A songthaew ( th, สองแถว, , two rows, , ; lo, ສອງແຖວ, ; ms, dua baris) is a passenger vehicle in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and Laos adapted from a pick-up or a larger truck and used as a
share taxi
Share may refer to:
* Share, to make joint use of a resource (such as food, money, or space); see Sharing
* Share (finance), a stock or other financial security (such as a mutual fund)
* Share, Kwara, a town and LGA in Kwara State, Nigeria
Share ...
or
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
.
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 passenger
In urban public transport, provision is made for standing passengers, often called straphangers or standees, to rationalize operation and to provide extra capacity during rush hour.
Occurrence
On crowded rapid transit urban lines, while most tr ...
s within the vehicle. More typically, standing passengers occupy a platform attached to the rear.
In Chiang Mai and its surroundings, locals may call them ''rot si daeng'' (literally "car red" – a reference to their most common colour in the area, Thai รถสีแดง), ''rot daeng'', or sometimes ''si rot''.
The
Isuzu Faster
The Isuzu Faster is a pickup truck that was manufactured and marketed by Isuzu between 1972 and 2002 over three generations. The Faster was succeeded worldwide by Isuzu D-Max, except in North America.
First generation (1972–1980)
I ...
and
Toyota Hilux
The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...
are example models of songthaews found in Thailand.
Use
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
taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
s for passengers traveling in roughly the same direction.
Vehicles on longer routes may be converted from larger trucks for about forty passengers.
In Phuket Province, there are several Songthaew (blue wooden buses) services which connect the beach resorts with Phuket Town. The routes operate around every 30 minutes from Ranong Road in Phuket starting at around 06:00 and finishing at around 17:00 (from each end of the route). The price is typically around 50 baht single fare. The bus will stop anywhere along the route and is hailed down by waving. These include the following routes:
Routes
* Phuket Town – Choengtalay (for Bangtao Beach & Laguna Resort) – Surin Beach – Kamala his bus stops along road 4025 In Choengtalay, the bus passes by the local police station.
* Phuket – Patong
* Phuket – Kata
Future replacements
In 1990s, Thai government attempted to replace songthaews with modern minibuses. Thai Motor Corporation (THAMCO), BMW, and
Italdesign
Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A. is a design and engineering company and brand based in Moncalieri, Italy, that traces its roots to the 1968 foundation of Studi Italiani Realizzazione Prototipi S.p.A. by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani. Best k ...
cooperated for designing Italdesign Columbus as songthaew replacement. Italdesign Columbus had bodywork variations, including minibus, pick-up truck, and delivery van.
Gallery
File:Isuzu N-Series songthaew 01.jpg, A medium-sized inter-village songthaew
File:Songthaew01a.jpg, A songthaew loaded with young students on the way home from school in
Amphoe Kantharalak
Kantharalak ( th, กันทรลักษ์, ) is a district ('' amphoe'') in the southeastern part of Sisaket province, northeastern Thailand.
History
The old name of ''Kantharalak'' was ''Mueang Uthumphon Phisai'', controlled by Mueang Kh ...
File:Empty Songthaew-Sakon Nakhon.JPG, The interior of a pick-up truck songthaew in Sakon Nakhon
File:Songthaew in Sukhothai 04.jpg,
Toyota Dyna
The Toyota Dyna is a light to medium-duty cab over truck for commercial use. In the Japanese market, the Dyna is sold alongside its twin called the Toyoace. The Toyoace was a renaming of the Toyopet SKB Truck as a result of a 1956 public competi ...
Toyota Hilux
The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...
Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
Daihatsu Hijet
The is a cab over microvan and kei truck produced and sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu since 1960. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for its trucks and vans ( HiAce and Hilux), the name "Hijet" ...
Mitsubishi L200
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
in Trat province
File:Songthaew in Sukhothai 01.JPG,
Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
in
Rayong province
Rayong province ( th, ระยอง, ) is one of seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in eastern Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Chonburi, and Chanthaburi. To the south is the Gulf of Thailand.
, per capita ea ...
Isuzu Giga
The Isuzu Giga ( ja, いすゞ・ギガ) is a line of heavy-duty commercial vehicles produced by Isuzu since 1994. Outside Japan it is known as Isuzu C/E series. It was formally known as the Isuzu Heavy-Duty Truck'. Between 1994 and 2016, it wa ...
