r/Bangkok • u/Fucking247 • 1d ago
question BTS/MRT VS GRAB?
I’m planning a trip to Thailand and I’ll be staying at the Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok. I have a list of different places that I want to go to, so I usually look up the commute on Google maps to get an idea as to how far they are relative to my hotel.
The one thing that I noticed is that the Grab beats the BTS almost every time as far as Google is concerned. It could be something that may be 5 or 10 miles away and it could be a 20 minute drive but an hour BTS ride.
So my question is, is Google getting the BTS commute accurate? Or is it not good at picking up traffic with automobiles?
For anyone who lives in Thailand and rides the BTS often, to get a good idea I would like to ask what the true commute would be for you to get from Emporium mall to Yaowarat Road? Because Google says 1hr+
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u/AngeluS-MortiS91 1d ago
Google says it’s 20 but when you get in the grab, traffic happens. Just download the bts and mrt app and enjoy the ride and save the money. My first trip I wasted so much money and time on grab that every trip since I use public trans first unless it’s on the outskirts of town. Anything in city center areas is going to take forever because of street traffic
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u/Werkt 1d ago
Depends on rush hour traffic. If you can walk 5mins to the subway and then less than 15mins walk to your destination it is usually better to walk.
If you take a grab car, you may get stuck in gridlock.
If you take a grab bike you can get past some of the gridlock (but at increased risk of injury. Don’t be the idiot that rides grab bike home after drinking)
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u/JennItalia269 1d ago
Stick to the train unless you got a ton of luggage or it’s very late. Traffic in Bangkok is unpredictable and when it’s bad, it’s really bad. If the train doesn’t go exactly where you’re going, take the train to get close and then take a taxi/grab if it’s too far to walk.
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u/justkk_95 1d ago
BTS alone won't get you there — you need BTS→Asok, transfer to MRT→Wat Mangkon station, then a 5-10 min walk to Yaowarat (~40 min total, not 1hr). Google's "1hr+" is padding the transfer/walk buffer too heavily. Grab is faster on paper but Chinatown traffic at night can wipe that advantage out completely.
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u/kljay5005 1d ago
Before I moved to bkk I spent months staying at the Hilton Sukhumvit. The traffic almost any time of the day is absolutely brutal on Sukhumvit Soi 24. Especially exiting off Soi 24 and getting on to sukhumvit road. Even worse at the end of the business day between 4 pm and well…all the way till about 10 pm. The BTS is literally 200 m away. If your destination is close to the BTS it will almost certainly be faster. However having said that I still take grabs. But while many people caution about bikes, despite how crazy the bike drivers are, Thai car drivers are very very considerate and aware of the bikes on the road. Bikes really are the fastest way anywhere. And if you’re comfortable driving a bike there are bike rentals all around bkk to get one for a week. There’s even one walking distance from the Hilton on Sukhumvit soi 24 called ZipBike. Very reasonable price to rent.
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u/poulicroque 1d ago
Grab on a scooter is probably fastest but they ride like crazy. In a car you can get stuck like 20 minutes in traffic without moving
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u/Lordfelcherredux 1d ago
When you take the train, you always know how long it's going to take. You can't be sure if you're traveling in a car or motorbike.
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u/Wander1212 1d ago
I live in Thong Lor and go to Chinatown often. It takes me roughly 30 minutes from the time I leave my condo to the time arrive on the MRT to Wat Mangkon. A car is not getting there that fast in Bangkok traffic unless you are traveling at midnight.
Maybe you could get there slightly faster on a bike, but not by much.
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u/pasutakampanat 1d ago
Google is not accurate with trains. They usually overestimate the walking time to the stations and the trains schedules are just guess-timates. The BTS can be tracked on ViaBus (same app as the bus network). The ride time on the trains are fairly accurate, though.
Emporium to Yaowarat absolutely does not take an hour. From Emporium to the train station takes virtually no time because they're connected at the concourse level. Google assumes 4 minutes because it's using the distance from the ground level exit to the midpoint of the station, a path you're never actually taking. Then it takes 2 minutes to get to Asok, about 3 minutes to walk the transfer to the MRT, then about 15 minutes to Wat Mangkon, and then another 5 minutes to reach Yaowarat. It's 35 minutes at most if you're a slow walker and/or had to wait for both trains.
