--- title: "Getting Around Bangkok: BTS, MRT and Boat Fares in 2026" description: "Bangkok transport fares as of September 2026: BTS, MRT, Airport Rail Link, Red Lines, river and canal boats, taxis and tuk-tuks in one cheat-sheet table,…" url: https://bestofthailand.org/getting-around locale: en --- # Getting Around Bangkok: BTS, MRT and Boat Fares in 2026 Twelve ways to move around Bangkok, one table: what each one costs this September, how you pay for it, when it runs, and which trip it actually wins. Last verified: 4 September 2026. Sources and the full verification note are at the bottom of this page. | System | Fare (2026) | How to pay | Hours | Best for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | BTS Skytrain (Sukhumvit + Silom lines) | 17–59 baht single journey, by distance | Rabbit card or single-journey token (cash). No bank-card tap yet. | ~05:15–00:30 | Siam, Sukhumvit, Silom/Sala Daeng, Chatuchak, Ari | | MRT Blue + Purple Lines | Blue 17–44 baht · Purple 14–42 baht | Tap any EMV contactless bank card (Visa/Mastercard/UnionPay), or a token. | ~05:30–24:00 | Chinatown, Old City, Hua Lamphong, Chatuchak Park, Nonthaburi | | MRT Yellow + Pink monorails | 15–45 baht single journey, by distance | Same EMV bank card as Blue/Purple — one tap-in works across all four MRT lines. | ~05:30–24:00 | Lat Phrao–Samrong (Yellow), Nonthaburi–Min Buri (Pink) — the eastern/northern suburbs | | Airport Rail Link (ARL) | 15–45 baht by distance (Suvarnabhumi–Phaya Thai 45 baht) | EMV bank card at marked gates, ARL stored-value card, or a token. | ~06:00–23:51 | Suvarnabhumi ↔ city, transferring to BTS at Phaya Thai or MRT at Makkasan | | SRT Red Lines (Dark: Rangsit · Light: Taling Chan) | 12–42 baht by distance | EMV bank card (shares the 40 baht/day cap with the Purple Line, through 30 Nov 2026). | ~05:00–24:00 | Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) interchange, Don Mueang airport link | | Chao Phraya Express Boat | 17 baht (orange flag) · 22–23 baht (yellow flag) · 40 baht/150 baht day pass (tourist blue flag) | Cash at the pier booth or on board. | Orange: weekday rush hour only. Yellow: most of the day, every day. Tourist boat 08:30–19:40. | Riverside temples (Wat Arun, Wat Pho), Icon Siam, avoiding road traffic entirely | | Khlong Saen Saep canal boat | 16–26 baht by distance | Cash/token collected on board. | ~05:30–20:30 weekdays, ~05:30–19:00 weekends | Pratunam, Platinum Fashion Mall, cutting straight across gridlocked Ratchaprasong/Sukhumvit | | City bus (BMTA) | 8–9.5 baht (non-aircon) · 11–32 baht (aircon), by distance | Cash to the conductor; Rabbit accepted on some routes. | Most routes ~05:00–23:00; a handful run 24 hours | Routes the rail network doesn't reach, at the lowest fare on this list | | Taxi (metered) | 35 baht flag-fall (covers 1st km), ≈55 baht/5km, ≈80 baht/10km | Cash; insist on the meter. | 24/7 | Groups, luggage, late night, door-to-door with no transfer | | Grab / Bolt | App-quoted, shown before booking — close to a metered taxi plus any surge | In-app card or cash. | 24/7 | A fixed price you see before you commit, no language barrier, no meter refusal | | Tuk-tuk | No meter — negotiated, commonly 100–200 baht for a short central hop | Cash, agreed before boarding. | Evenings and tourist zones mostly | The novelty ride itself, not the cheapest way to get anywhere | | Motorbike taxi (win) | ≈10–20 baht for a short soi hop, rarely over 100 baht | Cash, negotiated or off a Thai-language fare board at the rank. | Daytime mostly; some ranks run later | Beating gridlock on the last stretch from a BTS/MRT station down a soi | Fares change by government notice, not by season — the MRT Blue Line's ceiling dropped from 45 to 44 baht on 3 July 2026, for example. Treat every figure above as indicative and re-check before a big group trip. ## Which card do I need ### Rabbit card Works on: BTS (Sukhumvit + Silom lines), the Gold Line, and BRT 200 baht to buy (100 baht non-refundable card fee + 100 baht stored value), topped up with cash at any BTS counter or machine. As of September 2026, BTS still doesn't take a bank card at the gate, so this is the one card a BTS-heavy trip still needs. ### Contactless bank card (EMV — Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay) Works on: MRT Blue, Purple, Yellow and Pink; the Airport Rail Link Tap the card you already