Thailand

Chiang Mai

A northern Thai old town still ringed by its moat. No urban rail here — the red songthaew is how the city moves.

Chiang Mai International Airport (CNX)

The main ways into town are the A1-A3 shared vans, a taxi, or Grab. RTC's city bus has been suspended since July 2026, with 31 August announced as its return date. The vans charge one cheap flat fare.

Updated on August 28, 2026

  • Until Dec 31, 2026

    The city bus says cash will stop being accepted this year

    In December 2025 RTC announced that from March 2026 it would move to an online payment system called CM Transit Payment, and that by the fourth quarter all booking and payment would go through it. The notice never says whether those quarters are calendar or fiscal ones, so the date cash stops cannot be pinned down from official sources. No app published by RTC is in either store - the similarly named CMTRANSIT on the App Store belongs to another operator and stopped being updated in 2016 - so check RTC's latest Facebook post before you travel.

How to ride

  1. 1
    Decide between the van and a taxi
    The shared vans charge one cheap flat fare. With heavy bags or a late landing, take a flat-rate taxi or Grab.
  2. 2
    Board the shared van at gate 12 in international arrivals
    The shared vans wait in front of gate 12 in international arrivals; pick the line that matches your destination from A1 to A3.
  3. 3
    Hand the fare to the driver
    Check the amount on the notice inside or ask the driver, and keep small notes to hand.
  4. 4
    Ask for a taxi at the arrivals counter
    Decide on the flat rate or the meter before you set off; official pages put flat-rate cars at exit 1 and metered ones at exit 2.
  5. 5
    Pay the 50-baht fee straight to the driver
    Charged on top of both the meter and the flat rate. Official pages say it goes straight to the driver; follow the signs there.
  6. 6
    Take Grab from the designated point
    Book in the app, then walk to the designated point in the car park at domestic arrivals. Check the plate against the app.

Fares

Single fares4

RTC city bus
Due back 31 Aug 2026. One flat fare: the return notice says 50 baht, older pages 30 and 20
30〜50 THB ≈ $0.9–1
Shared van A1 or A2
A1 runs via Nimman and Huay Kaew to the moat; A2 serves the Night Bazaar side
40 THB ≈ $1
Shared van A3
Via the second ring road to the 700th Anniversary Stadium
60 THB ≈ $2
Flat-rate taxi
From 150 baht. No official page gives a ceiling, and it rises with the distance
150 THB ≈ $4

How the meter adds up1

Airport taxi fee
Added to both the meter and the flat rate; official pages say it is paid direct to the driver
50 THB ≈ $1

Estimates use exchange rates as of November 3, 2026

Payment

Tap to ride
Nothing here lets you tap a bank card to ride
Card payment on board Unverified
The operator does not name the brands it accepts
IC card Unverified
On board: The operator's own card appears only on an undated page
App tickets Unverified
The app that is meant to replace cash is in neither store
QR ticketing Unverified
Announced, but which surface and which action remain unclear
Cash
After the switch, booking and payment are to be consolidated into an app
On board: The city bus has announced it will stop taking cash this year

Quick facts

Fares from
30 THB+

Heads-up

  • Official pages give different bus fares

    The airport's own page puts the city bus fare at 30 baht and AOT's head-office page at 20, while RTC's own site from 2025 and the August 2026 reports of its return both say 50. Some pages simply have not been updated, so the official ones do not settle it between them - the airport page itself asks travellers to re-check the fare and the route before setting out. Look at the notice inside the vehicle, or ask the driver, before you pay.

  • Check the registration marks on the car the app sent

    The Chiang Mai transport office publishes how to tell a properly registered ride-hailing car. A taxi must carry the yellow public-vehicle plate; a private car must be re-registered as a "รถยนต์รับจ้างผ่านระบบอิเล็กทรอนิกส์" and display stickers front and back. Motorbikes need the yellow plate and a rider in the app's vest. The airport is one of the places the authorities have named for enforcement against unregistered cars, so match the plate and the model against the app before you get in.

  • The domains that look like RTC's official site have been taken over

    Both domains RTC used for its own site have passed to other hands - chiangmaicitybus.com, the address its Facebook page still lists, now serves a Vietnamese gambling site, and the older rtc-citybus.com is something else again. To check routes or fares, use the airport's official pages or RTC's Facebook page instead.

Timetable

Check the official site for the latest times and service status
Editor Naotaka