How to Take Public Transit in Chiang Mai? Ride the RTC City Blue Bus and support public transportation in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai finally has public transportation! After years of discussion and a booming rate of development, we have the Blue Bus. It’s also being referred to as the Smart Bus because it will take you to all the popular destinations around the city. It’s also air conditioned, has free Wifi, and is wheelchair and stroller accessible.
Get yourself a day pass (information below) and hop on and off the bus as you please!Â
The Chiang Mai bus is run by a company called RTC City Bus. All buses are brand new and we recently took a ride to check it out!
Is the bus as great as it looks? Is it convenient to get around Chiang Mai?
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Read about our experience on the Chiang Mai Blue Bus below!Â
Where does the public bus in Chiang Mai take you?Â
We totally encourage you to ride the RTC bus in Chiang Mai. The more it gets used, the more likely it will gain popularity and expand into under-serviced areas.
One of the most important stops is the airport. Yes, you can now take the bus to and from the airport!
Other great places you can also take the bus to are the Chiang Mai Zoo, Thapae Gate, the Night Bazaar, and all of the shopping malls.
Here is a map of all bus stops. The routes look incredibly convenient making the RTC Bus a great option to get around Chiang Mai cheaply and easily with family in tow.
Route map for the public bus in Chiang Mai
How much does the Smart Bus cost?
The best part is it’s only 30 baht a ride and children under 13 are FREE!
There’s even a Rabbit Card that you can load up with fares and use as you please. There are day passes, monthly passes and even a special tourist pass.Â
You can purchase the passes at Central Airport Mall, Central Festival Mall, or at the RTC office on Nimmanhaemin Soi 6.
Having a Rabbit Card also grants you discounts at McDonalds, Daiso, Burger King, Swensens, and Tesco.
Check out the bus passes below.
Which is the best app to track the RTC bus in Chiang Mai?
Currently there are 2 apps available for both Android and iOS. Both offer slightly different advantages if you need to know where the nearest bus stop is and how long the wait will be until the next bus comes.
The first app is called CM Transit by RTC. This is the one recommended by RTC Chiang Mai.
What are the advantages to this transit app?
- It comes in 3 languages; English, Thai, and Chinese
- It shows the nearest bus stops to your location
- You can search for bus stops
- There are maps for all routes and bus stops
- The blue arrows show exactly where the buses are en-route
What are the disadvantages to this transit app?
- It’s a bit clunky and the app randomly closes
- Some uses complain it’s not accurate enough
The second app is called ViaBus Transit Tracking and Navigation.Â
What are the advantages to this transit app?
- It shows the nearest bus stops to your location
- You can search for bus stops
- It actually tells you the names of all the bus stops on a route
- The coloured circles with arrows show exactly where the buses are en-route
What are the disadvantages to this transit app?
- It’s only available in English
- You have to know the name of the stop you want already
- It does not load route maps specific to Chiang MaiÂ
- You must search first for the name of a bus stop and then it will show you the route maps
- Bus locations may not be accurate
Other public buses
There are actually other public bus services offered, but most visitors and expats have no idea how to use them. All the schedules and route maps are in Thai. But thanks to Chris Pirazzi, you can learn all the secrets to Chiang Mai’s lesser known public bus systems! These buses cost between 15 to 20 baht per ride and can take you to different places such as San Sai, San Kampaeng, or Hang Dong.
What’s it like to ride the public bus in Chiang Mai?!
My daughter has really been into experiencing all the modes of transport in Chiang Mai recently. After taking a songtaew she wanted to take the blue bus. So we headed to Thapae Gate to catch the RTC bus!
Our plan was simple, get on the first bus we see and ride its entire loop!
How to catch the busÂ
It wasn’t long at all before we could see a blue bus off in the distance. The bus stop was clearly marked, but there was no shade or anywhere to sit and wait. As the bus got closer, I wondered if the driver would stop. We started waving and smiling to get his attention and it worked! On the bus we got.
Pro tip! Wave to the driver to flag him down!
How to pay for a bus ticket fare
I had read online that you must have 10 baht coins only or a Rabbit Card to pay the fare. Turns out it’s much easier. The driver will accept bills, coins, and even has change, although I would still recommend you have the exact bus fare as not all drivers will have change.
An adult bus fare is only 20 baht and children under 13 ride for free 🙂
What is the RTC blue bus like?
If you’ve ever been on a western public bus before, it’s a lot like that. There are seats, and lots of standing room with hanging handles to hold onto. There is a front door and a back door to get on and off and there is air conditioning all throughout the bus. It had to be the most air conditioned bus I’ve ever been on!
It was also the emptiest bus I’ve ever seen. Funnily enough there were two other people on our bus that were also riding the bus loop just for fun.
Is the bus in Chiang Mai wheelchair accessible?
Yes! There’s a ramp at the back door that the driver will pull out for you to get on the bus. Once on the bus, there are two designated spots for wheelchairs. The bus is also stroller friendly, and if no one is on it, I’m sure you could ask politely to bring your bicycle on board too if you needed to.
How was the bus ride?
Riding the bus was great! When we got on the bus we had no idea where it would take us and that was part of the fun. After driving through much of the old city, we found ourselves heading down Canal Rd or the 121 Rd. Turns out (after checking back on this page for the route maps) we were on Route 3 Special heading to Royal Rajapruek Park.Â
Here is something you need to know! When the bus arrives at its start/end point, it will sit there until its scheduled time to depart. In our case, this was a 45 minute wait. Why so long? Well the driver only needed to stop for one passenger along the way! In the future, as more people use the RTC bus, the buses will stop more frequently making the wait at the end of the loop much less.Â
Actually the long stop couldn’t have come at a better time because it was bathroom break time! It took 30 minutes from Thapae Gate to get to Royal Rajapruek Park. Not bad considering driving would’ve taken about the same amount of time!Â
Here we had a mini-adventure and got caught in the rain! It was actually lots of fun.
Then we got back on the bus and…
We had to pay the fare again!
It’s so cheap I didn’t mind, but found that kind of odd as usually a transit fare is paid only once on the same route. Just a heads up so you know!
Does the bus driver speak English or any other languages?
Our driver was a super friendly and happy guy. He did not speak English well, but understood the essence of what we were saying and tried his best. Maybe other drivers speak more languages, but you’ll have ot ride the bus to find out!
Is the bus safe?
Our driver was clearly well trained, he never went very fast and was a great driver. The bus itself felt strong and safe.
How do you tell the bus driver to stop and let you off?
Assuming you know where you are going, simply press one of the many red buttons on the bus poles to indicate that you’d like to get off at the next stop! Alternatively, when you get on, you can tell the driver the name of the stop you’d like to get off at and he’ll remember for you and stop when he gets there.
We really had a great time on the bus, but if you plan on doing the same, we recommend you check the route first. Our route would have taken about two and half hours if we’d done the entire loop. After the park the bus took us back into the old city where I realized he still had to go to the airport! So we decided to get off and tuk tuk back to Thapae Gate where we’d parked our car.Â
Taking the RTC public bus is great for tourists!
We highly recommend the blue bus for a hop on and off tourist experience. The bus can take you to all the hot spots around Chiang Mai cheaply and conveniently. It also makes family travel so much easier!
Get out there and ride the bus 🙂
