Sister has gone home after her visit, all went well, thank you to everyone in the queue slip thread. One thing she asked me that I realised I could not answer properly, despite all my years up here.
She took a taxi on her own from Silom to near Chatuchak one afternoon and the driver said "expressway?" as they pulled off. She said yes because she did not know what else to say, then he asked her for money at a booth and she panicked, thinking it was a scam. It was not much. But should she have said yes? How do you decide? And is it normal to hand it over at the booth rather than at the end?
Normal. Passenger pays the toll, you hand it over at the booth as you go through. It is not added to the meter, it is separate cash at the moment you pass. Your sister did nothing wrong.
I always ask the driver "rot tit mai?", is the traffic bad. If he says yes, expressway. If it's late at night or a short trip, no point, the normal road is fine.
#4September 27, 2026, 9:35 am Good question, and your sister handled it exactly right. When the driver asks "expressway?", he is asking whether you want to pay the toll to use the elevated road. It is your decision, because it is your money, and that is why he asks at the start instead of just driving on it.
How a driver thinks about it. On a long cross city trip in the afternoon, like Silom to Chatuchak, the expressway can save a lot of time, sometimes half an hour or more, and because the meter also charges a little for time stuck in traffic, it can even make the meter lower. On a short trip, at night, or when the expressway itself is jammed, it saves nothing and you pay the toll for no reason. Somchai's question is the right one. Ask the driver if the road is bad, and most will tell you honestly.
How it works at the booth. The toll is not on the meter. At each toll gate the driver will ask you for the money, and you hand it over in cash, which is why small notes help. Some longer trips go through two gates, so do not be surprised by a second one. At the end you pay the meter, plus nothing else, unless the taxi came from an airport queue, which adds the 50 baht surcharge. If a driver tries to add the toll again at the end after you already paid at the booth, that is not right, and you can say so.
All the meter rules, including the surcharge and what to do when a driver will not use the meter, are in Bangkok taxis.
Wichai Thongchai said:
it can even make the meter lower
I had never thought of that. Ten years here and I always assumed it was purely a tourist add on. Will pass all this on to her for next time.
Late to this but one add: on my last couple of app rides the toll got added to the fare in the app afterwards instead of me handing cash over at the booth. Threw me the first time, I was waiting to pay and the driver just waved me through. Check the receipt in the app if you are not sure.
