Raoul's China Saloon (V5.0) Beta
Da Woiks: Links, Library, News and Other Stuff More Useful Than You Are => Le Laowai Liberation League Labor & Lifestyle Lending Library (ON-TOPIC) => Topic started by: Raoul F. Duke on April 23, 2007, 10:56:24 AM
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First of all, in most places chances are that taxis won't be too bad. Chinese roads are sort of linear looney bins, but your taxi driver can probably deal with it better than most. It's not that taxi drivers are necessarily so good at driving, just that they're better than the others on the road. The combination of inexperience with the endemic lack of consideration for others, plus the paramount importance of gaining "face" in all things, is pretty dangerous and giving many people here a car is kind of like giving an 8-year-old boy his own flame thrower.
Also, as long as your taxi driver is using the taxi's fare meter the odds of your being ripped off by a taxi driver these days are fairly slight. The profusion of complaints in earlier times seems to have brought on a pretty tight regulation of taxis in most cities. There are, of course, exceptions to this! Most cities now have "hotline" numbers to call if you do meet abuse from a driver; how effective these actually are no doubt varies wildly with location. In small towns and rural areas, all bets are off on this one. Be careful here.
It's really hard to characterize the Chinese taxi driver. I've seen some fine humans behind the wheel of taxis in China, and I've seen idiots who defy description. Many can be very helpful and will help load/unload bags or help a foreigner solve small problems if they can. Many more are just indifferent, and a significant minority will be downright hostile. In general drivers will be willing to do things such as let you stop, and wait for you while you make a quick run into a store.
"Available" taxis are marked by a light shining just inside the windshield...usually red but other colors are seen too. Taxis showing available may not stop for you if the driver is on his way to a call passenger, on his way to lunch, or just doesn't like your looks. Initial fare at flagfall seems to be sort of an indicator of a city's prosperity- it will be either 5, 8, or 10 RMB in all Chinese cities. Meters are required (technically) to be in working order and will display the current fare as the trip progresses. Drivers usually sit inside a sort of protective shell of transparent plastic or perforated steel; exactly who is being protected from whom is still open to debate. This wall can make the front seat a bit cramped if you're a bit wide at the shoulder and/or hip. Larger cities now require passengers in front seats to wear seatbelts, but the back seats may not have them. In the boonies there are likely to be no seatbelts at all. In most cities the dashboard of the taxi will sport a small plate bearing the driver's photo, ID number, and company contact information...useful if there is a problem. Back seats will often have a small information sheet, frequently bearing gems like "Drunkards and psychos without guardians are prohibited from taking taxis."
In smaller cities, when you arrive at your destination, the driver will simply read off the fare amount in Chinese. Some cities give you the choice of using prepaid cards for transport including taxis- in such places the driver will ask "Xian jing?", which means "Will you pay cash?". Repeat the phrase back to him, and he will read the fare and accept your cash. Tipping is not a common practice here, and I've had many drivers refuse to accept any form of tip. I always offer a tip if the driver has waited a long time, hauled a lot of baggage, or otherwise performed a significant extra service.
Of course, most Chinese do not own cars, and many cities seem to have taxis that are overabundant to the point of being a nuisance. However, bear in mind that this will quickly change when the weather turns bad- the moment raindrops start to fall everyone in town will dive for a taxi, and you may face quite a lengthy wait for a ride under such conditions.
GENERAL TAXI-TAKING TIPS:
1. Sometimes drivers will try to refuse taking you if they don't like your destination or think they can get more money from someone else, especially if it's raining. NEVER tell a driver where you want to go before you and your belongings are firmly planted in the back seat with your door closed and locked. (NOTE- This isn't an option if you're using a taxi pirate- see #4 below!) If the driver squeals, simply refuse to budge from your spot until you are taken where you want to go- usually these drivers will relent after a few moments and deliver you just to get rid of you. Don't take any guff.
