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Asongthaew (Thai:สองแถว,lit. 'two rows',RTGS: songthaeo,pronounced[sɔ̌ːŋ.tʰɛ̌w];[1]Lao:ສອງແຖວ,pronounced[sɔ̌ːŋ.tʰɛ́w];Malay:dua baris) is a passenger vehicle inThailand,Laos,Cambodia andMyanmar adapted from apick-up or a larger truck and used as ashare taxi orbus.
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 accommodatestanding passengers within the vehicle. More typically, standing passengers occupy a platform attached to the rear.
InChiang Mai and its surroundings, locals may call themrot si daeng[2] (Thai:รถสีแดง, literally "red car" — a reference to their most common colour in the area),rot daeng,[3] or sometimessi rot.
TheIsuzu Faster andToyota Hilux are example models of songthaews found in Thailand.
In addition, some models of songthaews — such asDaihatsu Hijet,Subaru Sambar andSuzuki Carry — familiarly known asrot ka-poh (Thai:รถกะป๊อ), literally translates to "toad cars." The wordka-poh comes fromTeochew (pronouncedkub-poh), which means "toad" — reference to their shape. Some are also calledrot kra-pong (รถกระป๋อง, literally "tincan cars") orrot-Subaru (รถซูบารุ, literally "Subaru cars") — a reference to their brand.[4]
Songthaews were introduced in Thailand in the 1950s. Early songthaews were based onAustin A30 sedans. In 1960s, songthaews used British models likeLeyland 15/20,Morris 250 JU,Morris J4, andMorris Minor. In 1970s, songthaews started using various models likeMercedes-Benz T2.
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 inChiang Mai), they are used asshared taxis for passengers traveling in roughly the same direction. Vehicles on longer routes may use truck bodies and seat around 40 passengers.
In 1990s, Thai government attempted to replace songthaews with modern minibuses. Thai Motor Corporation (THAMCO),BMW, andItaldesign cooperated for designing Italdesign Columbus as songthaew replacement. Italdesign Columbus had bodywork variations, including minibus, pick-up truck, and delivery van.[5][needs update]
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