Songthaew

A city songthaew in Udon Thani, Thailand

Hino Songthaew (truck bus)

A songthaew (Malay: dua baris; Thai สองแถว, literally "two rows"; Lao: ສອງແຖວ [sɔ̌ːŋtʰíw]) is a passenger vehicle in Thailand and Laos adapted from a pick-up or a larger truck and used as a share taxi or bus.

Overview

The songthaew takes its name from the two bench seats fixed along either side of the back of the truck; in some vehicles a third bench is put down the middle of the seating area. Additionally a roof is fitted over the rear of the vehicle, to which curtains and plastic sheeting to keep out rain may be attached. Some vehicles have roofs high enough to accommodate standing passengers within the vehicle. More typically, standing passengers occupy a platform attached to the rear.

Those in Thailand were known to English-speaking travelers as a baht bus, from the days when the usual fare was one baht.

The Isuzu Faster and Toyota Hilux are example models of songthaew found in Thailand.

Uses

Songthaews are used both within towns and cities and for longer routes between towns and villages. Those within towns are converted from pick-up trucks and usually travel fixed routes for a set fare, but in some cases (as in Chiang Mai) they are used as shared taxis for passengers traveling in roughly the same direction.

Vehicles on longer routes may be converted from larger trucks for about forty passengers.

See also

• Transport in Thailand
• Truck bus
• Pickup truck
• Tuk tuk

Gallery

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  A medium-sized inter-village songthaew

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  A songthaew loaded with young students on the way home from school. Amphoe Kantharalak (Jan 2005)

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  Medium-sized Hino songthaew (Truck bus), Sakon Nakhon