2. Despite widespread programs to teach English to taxi drivers, you're likely to win the Lottery Grand Prize 3 or 4 times before you encounter a driver who can speak a useful level of English. Hell, in many places you'll be lucky if they can speak standard Mandarin Chinese. If you aren't SURE you can say your destination name and address in Chinese, have it written out in Chinese for the driver to read. A lot of drivers seem to have just hit town a few days ago and they don't always know the town any better than you do. I've asked (in Chinese) Beijing drivers to take me to Tiananmen Square, only to get a stupid look and a "Hunh?" in response! Taxis are one of the many places where mobile phones are a Godsend for surviving here...you can call someone and have them talk to the driver, or send the address and directions by SMS. Many, but not all, drivers will discount the meter fare if they have gotten lost trying to find your destination.
3. Many cities have zones on major streets where cars are prohibited from stopping except perhaps to quickly drop someone off. If a lot of empty taxis are waving you aside, you may be in such a zone- look for a taxi stand or head to a large hotel.
4. In most cities, train and bus stations will have official taxi queues. These are your best bet, but they will often entail some waiting. Sometimes a LOT of waiting. There are Taxi Pirates circling these places like flies on poo, or guys with private cars hanging around just outside the station, and they will offer to take you where you want to go with no waiting. Bear in mind that these vehicles are unlicensed, unmetered (just because the car HAS a meter doesn't mean he will USE it), and will invariably charge you a horrendously inflated price...there have been incidents of worse crimes than overcharging here too. Real official taxis are strongly recommended and worth the wait. If you feel you MUST use one of the pirates, firmly negotiate and settle on a price before getting into the car or allowing your bags to be loaded. Make sure you have exact change and don't budge from the agreed price once you're at the destination.
5. ALWAYS take the taxi receipt. If one isn't offered, insist on one. It will be a big help if you leave possessions inside the taxi or if there are any other problems. A driver who refuses to give you a receipt has probably just cheated you on the fare...I have seen taxis with doctored meters!
6. Don't take any abuse. In some places many drivers won't stop for a foreigner, especially large menacing-looking ones like me. I have been known to stand in the middle of the road, or snake out a hand and snatch open the door of a moving taxi, just to get a damn ride. In rainy/icy conditions, competition for taxis can become vicious...when a taxi stops be prepared to defend it from those who will try to slide in ahead of you. In such cases you may have to become physically assertive (i.e. borderline violent) to keep your ride. Please bear in mind that I am large and strong and have balls the size of cantaloupes...these methods aren't for everyone. If you have problems with a driver, write down all of the information about the taxi you can get, including its license tag number. In extreme cases, scream loudly for a policeman.
Happy motoring!
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Generally speaking, taxis in China rule. You are right about the non ripoff thing (except the occasional idiot who goes a long way round). One way that China has the edge over Thailand, where the cabbies always refuse to put the meters on.
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I agree Missi. The first time is an "unforgettable" experience. But I'm certainly glad it's them doing the driving and not me. They'll often times mount gutters and footpaths to get you where you need to be.
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Up here we don't have meters in the taxis so the first rule is not to hop in until you've negotiated a price.
And, yep, the first time is memorable - especially when it happens to be winter and the cars skid on the ice.
Also be warned that if you're from a country where you're used to wearing seatbelts, you'll be in for a shock. Seatbelts are not the norm.
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Also be warned that if you're from a country where you're used to wearing seatbelts, you'll be in for a shock. Seatbelts are not the norm.
Though I believe they are trying to enforce them in some of the major cities now. And I emphasise the word "trying".
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Don't forget to check your change, especially any 50's, for forgery.
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Also, catching a cab in a city, especially a tourist city, around about dinner time (6pm or so) truly sucks. Can take an hour. Especially on a Friday, from experience. All the empty cabs go past you on the way to their dinner. Sucks the big one. Go into a nearby bar and kill an hour indoors blowing froth off a coldie or two rather than be frustrated outside.
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Good point there Mr Nobody. This is one of the things that I truly never understood about China. The one time in the evening that everyone is desperate for a cab, and the morons all bugger off home.
Isn't there some wise, money-seeking cab entrepreneur out there who thinks "Hang on a sec, if I have my dinner at about 5, I can make a killing by taking all those people who can't get any other cab, and charging them time and a half"...