Mitsubishi L200
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
Isuzu Elf
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and ...
in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
File:Songthaew in Warin Chamrap 08.JPG,
Mitsubishi Fuso Canter
The is a line of light-duty commercial vehicles manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, part of Daimler Truck, subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz Group. The Canter is manufactured since 1963, now in its eighth generation. The Can ...
in
Ubon Ratchathani
Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/ Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the so ...
File:Songthaew in Pattaya Alcazar.JPG, Datsun 620 In Pattaya
File:Songthaew in Pathumthani 1222 1222-4.jpg,
Isuzu D-Max
The Isuzu D-Max is a pickup truck manufactured since 2002 by Isuzu Motors. A successor of the Isuzu Faster/KB, the first and second-generation model shares its platform with the Chevrolet Colorado. The third-generation model shares its plat ...
In Pathumthani
File:Songthaew Isuzu 8221 8221-7.jpg,
Isuzu Giga
The Isuzu Giga ( ja, いすゞ・ギガ) is a line of heavy-duty commercial vehicles produced by Isuzu since 1994. Outside Japan it is known as Isuzu C/E series. It was formally known as the Isuzu Heavy-Duty Truck'. Between 1994 and 2016, it wa ...
in
Samut Sakhon
Samut Sakhon ( th, สมุทรสาคร, Pronunciation is a City in Thailand, capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is a stop on the Maeklong Railway. Samut Sakhon is 48 km from Bangkok.
It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region ...
File:Songthaew Isuzu 4359 4359-108.jpg,
Isuzu NPR
The is a medium duty truck produced by Isuzu since 1959. Outside Japan it is known as N series and Q Series. The range was originally mainly available in Japan and other Asian countries. Australia was another important market for the Elf and N ...
in
Kalasin
Kalasin ( th, กาฬสินธุ์) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in northeast Thailand, the capital of Kalasin Province. As of 2015, it has a population of 34,429 It covers the whole ''tambon
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a loca ...
File:Songthaew Nissan 8543 8543-1.jpg, Nissan Big M in Samut Songkhram
File:Songthaew in Samut Prakan (5).jpg,
Toyota Hilux
The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...
Mighty-X in Samut Prakan
File:Songthaew in Chonburi (7).jpg, alt=,
Toyota Hilux
The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although the ...
Revo in
Chonburi
Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...
File:Songthaew in Nonthaburi (8).jpg, alt=,
Mazda Familia
The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004.
It was marketed as the ' ...
in
Nonthaburi
Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand.
On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...
File:Songthaew in Lampang (2).jpg, alt=,
Mitsubishi L200
The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries.
Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
in
Lampang
Lampang, also called Nakhon Lampang ( th, นครลำปาง, ) to differentiate from Lampang province, is the third largest city in northern Thailand and capital of Lampang province and the Mueang Lampang district. Traditional names for L ...
Combination bus
A combination bus, also called a truck bus or shift bus, is a purpose-built truck with a "passenger container" fulfilling the role of a bus. Such vehicles used to be common in developing countries. Alternative combination buses can be a passe ...
Tuk tuk
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
*
Jeepney
Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public transportation, public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of Transportation in the Philippines, public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their ...
*
Share taxi
Share may refer to:
* Share, to make joint use of a resource (such as food, money, or space); see Sharing
* Share (finance), a stock or other financial security (such as a mutual fund)
* Share, Kwara, a town and LGA in Kwara State, Nigeria
Share ...
*
Pesero
A pesero, combi, micro or microbús is a form of public transport, most commonly seen in Mexico City. Its name derives from the fact that in the beginning of this form of transport a flat fee of one peso was charged per ride (hence the name "peser ...
*
Dollar van
A dollar van (also known as a jitney) is a privately-owned type of bus service used to carry passengers in the United States. Dollar vans are typically modified passenger vans, and often operate in urban neighborhoods that are under-served by pu ...
Public light bus
The public light bus or minibus is a public transport service in Hong Kong. It uses minibuses to serve areas that standard Hong Kong bus lines cannot reach efficiently. The vehicles are colloquially known by the code-switch ' (Van Jái) lit ...
Hong Kong
*
Nanny van
The nanny van () or school private light bus is a kind of school bus service in Hong Kong. At its peak of popularity during the 1980s, it had become a form of "illegal" public transportation. Subsequently, due to unauthorized use of the vans, the ...