own directly at the gate — no stored-value card to buy. Since 1 June 2026 one EMV tap works across all four MRT lines, and on the Purple + Red Lines it also gets you the 40-baht/day fare cap automatically (no registration, capped through 30 November 2026 as things stand). It does not yet work on BTS. ### MRT / Mangmoom stored-value card Works on: Formerly MRT Blue + Purple Largely retired: old MRT and MRT Plus cards stopped topping up on 1 April 2026 and could only be used to exit until 31 May 2026. Don't buy one — tap a bank card instead. ### Single-journey tokens Works on: Every line No card needed, sold at machines for exact cash, but queueing at a machine for every ride adds up if you're moving around a lot in one day. ### The 20-baht flat fare (Tang Rat app) Works on: Nothing a tourist can use A government subsidy that caps any trip across BTS, MRT, ARL and the Red Lines at 20 baht — for Thai nationals only, who register a national ID and a linked travel card through the "Tang Rat" app. Foreigners, including long-term residents, are explicitly excluded and pay the standard fares in the table above. Don't plan around it. The practical combination for a one- or two-week trip: one Rabbit card for the BTS, and the contactless bank card already in your wallet for everything else. That covers the whole electric network without carrying three stored-value cards for three operators. ## Trains, line by line ### BTS Skytrain — Sukhumvit and Silom lines The elevated Green Line splits into two: the Sukhumvit Line running from Khu Khot down through Siam, Asok and Phrom Phong to Kheha, and the Silom Line running from the National Stadium through Sala Daeng to Bang Wa. The two cross at Siam, the busiest interchange on the network. Asok connects to the MRT at Sukhumvit station; Sala Daeng connects to MRT Silom. Fares run 17–59 baht by distance, paid with a Rabbit card or a single-journey token — see [our Sukhumvit district page](https://bestofthailand.org/bangkok/sukhumvit) for what's actually along this line. ### MRT Blue Line — the one for old Bangkok A loop running from Tha Phra through Hua Lamphong, Chinatown and the Old City up to Bang Sue and back around through Chatuchak Park. Wat Mangkon station puts you directly on Yaowarat Road in Chinatown; Sanam Chai is the closest MRT stop to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho; Hua Lamphong connects to the old railway station building. Fares are 17–44 baht since a 3 July 2026 revision, and every gate takes a tap of any contactless Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay card — no card purchase required. ### Purple, Yellow and Pink — the newer monorails MRT Purple runs Bang Yai to Tao Poon (14–42 baht), connecting into Blue at Tao Poon; the Yellow Line runs Lat Phrao to Samrong (15–45 baht) and the Pink Line runs Nonthaburi to Min Buri (15–45 baht), both mostly serving suburbs a tourist itinerary rarely reaches. All three tap on the same contactless bank card as Blue, and a same-card transfer between Blue and Yellow at Lat Phrao within 30 minutes carries a discount. The Purple Line also shares a 40-baht daily fare cap with the Red Line below, running through 30 November 2026 for anyone tapping in with an EMV card — no registration needed. ### Airport Rail Link The elevated City Line from Suvarnabhumi to Phaya Thai, eight stops, about 30 minutes end to end. Makkasan connects to MRT Blue at Phetchaburi; Phaya Thai connects to BTS Sukhumvit. Fares run 15–45 baht by distance — the full run to Phaya Thai is 45 baht, to Makkasan 35 baht — paid by tapping a contactless bank card, an ARL stored-value card, or buying a token. Full airport ground-transport comparison (taxi, Grab, the S1 bus) is on the [airport transport guide](https://bestofthailand.org/airport). ### SRT Red Lines Two commuter lines meeting at the Krung Thep Aphiwat (Bang Sue) mega-terminal: the Dark Red Line runs north to Don Mueang airport and on to Rangsit, the Light Red Line runs west to Taling Chan. Fares are 12–42 baht by distance — Rangsit is the 42-baht end of the line — and, like the Purple Line, a contactless bank card tap gets the 40-baht daily cap through 30 November 2026. ## Boats The Chao Phraya Express Boat runs flag-coded services up and down the river: the orange flag is the cheapest at 17 baht but only operates weekday rush hours (06:00–07:45, 15:40–18:05); the