The Chinese business sense really does baffle me at times.
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It's a shift change at that time and the legal cabbies must come in. there are illegals though that will take you.
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Well why have everyone change their shift at that particular time? It's utter madness.
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Well why have everyone change their shift at that particular time? It's utter madness.
Yeah, and it's all companies right at 5:00 - 5:30. Brilliant innit?
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Yes - just the time when you bloody well want one. It seems sometimes like the Chinese actually like pissing people off.
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I think it works on the idea that since everyone is equal, they should have dinner at the same time.
I would say it is blind obedience to ideology, without prior cogitation as to consequences or alternatives.
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I don't think it's even that. It's just pure crap business sense.
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I think it has less to do with "business sense" and more to do with "not giving a wet slap about anyone."
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Another point: try project as much knowledge and capability as possible- the crooked drivers, and there are some (especially in Beijing, don't get me started on those f asasasasas ckers, will first suss you out, hoping to conclude you are helpless and clueless. Saying the name of your destination out loud, only then offering the card with the entire name on it, shows you have enough confidence to expect he would understand you, and are that much more likely to catch him if he tries to cheat you.
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Good point. I try always to speak Chinese to the driver. Sometimes you get stuck but the few times that a taxi driver has tried to rip me off was when I handed them a paper with the address written on it. Even now, if I hand them an address I still speak some Chinese to them to let them know I'm not a tourist to be taken advantage of.
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Had to take taxi in Beijing.
Why won't they take you where you want to go?? Twice, they stopped across the street and said walk across. I'm talking 6+ lanes. Had to climb bridge to get across. First time was ok. Last time I had all my luggage and wanted the train station. I refused to get out of the cab. He wouldn't budge. I told him in chinese what I thought, told him I had a bad knee. He then drove 40 feet to a crosswalk not a bridge and turned off the meter. I would have paid the extra for him to drive a few blocks and get to the other side of the street. Idiot asasasasas asasasasas asasasasas asasasasas asasasasas
They will have to clean up their act by next summer if they don't want to piss-off the world. asasasasas
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Shift change in Xi'an is from 4:30-6:00 - definitely a bad time to try to find a cab - they ONLY want to go in theh direction of their switch with the next cabbie.
But cabbies love to chat, and I learn many things from them. I've also had several offers from them to find me a boyfriend - obliging lot! One or two wanted to be that boyfriend, but others had a good friend they wanted me to meet.
No thanks!
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Beijing taxi drivers are lazy and often rude. They don't like traffic but don't listen when you tell them how to go. Hence my constant fights with them. Couple of times I had great drivers - very polite and kind. But the rest of the time - God, help me!
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Beijing taxi drivers at the train station don't even want to pick you up. Very strange. They do seem to be the worst ones around. Otherwise i usually have a good time with them, and they in general don't try to rip me off, or at least not to a great extent. That's only happened once and I got to practice my Chinese bad language in earnest.
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Raoul is right. They don't care what you or anyone else thinks, and would in fact find it peculiar that you cared.
Wet slap = tinker's cuss = meiyou
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I can hardly wait for the Olympics and the thousands of irate foreigners going home to tell everyone the wonders of Beijing and their taxi drivers. agagagagag
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By then there should be a better subway system connecting every damn corner of Beijing. So, really, no use in taxis!!!
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Subways are for locals. The foreigners will opt for taxi's 95% of the time. Only a few brave tourists will do the subway. I may be wrong, but even I steer away from the subways. Don't know routes and am afraid of getting lost. I did download the subway map in English for Shanghai. I did take the subway, but was worried the entire time.
Buying tickets for the subway is difficult if you don't speak Chinese or don't have a map to point to a stop so they know what to sell you. I am not new to China, and I still prefer taxi's. The cost is worse but ...
I took the subway in Montreal and almost missed my stop because people wouldn't move to let me get to the door. That was 16 years ago and I still remember!!! I was living in Montreal but didn't speak the language there either. llllllllll llllllllll
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Sorry, DS, you are wrong here. Students and teachers as well as a whole bunch of people with other jobs like subway. I think odds are here rather like 50-50 or 60-40. But not more than 60.
