A Guide to Phuket Buses: Thailand’s Hitchhiker Public Transit
Thoughts from a week spent riding buses in Thailand
I have been waiting at this bus stop for 45 minutes.
Well, that’s not quite right. More accurately, I have been standing on the side of a seemingly random road. Not a bus stop in sight. The only indication that a bus will come by? The 7–11 across the street. At least, that’s where a local said the “bus stop” was. Oh yeah, and my bus is orange. 7–11 & orange, got it.
The bus from Nai Yang to Phuket Town supposedly comes at the top of every hour. It’s now 11:30am. Still no bus. No one else is waiting at this “bus stop.” I am starting to have my doubts… With one last forlorn look up the road, I put a hand up to hail a taxi.
15 minutes later I am at the airport. I know there are buses there. I saw them when I landed in Phuket. Sure enough, an orange bus is waiting as I step out of the car. Success. As only the 3rd person on board, I triumphantly claimed my seat in back. Then I waited…and waited…and waited. It dawned on me, this bus didn’t have a set schedule. It only leaves when it’s full.
Welcome to Thailand.
I’ve had a lot of time to think about buses lately, mostly while waiting for them. I have come to the conclusion that the Thai bus system in Phuket is basically hitchhiking that you pay for.
Let me explain.
Buses in the U.S.
In the U.S. there are set points where a bus will always come to pick you up. Presumably cities place bus stops where they will maximize the movement of people. But crucially there are ONLY those stops. If you see the bus coming down the road, but won’t make it to the bus stop in time — well you just missed the bus. They won’t wait for you. They maintain set pick up and drop off points. This may seem trivial, but it is important.
Hitchhiking in the U.S.
On the other end of the spectrum we have hitchhiking. There are no hitchhike stops (though that sounds like a fun idea). Rather, the entire road is basically one long stop. There are no set start or end points. Wherever you feel like jumping on and jumping off is where you do it.
The other defining factor of hitchhiking is the wait time. There is absolutely no schedule.
Is a car even going to come down this road?
If it does, what are the odds it will stop to pick you up?
It’s a rare breed who hitchhike and it might be an even rarer breed who pick up hitchhikers. A good rule of thumb is to expect long wait times.
So, now for the question nobody asked:
“Hey! I wonder what would happen if we mashed together hitchhiking and public buses?”
The answer? Phuket’s bus system.
A Hitchhiker’s Bus
Imagine, if you will, a bus system that only has defined start and end points. You have 100% confidence there will be a bus at these two locations, but that’s it. For the rest of the route, instead of bus stops, we’ll use “vague destinations.”
Coming to or leaving from Karon beach? You won’t be inconvenienced by only one measly stop. No! Simply wave down the bus from anywhere along the road and it’ll stop! Just climb on. No need to pay upfront, you can do that when you decide to hop off. Just get the drivers attention at the exact spot you want to get off at. And presto, you get off at your very own personalized bus stop.
No more running to catch the bus!
No more excess walking once you get to your stop!
Nice!
Sadly, this freedom isn’t without its drawbacks. In order to have a 100% personalized bus stop model, the hitchhikers’ public transit system has to make tradeoffs. The tradeoff? No reliable timetable.
Sure, this may seem like a big problem, but many people still use the bus. Why? It’s the cheapest transportation option. In some cases, it costs only 25% as much as the next cheapest choice! So, people don’t complain about the lack of schedule. And I didn’t complain, because I need to keep to a strict budget.
But if you are worried about timeliness, you can always pay more for that. While waiting at your random spot on the side of the road, taxis and motorbikes will incessantly offer you their services.
So in the end, Phuket’s hitchhiking bus system is quixotic and at times frustrating. But it’s one of the experiences that makes Phuket unique from back home. And hey, that’s what adventures are all about.
Plus, I thought of a fun motto… “Phuket Bus — We’ll pick you up…eventually.”