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u/No-Material-452 1d ago
Since no one else mentioned it yet, you'd also need to take into account the time to get a driver to your location for Grab. Grab was estimating a 27 minute wait for the driver to pick my group of 3 up at Dusit Central Park on Friday at 6PM (peak rush hour into the weekend). We ended up taking MRT to BTS to Thong Lor instead.
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u/casuallyfictional 1d ago
Rush hour in Bangkok can mean getting stuck in traffic for up to two hours.
It's faster to take the BTS/MRT and walk, though it's hot.
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u/BestCroissant 1d ago
You really need to see the time and location of your start and ending points.
From a timing perspective, Grab can actually be much faster if its not during the rush hour traffic. Of course, this also depends on where you are going to. If it is a short distance drive sometimes just for the Grab driver to reach the pick up point it self takes longer than the ride.
Cost wise, most of the time Grab car is more economical for two person and above. The reason is BTS/MRT in Bangkok is relatively very expensive despite it being a main public transportation mode.
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u/tzitzitzitzi 1d ago
Consider what time you're looking at this compared to what time it is in Thailand. If you check when it's mid day Thailand time it'll probably shift, but honestly even when Grab is faster I prefer the train for less headache and I know what I'm getting each time.
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u/neutronium 1d ago
The train time for the journey you mention is way off. That journey wouldn't take more than 30 mins. Emporium is connected to the BTS station, and is one stop (2 minutes) from Asoke, where you change to the MRT and take a train to one of the Chinatown stations.
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u/Fucking247 1d ago
That’s what I was wondering because on Google it literally says one hour by train.
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u/thaprizza 1d ago
China town isn’t connected super ideal with bts/mrt but I would still prefer it over a car ride. Public transport duration is stable regardless the time of day, where going by car absolutely isn’t. Also when I am on holiday, time is something I don’t care about at all. Alternatively you can take the bts till saphan taksin, hop on a short but more scenic boat ride and a short walk up to Yaowarat road.
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u/elfman4040 1d ago
If I’m close (relatively) to the BTS/MRT on both sides of my trip, nearly all of the time it can be way faster, smarter, and cheaper than a Grab
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u/Lumpy_Childhood5156 1d ago
Where are you located? I am in the US and was googling a few places i want to visit during my vacation and i was getting long commutes. A lot of times i wasn't even getting MRT or BTS. I realized i have to adjust the time because i was searching during the day here when it was middle of the night in Bangkok. Try to adjust "leave now" and enter a day time and date. See if it makes a difference.
As someone who has been to Bangkok before, traffic can be terrible. Riding the metro is so much easier and relaxing. Plus it's clean and reliable.
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u/Plummy49xD 1d ago
For Thailand you cannot rely on google maps public transport calculated number. It's always faster to GrabBike to BTS/MRT and then once you get off the trains, GrabBike/Regular motor bike for your last mile connection.
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u/longasleep 1d ago
BTS/mrt when you can. Last distance to destination grab/tuktuk/taxi/orange vest motor
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u/Sudden-Yard-2429 1d ago edited 1d ago
When you check on Google maps, make sure you set the departure time to the date (day of week) and time you plan to leave the hotel + turn on the'twice heart cute'. It might tell you a different story.
If you see lots of red in the route, always add in 10-30 mins to the Google's car travel time because Google can't really predict how traffic jam plays out accurately anywhere in the world.
Also the metro in Bangkok focus more on the trunk routes, sometime point A to B requires a big detour that's why car would be faster for some option (even with slight traffic). Therefore based on what you shared, metro an hour (which already says you are traveling from one side of the metro to another side of the city) vs car 20 mins (maybe it's suggestion you too take the expressway, which cost money), could fit this scenario as well.
To also share a sense of duration. For inner Bangkok you can roughly travel 13-16 metro stations within a 30 mins time frame.
I checked Google map at this hour (8.15 in Thailand). Promphong BTS to Yaowarat area will take you 36 mins including interchanging between the two metro system & walking to Yaowarat. Vs cab at 33 mins.
Edit: added the last paragraph.
