Taxis in China

Have you ever taken a taxi in North America? (Sorry, I don’t have taxi experience in Europe)

Ok, throw that out of the window now. It’s not that Chinese taxi drivers aren’t as good as their North American counter parts (which are quickly being replaced by Indians in Vancouver), it’s just that the system and the training is quite different.

Most of the taxi companies in China are run like a cartel or a mob organization. Somebody with Really good connections to the local transportation ministry get a extremely lucrative, monopolistic license, and a heavy financing with the (still partially government owned/controlled) Chinese banks to buy the cars. Pick up some decent drivers, a training center, a maintenance crew and etc, viola, you got a license to print cash.

Therefore, it’s suffice to say that “flavours” and the “quality” of the drivers you get are extremely varied. A lot of them also skim on the side, which is a time honoured Chinese traditions whenever the top management demands too much tribute.

Take Beijing for example, (last I checked) it is now illegal for a taxi driver to privately run a vehicle due to “quality” and “safety” concerns. So most taxi drivers time share their vehicle with another driver with the both of them chipping in the “rent” each month to the Taxi company for “maintenance” and “management” fees. They are also personally responsible for the gas. This will amount to 2-3000 RMB a month for him to run that vehicle nonstop. If he is good, know his routes, know where to hit for his customers, learned to escape the traffic, and then maybe he pulls in 5-7000 RMB a month. His take home after all the hub-bob will be from 2000 – 5000 RMB a month working 12 hours shifts 7 days a week.

Why do I bother with that little anecdote of background story on the life of a typical Beijing taxi driver? Because, if you are living/working here, meeting a good driver is a god send. That’s why I want you to be nice to him(very rarely her) if you find the elusive old school professionals. I have probably ridden enough taxis in China to ride from New York to Vancouver, so I have seen it all.

So what should you do if you are hailing a taxi in China? These are some basic rules:

1. If you don’t speak Chinese, it’s preferable to have someone else tell the driver where to go or have the address in Chinese on a piece of paper. When push comes to shove, get your cellphone ready to call a friend who knows the streets.
2. Even if you speak Chinese ( a bit or a lot), it’s still probably better for you to ask if the driver is willing to go where you want to go at that particular time. Another reason to ask is because of the fact that there are a lot of new drivers these days. (I.E.: I am finding an increasing number of down sized bus drivers. ) Most of them (new ones) don’t know where the F**k they are going. It’s very annoying to get in, clicked the meter, tell him where to go, watch him go for 1 – 2 blocks and THEN tell me he has no idea where the stinking place is. Make sure you check first.
3. A way (in Beijing, not 100% sure about other places, since I have always been too busy in other places to chat with the driver) to check if he is a veteran or not is to check his taxi driver license, which should be promptly displayed in a plastic casing in the front passenger seat. The lower the number he has, the more experience he has. Check to see if it is current and if the picture matched the guy driving. Some veterans rent out their cars (not entirely legal, but if he wants to be home to eat dinner with the wife and kids, I can’t blame him) to younger drivers for a more reliable income.
4. If you can read it/see it, there should be a car inspection seal glued to the windshield on the driver/sometimes passenger side for this year.
5. You should always ask him to use to meter. No matter how much he insists, don’t deter from your mission, and you can always threaten to leave the car or call the complaint hot line. Most of the time when I tell people this, they are thinking this is to prevent him cheating. Yes and no. These days, you can make an OK living at this (especially if you were a farmer or construction worker), so there is less incentive to cheat you. And the policing of such matter is getting much better, trust me when I say that Chinese riders don’t like to be cheated any more than you (the foreigner) do. Another reason is below:
6. Always ask for receipts. All Chinese taxi meters should print out a receipt when he flips the meter back up. Most of them will have a Chinese girl’s voice saying in Chinese or English something like “Thank you for your patronage, feel free to comment, blah, come again”. The receipt is very important when you file a complaint or when you “gasp” lose Sh*t on the taxi (EXTREMELY common). This will tell you the license plate, the company name, what time you got on and off, and the fare.
7. Never get on the fake taxis. It’s never worth the hassle. Trust me. All those guys at the airport trying sucker you in, “Taxi, car, sir?” Ignore them, and pretend you have a ride already.
8. Off the top of my head, a taxi ride from the Beijing Airport to any hotel in town(unless it’s in the extreme south) shouldn’t be any more than 60 – 120 RMB a ride. You also have to pay the required 10 RMB toll both. Any more than that, and it’s suspicious.
9. This is just a personal pet peeve. If you are here on business, and your contact didn’t pick you up at the airport, expecting you (especially if you don’t speak Chinese) to find your way to the whatever bizarre hotel the secretary has kick back with in god knows where? F**K them. This is a basic Chinese courtesy. If he/she can’t even be bothered to send a person to the airport to pick you up, it’s just not worth it to continue your relationship with them.

I wish you luck in your travels.