yellow flag at 22–23 baht covers most of the day, every day, including weekends, and is the one to plan around if you don't know your schedule in advance. A separate tourist (blue-flag) boat runs 08:30 to 19:40 with English-language stop announcements at the piers visitors actually use — 40 baht a single hop or 150 baht for an unlimited day pass, both discounted from the posted 45-baht and 225-baht list prices. None of these take a Rabbit card or bank tap; pay cash at the pier or on board. The Khlong Saen Saep canal boats run inland, connecting the Golden Mount/Democracy Monument area to Pratunam, and a second NIDA line into the same Pratunam pier — 16–26 baht by distance, roughly 05:30 to 20:30 on weekdays and 05:30 to 19:00 on weekends. It's the fastest way to cross the gridlocked Ratchaprasong/Pratunam area without a car, but the boats barely slow down at the pier — step on and off quickly, and expect canal-water splash on a crowded boat. ## Taxis, Grab, tuk-tuks and motorbike taxis A metered taxi starts at 35 baht for the first kilometre, running to roughly 55 baht for a 5km trip and 80 baht for 10km, at rates the Department of Land Transport last revised in January 2023. Add a flat 50-baht surcharge leaving either airport, 20 baht for a phone or app dispatch, and roughly 1.5–3 baht a minute stuck in traffic under 6km/h. Insist on the meter — a driver who refuses it or quotes a flat price instead is running the oldest scam in the city; the counter and the evidence behind it are on the [scams page](https://bestofthailand.org/scams). Grab and Bolt quote the fare in the app before you book, usually close to what the meter would show plus any surge — worth it for the fixed price and the fact that there's no meter to argue about. Decline a driver who cancels the in-app payment and asks for cash instead: it's a known pattern for dodging the platform's commission, and it costs you the app's GPS trail and refund protection if anything goes wrong. Tuk-tuks have no meter at all — a short hop in a tourist area commonly runs 100–200 baht, agreed (in Thai baht, specifically) before you sit down, and the price only goes up for foreign faces. Motorbike taxis (orange-vested drivers waiting at ranks near BTS/MRT exits) are the fastest way to cover the last stretch down a soi the trains and taxis can't reach — a short hop runs roughly 10–20 baht, rarely more than 100 baht, negotiated before you get on. Both are faster than a car in gridlock and both carry more injury risk than any option above; see the [safety page](https://bestofthailand.org/safety) for the road-accident numbers behind that trade-off. For everything currency-related on top of fares — ATM fees, exchange booths, what a taxi driver does with a 1,000-baht note at night — see the [money guide](https://bestofthailand.org/currency). Planning stops by neighbourhood rather than by line is often faster in this city; the [district hub](https://bestofthailand.org/bangkok) and the [day-by-day itineraries](https://bestofthailand.org/itinerary) both route around the worst transfers. ## Frequently asked questions **Can tourists use Bangkok's 20-baht flat fare?** No. The 20-baht cap that covers BTS, MRT, the Airport Rail Link and both Red Lines is a Thai-government subsidy for Thai nationals only — it requires registering a national ID card and a linked travel card through the "Tang Rat" app, and foreigners (including long-term residents) are explicitly excluded. Tourists pay the standard distance-based fares in the table above: 17–59 baht on BTS, 14–45 baht across the four MRT lines, 15–45 baht on the Airport Rail Link. **Do I need a Rabbit card, an MRT card, or can I just tap my bank card?** As of September 2026, tap a contactless bank card (Visa, Mastercard or UnionPay) directly at the gate for MRT Blue, Purple, Yellow, Pink and the Airport Rail Link — one card works across all four MRT lines since 1 June 2026. BTS still doesn't accept bank-card taps, so a 200-baht Rabbit card (100 baht card fee, 100 baht starting value) is the one purchase a BTS-heavy trip needs. A separate MRT stored-value card is no longer worth buying: the old cards stopped topping up on 1 April 2026. **What's the fastest way to Chinatown or the Old City by train?