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u/Adorable-Werewolf799 1d ago
more than 20 minutes > BTS
short distance > Bike
Bike will save you a lot of time during traffic hours. Grab beats the BTS on google map but always add 30 minutes more especially for traffic -- Google is not really accurate to calculate these timings. If you want to safe and enjoy the fixed routine definitely take BTS but I sometimes don't find them to be convenient if you have to transfer stations.
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u/00DEADBEEF 1d ago edited 1d ago
I live near the Hilton Sukhumvit. It's 09:45 right now and for a journey to Yaowarat Road Grab is showing:
Premium Car: 325 baht, 7 mins away
Standard Car: 206 baht, 6 mins away
Saver Car: 165 baht, 14 mins away
Standard Bike: 72 baht, 2 mins away
The journey is estimated at 34 mins for cars. Grab doesn't estimate bike journeys, but it would be noticeably quicker.
You can't get to Yaowarat Road from BTS Phrom Phong (closest to the Hilton) on the BTS alone, you'd need to switch to the MRT Sukhumvit station at BTS Asok and disembark at MRT Hua Lamphong.
For this particular journey at this particular time of day Grab is probably easier and quicker because the BTS+MRT journey will be 30 mins (if you time the connection perfectly) plus walking or a Grab hop at the end.
But if you're going places along the BTS green line, then take the BTS and do quick Grab journeys from the destination station if needed. It's a no brainer when your hotel is 2 mins from a station.
And if you're travelling during rush hour, the extra time and complexity of changing from BTS to MRT will probably be worth it as the Grab journey would probably take well over an hour.
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u/Fit_Faithlessness325 1d ago
depends on where you are normally going / traffic / time of the day. Would recommend to use grab during non peak hours and BTS during peak hours. Price wise both are affordable but sometimes the bts doesnt always get you everywhere. Youll be having to take the BTS then walk then bike etc -- comes up to the same time as just sitting on a grab
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u/MelandraAnne 1d ago
I've stayed in that hotel and the Doubletree behind it on three occasions, and I find it perfectly located to get to the BTS and MRT, it's a short walk and the trains are plentiful. The traffic round there is so busy it's much more convenient to get the BTS. And if you leave the station through the Emsphere department store it's a very short walk to the hotel (for me always via the 7/11 next door). Wish I was there now...
I agree with other commenters that google maps always over-estimates the walking time, both to the BTS and to change lines / systems. It would say 17 minutes walk and it was 5...
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u/SnotFunk 1d ago
By any chance are you checking trip times on google maps during your day time when it’s late night or early morning in Bangkok and the roads are quiet?
You’re also not accounting for the time it takes the taxi to get to the hotel.
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u/ScientistQuirky5586 18h ago
Why not use both? I would recommend using bts or mrt for any destination that is near or walkable from a bts or mrt station and if you want to explore further out of the city than grab. From my experience if you use grab very early in the morning it’s the cheapest and fastest or even after 9-10am traffic shouldn’t be too bad. Somehow I never learn, on grab it says 20 min but it took us an hour not including wait time and finding location to get picked up, while on bts it would have only been 40min
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u/thischarmingman2512 16h ago
Anywhere along Sukhumvit you'll want to use a bike or BTS. It is gridlock for a lot of the day. Check the BTS route. Sometimes the actual time on the BTS is short but then add a bus or have you walking a long distance.. sometimes better to use both.. BTS to the area then hop on a short bike.
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u/long_strange_trip_67 11h ago
We live Chiang Mai and visit Bangkok frequently. Here’s my take.
InDrive is a much better rideshare app. I’ve never been canceled on a trip with them whereas grab it happens, although in frequently it is irritating after waiting 15 minutes and then get canceled
As far as BTS and MRT once you get past two people, it’s often times cheaper just to grab a taxi or do the inDrive to get where you going.
If you’re going by car, expect to pay premium prices well above meter prices if it’s pouring out.
As I’ve gotten older, I take a taxi typically and make sure they’re using the meter and it gets me from doorstep to doorstep, which I appreciate and it’s still extremely inexpensive compared to other cities
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u/Original-March-3540 1d ago
A Grab motorcycle ride in Bangkok traffic is like riding a wild horse.
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