi is an option. The recommendation should always default to Grab/Bolt over street taxi for tourists; metered street taxi is fine if Grab isn't responding (rare).