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I've been a foreigner in a fair few cities and I always prefer the underground over buses. And I view taxis as a decadent expense.
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I use buses and taxis. Sometimes subway. Sometimes not because I am uncomfortable - I just don't really live near one (the nearest is about 30 mins walk and 15-20 mins by bus).
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Students and teachers are locals. Tourists - people from other countries here for a few days will opt for the taxi's. I may be wrong but I can remember when I was in China a few years ago there was a lady afraid to go on the elevator without her husband. (I came to China alone as a tourist) He wanted to walk down - so she got off the elevator and walked down with him. Tourists from smaller cities or from countries without subway's will be leery to try. Tourists from cities with subway's would be more willing to try.
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I am not local!!! ahahahahah
Again, whole lot of tourists would use subway - they come equipped with Lonely Planet guides, thoroughly study the subway system (which actually isn't that hard - only 2 main lines and 1 auxiliary - wait till 2008 when there will be more like 6 or 7!) and march in and out agagagagag
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Tourists from cities with subway's would be more willing to try.
I'd also add that many tourists from countries with no subways at all, jump at the chance to use them.
As for walking down stairs rather than using an elevator - I do that. I got stuck in one once...for a very long time, and then in another one saw someone die. I've been leery of them ever since. I also saw a woman get eaten by an escalator once, it was on the escalator going down to the Barcelona underground so I'm also a bit phobic of escalators!
But never had a problem on an underground...yet.
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Xi'an is building it's 1st subway - which basically won't go anywhere I want to go often. I used the subway in Shanghai - after I got through the scrum of buying a ticket and it was good. I loved the Japanese train/subway system.
I use buses in Xi'an about 30% of the time (apart from the uni bus), but prefer the taxis. Cheap, convenient, air-conditioned and I always get a seat. Can't say the same for the buses. Although I have had Chinese people get up to give me a seat - even way older men and women. I love sitting in the top floor front seat of the double decker buses and watching how close the driver comes to every other vehicle on the road - very cool driving.
My favourite form of transport though is the motorbike taxi. They forget the road rules, drive on footpaths,flash across red lights etc. Always enlivening. Cheaper than normal taxis - negotiable so you can bargain. Getting one of these at 3:00am after dancing all night is very cooling and fun. The 3-wheeler motorbike taxis are also fun - handy for carrying groceries home.
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Students and teachers are locals. Tourists - people from other countries here for a few days will opt for the taxi's. I may be wrong but I can remember when I was in China a few years ago there was a lady afraid to go on the elevator without her husband. (I came to China alone as a tourist) He wanted to walk down - so she got off the elevator and walked down with him. Tourists from smaller cities or from countries without subway's will be leery to try. Tourists from cities with subway's would be more willing to try.
I dunno. I'm a student/teacher and often a tourist. That makes me a poor tourist, and I'll stick to the subways and buses wherever possible.
When I first got to Beijing (about 2 months ago) I took cabs frequently, but now it's probably been a few weeks since I've been in one. Beyond their being a luxury, my stomach isn't quite strong enough for the ride. Roller coasters, rock climbing, rappelling, etc., I can all do, but Beijing taxis are something out of this world. One driver I had actually hit a girl while we were racing through Sanlitun. He'd mostly slammed on the brakes in time, and she was only a bit shaken, but that was far from a thrilling experience. Another driver I had asked about Chinese public alcohol consumption laws assured me that I could drink on the street without a problem, explaining to me that he often stopped along the road to drink with some buddies when he took his breaks. aoaoaoaoao
I've switched to a bike. I have a helmet and lights (look at the funny laowai!), and biking has its own thrilling set of dangers, but I'm psychologically better suited to being in relative control of my fate, I think.
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I used to ride a bike in North Jinan, but now, being in the city, it's safer to take taxis. I don't bother with busses anymore, too slow and too full, at the times I would need one.
