Taxis
No matter how long you are in China for, where you go or what you do, you'll find your self catching taxis and experiencing first hand some of China's best and worst drivers. Your experiences can range from delightful and refreshing to forgettable and hideous and depend entirely on the person behind the wheel who for a short period of time is in charge of your life.
Driving in China
I have to say that driving in China is for the certifiably insane. Tail gating, not signalling, running red lights, driving in between lanes of traffic, ignoring signs, constant and rapid lane changes, continuous use of the horn and a complete disregard for life or the law are the norm.
Don't worry though, Chinese drivers are excellent defensive drivers (evolution) and live charmed lives. Catching a taxi is much safer than walking and crossing roads on foot.
The fare
All taxis are metered and the starting fare depends on the city you are in. The starting fare in Beijing is 10 RMB and is 5 RMB in Chang Chun, the city I live in. The meter should not start ticking over for a while and once it does start ticking, each kilometre should cost around 2 RMB and will vary with the city you are in. When you get in the taxi, point at the meter and make sure the driver turns it on. If the driver refuses to use the meter, stop the taxi and find another taxi that does.
The Cars
The cars are normally medium sized with plenty of room, clean and in reasonable maintenance. The police constantly do spot checks on taxis in most cities so you will rarely find cars that are in bad condition. Cities such as Shenzhen have introduced electrics cars for taxis which is a step ahead of many western countries.
A word of advice. Try to avoid using the seat belt. Locals as a rule never use seat belts and if you use one, you are likely to end up with a brown stain across your chest from the seat belt. Not a good look.
The types of Taxi Drivers
After eight years of catching taxis in China I've come to the conclusion that there are 3 main types of taxi drivers. Those three types are the nice ones, the cheats and the weird ones.
The nice ones - They'll make your trip a joy, entertain you, help you with your luggage and give you invaluable tips. They are professional (sometimes), courteous (always), friendly and will go out of their way to make your brief trip in their car a pleasant one. They'll take you to fantastic little restaurants that never show in the travel guides, swap photos of wives/husbands/kids with you and spend the whole trip learning English and/or trying to teach you Chinese. I'm happy to say that most drivers will be nice ones.
One of my most pleasant experiences with a Chinese taxi driver was when I did not have enough money to go all the way home. I had 12 RMB on me and knew the trip would cost at least 16 RMB. Not a problem because I planned to get off when the money ran out and take a short cut through a local park. After catching the taxi I explained to the driver that I needed to get at the 12 RMB mark. What did he do? He offered to take me all the way home. Wow. Stunned. This guy was way too nice. Took a lot of convincing but finally persuaded him that I really was OK to walk the last part of the way home.
In another trip my driver turned to be an intellectual and historian and we spent the entire trip discussing the cultural revolution and comparing the merits of Mao Ze Dong versus Deng Xiao Ping. He was an ardent communist, surprisingly open minded and a delight to talk to.
The cheats - These are the ones who will use every trick in the book and some that have not yet been published to extract every last RMB out of you they can. Common tactics range from taking the "scenic route" to rigging the meter giving you counterfeit money for change.
Every country has these guys and China no more than most. I've had some bad experiences which makes me a little paranoid about taxis. The first day I arrived in China I needed to make my way from my new school to the hotel I was staying at that night. No idea of the way so caught a taxi, gave the driver the name of the hotel and sat back to enjoy being in China. 35 RMB later got out at the hotel. The next day I asked the hotel staff to call a taxi to take me to my school. They looked a little confused and asked why. Turned out the school was a 10 minute walk away. My first all time taxi driver in China took me on the "scenic route".
The weird ones - They can be creepy, loud, scary, obnoxious, argumentative, racist nationalistic, crazy and the list goes on. They are the kind of drivers that make you wish you sat in the back seat or just walked and they take very little time to make their presence known.
Last week I had the nerve to criticise a driver for taking the long way. What a mistake. Spent the whole trip copping an ear full. Pleaded guilty, begged for forgiveness, feigned head ache (not hard) and pretended to sleep. No good. The passionate monologue continued unabated. Could not get out of the taxi fast enough.
In the north east of China, the men have a well deserved reputation for being the tough guys of China who fear nothing and will take on anyone or anything. An admirable quality but not in a taxi driver. A French friend of mine here in the north east experienced riding in a taxi with a driver who had a death wish, drove at insane speeds and took crazy risks. My friend was convinced the driver was trying to scare him and was determined not so show any fear or ask the driver to slow down. Ended up spending the whole trip petrified.
How to avoid problems
Assume your driver will not speak English so before catching a taxi make sure you have the name of your destination in Chinese. Make a habit of grabbing your hotels business card or brochure. You can also ask some one at your hotel, your guide or a local friend to write a note with your destination in Chinese characters and in pin yin and also write on the note a rough estimate of the fare. That way there will be no language hiccups about your destination and the driver is unlikely to over charge you.
Make sure you carry change. That way you will not be given counterfeit 50 RMB notes and you will not inconvenience the driver who may not have change for a 100 RMB note.
If a problem does arise and you are firmly convinced you have been significantly over charged, politely try to communicate an offer to have any nearest police mediate the dispute for you.
When all is said and done, most of these drivers are honest, hard working and make very little so if in doubt, smile, pay the fare and continue on with your holiday. I'd rather lose a few RMB than take the chance of arguing with an honest driver.
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