** MRT Blue Line to Wat Mangkon station puts you in Chinatown on Yaowarat Road; Sanam Chai station is the closest MRT stop to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. From Sukhumvit, that means BTS to Asok, transfer to MRT at the connected Sukhumvit/Phetchaburi interchange, then Blue Line to Wat Mangkon — commuters on r/Bangkok clocked the whole trip at roughly 40 minutes against Google's padded 1-hour-plus car estimate. **How much should a Bangkok taxi cost, and how do I avoid the meter scam?** The meter starts at 35 baht (covers the first kilometre), running to roughly 55 baht for 5km and 80 baht for 10km, plus a flat 50-baht surcharge from either airport and a 20-baht surcharge for a phone/app dispatch — rates last revised by the Department of Land Transport in January 2023. If a driver refuses the meter or quotes a flat price instead, get out and take another cab or a Grab; the /scams page has the full pattern and counter. **Are the BTS and MRT worth it, or is Grab faster?** On an August 2026 r/Thailand thread (102 comments), Bangkok residents split on this: several called train fares "outstandingly expensive" for what you get, while others pointed out that a taxi only undercuts the BTS/MRT once you're travelling as a group of three or more. Nobody in the thread disputed the trains' predictability — a separate 38-comment r/Bangkok thread the same month concluded the same way: Google Maps often overestimates train time and underestimates how bad Bangkok traffic gets for a Grab car. **What's the cheapest way across the Chao Phraya River?** The orange-flag Chao Phraya Express Boat is 17 baht but runs weekday rush hours only (06:00–07:45 and 15:40–18:05); the yellow flag at 22–23 baht runs most of the day, every day, and is the practical default. The tourist (blue-flag) boat costs more — 40 baht a hop or 150 baht for an unlimited day pass — but stops at the piers tourists actually use, with announcements in English, 08:30 to 19:40. ## Sources and verification Last verified 4 September 2026. Fare figures come from the operators and regulators below, cross-checked against each other where an official fare calculator wouldn't return numbers to an automated check (noted per source). The BTS's top single fare is the least certain figure on this page — secondary sources put it anywhere from 59 to 65 baht; re-check at a station before relying on it for a tight budget. Reddit mentions of the BTS, MRT, Rabbit card or the 20-baht fare ran to 713 comments across 38 threads on r/Bangkok, r/Thailand and r/ThailandTourism in August 2026 (per our local archive of those three English-language subreddits) — used here only to show where locals and tourists actually disagree, not as a fare source. Two threads carried the real split: a 102-comment r/Thailand thread where residents argued over whether train fares are overpriced, and a 38-comment r/Bangkok thread comparing BTS/MRT travel time against Grab. - BTS Skytrain — official site — [https://www.bts.co.th](https://www.bts.co.th) (Route map and fare structure; the live fare calculator is JS-rendered and didn't return figures to an automated check, so the BTS range here is cross-verified against several independent secondary sources instead.) - BEM (Bangkok Expressway and Metro) — MRT Blue + Purple operator — [https://metro.bemplc.co.th](https://metro.bemplc.co.th) (MRT card and EMV information.) - Thai PBS Verify — MRT Blue Line fare fact-check — [https://www.thaipbs.or.th/verify/en/content/13302](https://www.thaipbs.or.th/verify/en/content/13302) (Confirmed the 17–44 baht Blue Line fare directly with the MRTA, effective 3 July 2026, published in the Royal Gazette 26 May 2026.) - SRTET (SRT Electric Train Co.) — Airport Rail Link / Red Line operator — [https://www.srtet.co.th](https://www.srtet.co.th) (Fares and operating hours for the Airport Rail Link and both Red Lines.) - Department of Land Transport (DLT) — [https://www.dlt.go.th](https://www.dlt.go.th) (Public taxi meter rules; the current flag-fall and per-km bands date to the January 2023 revision, the first change in eight years.) - Nation Thailand — 20-baht flat fare and EMV rollout coverage — [https://www.nationthailand.com](https://www.nationthailand.com) (Registration rules for the Thai-nationals-only Tang Rat scheme, the Purple+Red 40-baht daily EMV cap, and the June 2026 MRT EMV cutover.) Best of Thailand https://bestofthailand.org/getting-around Scan or type the address for opening hours, phone numbers and the map.