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The only subway I have used a lot in Asia is in HK, which is obviously good. I have used them otherwise in every city I have been to that has one, except Shanghai because I wasn't there long enough. I think the HK one is better than London's underground which is the supposed to be the best. Oh, yeah, used the one in Guangzhou a few times, but I was guided by people who knew their way around. Seemed fine to me.
Many of the signs were in English as well as Chinese, albeit a bit confusing. Perhaps the Beijing one is also like that. I haven't been there.
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HK has the most incredible public transportation system ever.
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I like the Japanese system - amazingly organised and convenient.
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This is an on-topic area. Please stay on the topic: taxis in China.
Thank you.
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It kind of is, Raoul. If there is an underground, use it because it is more efficient than taxis and cheaper too, and less chance that you will be taken some weird way the long way round.
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Taxis in Beijing are pretty good on the whole.
Ive only had one bad experience. Taxi driver thought I was going to do a runner. I had to step out of the cab to get to my money. He got his tazer gun out and pointed it at me. Didnt actually use it on me but I did get pretty scared.
Apart from that, I have been pretty satisfied with the service.
Of course they will try and rip you off if they see that your lost and dont speak Mandarin. But thats the same the world over isnt it, if you cant speak the local language?
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Even if you can speak the language and are a local - if they figure you don't know the way, the the scenic route it is. ahahahahah
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Xi'an taxi drivers are the best. 99% of the time, anyways.
Last week I flagged down a taxi to go to my business class over in the East of the city. The driver asked me how old I was and I told him. He said I looked ten tears younger. As if I haven't heard that ten thousand times. He said I was beautiful and wanted to pick me up after class. Something about this didn't sit well. I told him the company drove me home. End of story.
Going to uni this week I had a new guy. From another province I'd say by the look of his aquiline nose and his dialect. He took me on a route that made sense but didn't have the edge of the old hands. When we arrived I took out my map and showed him the way the other drivers take. He was so happy that he got out of the car and carried my school bag up to the gate.
I always sit up in the front with the driver. Sometimes we chat but mostly what they're doing is teaching me Zhong guo hua. I take about six taxi's a day just to and from work so usually they are the first and last people I speak to on week days. My conversational skills are still limited but I can swear like a trooper and have begun to learn the road rules.
The hours I spend in the taxis every week are my language classes and for the most part the people driving them have been the salt of the earth. I've come to love traffic jams.
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I'm a bit TOO nervous about getting taxis where I am now....1 driver (who I had rather often) started getting a little TOO friendly aoaoaoaoao...
Thankfully I've now finally been able to figure out the busses FROM the shop as well as to. I'm totally useless with busses, even back home!
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Xi'an taxi drivers are the best. 99% of the time, anyways.
Last week I flagged down a taxi to go to my business class over in the East of the city. The driver asked me how old I was and I told him. He said I looked ten tears younger. As if I haven't heard that ten thousand times. He said I was beautiful and wanted to pick me up after class. Something about this didn't sit well. I told him the company drove me home. End of story.
Going to uni this week I had a new guy. From another province I'd say by the look of his aquiline nose and his dialect. He took me on a route that made sense but didn't have the edge of the old hands. When we arrived I took out my map and showed him the way the other drivers take. He was so happy that he got out of the car and carried my school bag up to the gate.
I always sit up in the front with the driver. Sometimes we chat but mostly what they're doing is teaching me Zhong guo hua. I take about six taxi's a day just to and from work so usually they are the first and last people I speak to on week days. My conversational skills are still limited but I can swear like a trooper and have begun to learn the road rules.
The hours I spend in the taxis every week are my language classes and for the most part the people driving them have been the salt of the earth. I've come to love traffic jams.
I agree. I don't catch enough cabs, I reckon, which is why my Chinese sucks. But when I do, it's my language class too.
Ten points for the swearing and road rules. I keep my eyes shut. I recognize which words are swearing (who doesn't - my baby swears and she is 15 months old and knows no swearwords at all. She could swear before she knew ANY words. I dunno if this is normal, or just my bad temper she inherited.) but I don't recognize what they mean. Wife won't explain, either. She knows more English ones because I use them, and in fact has a soft spot for 'bloody'.