FINDING A TAXI
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22 Million people , 66 000 Taxi drivers + Rain = No Taxi's !
Beijing runs effectively with a good subway system , bus network , pedi- cabs and of course illegal black taxi's and then the regular yellow/blue/white/red cabs !
But in the Urban chaos of Beijing - rain brings fear - of all sorts. Hailing a taxi has it's downfalls - Didi Dache and Uber ( both e-hailing apps ) have the monopoly in the rain , as you see taxi drivers fly by you , red available lights on - but yet waving you away ! And of course you need to speak Chinese pretty well to be using these apps - and hailing this way is cheaper .But alas this laowai ( that's foreigner here in China) needs to hail the old fashioned way - hand in the air -hoping they stop.
Depending where you are - Sanlitun at 2 in the morning becomes nearly impossible to hail cab as they think you are just another drunk foreigner . Guloa at 3 in the morning has you hassled endlessly by pedi-cabs (rickshaws) and unless you have good haggling and negotiating skills in Chinese - you will overpay - but then usually after a few tequilas and sore feet - this seems fairly attractive to get you home - quickly - obviously depending how far you live !
AIRPORT
Getting a taxi from Capitol airport is double or even triple the meter price if you fall into the hands of the touts who seek you out , friendly , speaking English and offering to carry your luggage . After a long haul flight this seems attractive and easy - Don't do it ! Best to go downstairs and wait in the taxi que (it moves super fast ) have your address written in Chinese or attempt to pronounce it correctly to safely deposit you back home or your hotel. Always check the meter goes on - ask for a fapio ( receipt ) and I also check if they have a registration card posted on their dashboard . A taxi ride from Capitol airport to where I live in Dongzhimen is around 70 RMB.
I'm ashamed to say that I have contributed vast amounts of my salary every month to taxi's - but working long hours , days in China all you want to do is get home , pour a glass of wine and wash the smog from your skin! I have also have had my few shares of taxi scams over the last two years and recently a pretty disturbing interaction with an aggressive taxi-driver.
THOSE PESKY SCAMS
So taxi scam number one I was subjected to was giving the taxi a 100RMB note and then him telling me its a fake - therefore giving me back his fake note - making me give him another note -stealing my 100 rmb note and then making me pay the fee still . Cheeky ! So now always have lower denominations in notes to pay the taxi !
Taxi drivers running meters at high rates - usually 13 rmb for the first 3 km's - has had me get out of a taxi in traffic - refusing to pay as we had basically left my house and within 3 minutes the meter had doubled. I tried to take a pic of his number plate but he popped his trunk open and drove off .
And then of course the loooooong way home taxi driver - I now where I live - I can speak taxi Chinese - I can explain how to get there - this is when they are silent - ignoring you and you are helpless and frustrated ! The long way home taxi driver - chooses either the route filled with extra traffic or the route that takes in all the backroads . One taxi driver once told me that I was American and that I can afford to pay his extortinate fee's - It didn't end well - Firstly I made it clear I wasn't from America and that all foreigners are not American - he threatened me with the police ? I mean really - he was scamming me ! then got out of his car - left the back doors open in traffic and left him there - shouting and cursing down the road !
Some taxi drivers are aggressive drivers , some over cautious - leaving you vomitous after all that driving with the foot on the break. Twice I've nearly collided with a bus . Ive had spitting taxi drivers - roll down the window and spit ( quite normal ) smoking taxi drivers - seriously ?? , crazy laughing taxi drivers - One who pretended to be throwing granades and creating explosions in gridlocked traffic , one cursing at me for not being able to speak chinese - You - Beijing - Speak !
SCARY SCAM !
So my latest incident was horrible to say the least. We had stopped at a traffic light and as I opened the door to get out - a guy on his bicycle went straight into the door ! My fault for not looking but also his for not slowing down at a red light . Shocked I got out to see if he was ok , he seemed fine with a stiff knee and no damage to his bike or the car . By now the grumpy taxi driver had gotten out and saw his opportunity to make some fast laowai cash - he started talking to me ( of course I did not understand a word - except when he was saying to the other guy that Im a foreigner and I don't understand what they are saying ! My friends were till in the taxi and he would not let them get out as he had kept the meter running . I was about to leave as all seemed fine , when well he got aggressive , spitting and shouting and as I turned away grabbed me by my bag and my arm . Infuriated and trying to leave I now had a crowd gathering - of course much to the amusement of passers by - I was now being surrounded and intimidated by not just one but at least 10 Chinese men , who had stumbled form the nearby restaurant to watch the spectacle . Freda and Felecity got out the car and started phoning for support , when a Chinese women who could speak English came by - she then pointed out they wanted me to pay money and that they were calling the police . By now I was trying to remove myself form the crowd but he kept getting more and more aggressive by pulling me around. I decided to calm down and wait for the police . He relaxed a little but kept insisting on money . The man on the bicycle was now giving his Oscar winning performance after her recovered from his initial shock . The cab driver was making endless calls ( none to the police by the way !)
Finally Nikolai arrived and I fell the presence of more foreigners arriving made him realize we are waiting for police and not going to give into their scam. So after 40 minutes of intimidation , the guy on the bike happily cycled off , the cab driver got in his taxi picked up a new client and left - leaving myself and my friends a little shell shocked and traumatized - But fixed by two successive whiskeys , a shower and a little cry ! What the hell !
Lima , Peru had me in another taxi scam before , but a story for another time !
THE NICE ONES
For every unfriendly tale there is also good tale !
The one who knows he needs to drop me outside starbucks on the way to work , the one who repeats everything I say back to me , the ones who laugh when I pronounce Sanlitun as Sanlitur!!! ( beijing lingo) , the ones who amusingly watches your every move in the taxi , the ones who stare at your friends keeping their eyes on them and not the road , the crazy but cool ones , the ones who don't know Beijing ( bless them brave souls ) and you have to give directions or follow google maps on your phone !
So like in the rest of the world - taxi drivers are humans - some assholes , some making the best of what I would think would be a very stressful job ! Driving in Beijing cannot be easy and with a group of loud foreigners in your car pretty distracting !
Nihao , wo xiang chu Dongzhimen nei !
Happy HAILING in Beijing !
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