Amongst the local expats who live in my town, of which there are many, there has been some heated debate on the common practice of baht buses or songthaew drivers charging foreigners double the local rate. The rate around Pattaya for a local is five baht but double (ten baht or the equivalent of 25 USD cents) is expected from a foreigner. To be fair, I’m not directly affected because I look Thai enough to get away with paying either. For a while, I think mostly from traveling habit (I always attempt to travel like a local, and thus usually end up paying closer to the local price) I always paid 5 baht.
To most tourists and even most expats, paying an extra five baht is nothing. If rates were to be set based on a percentage of ones income, most foreigners when compared to a local Thai who is likely to be sitting next to you on a songthaew, should pay significantly more than double the rate. Before you call me a socialist, I seem to recall a professor telling me highway speeding tickets in Sweden are based on a percentage of your income. The theory being the threat of a $100 ticket for a millionaire is of little incentive to stay within the law compared to that of a minimum wage earning individual.
Westerners just seem to have a problem with people being charged different prices. In traditional markets in Bangkok it is likely a foreigner will end up paying more. They 1) can pay more 2) their bartering skills are probably less than par and 3) they require more effort on the part of the merchant to please when compared to a local. Thus, it makes sense for the merchant to charge more. I was reading an article at the Wharton School of Business about Dynamic Pricing that reminded me of the local songthaew drivers. Could it be Chatuchak weekend market vendors and songthaew drivers are one step ahead of western businesses?
For the record, I’ve been paying 10 baht per songthaew ride for well over 2 months now.