Published by Swiss James on 06 Mar 2009 at 12:59 pm
Taxi drivers are OK OK
I got an email yesterday asking if there was any way you could avoid being cheated by taxi drivers in Shanghai.
Oops.
It seems that after I called them out as crooks, mentioned how they threw Emma’s bag on the highway and ripped me off on a journey from the airport, I’m painting them in a bit of a bad light.
Now the taxi drivers in old Shanghai are no angels:
- overflowing ashtrays right next to the “No smoking” sign,
- driving like the car is on fire and they’re trying to shake off the flames
- a complete inability to tune a radio so that it’s less than 50% static
On the whole though I think drivers are good people working 12 hour shifts in bad traffic with little complaint.
And cool sunglasses.
The short answer to the original question anyway, is simple:
Always make sure the meter is turned on.
Taxi drivers who say the meter is not working (but are still happy to follow the little namecard you have for your hotel) are trying to rip you off. (tip: Such people will also say the word “OK” about a hundred times)
Don’t mess around just get out, and get another cab.
Chances of anyone even trying this trick on you can be avoided if you avoid getting cabs from the following hotspots:
- Outside the Super Brand Mall
Forget the cabs, look for the green subway signs to get back to civilisation- LuJiaZui station is very close by
- Next to the Pearl Tower
Same as above, take the underground from the same station- LuJiaZui
- Yu Gardens (AKA Yu Yuan)
It’s the number 1 tourist attraction in Shanghai so naturally there are crooks standing next to their cabs near McDonalds trying to spot suckers with fat wallets.Walk somewhere- anywhere- else and try your luck there
- Nanjing Dong Lu
Guys standing by their cabs near the Sofitel Hotel or on the road near the subway entrance for People’s Square often seem to having some unexplained meter problem.Fine，let them stand there and fix it while you take one of the other 20 cabs that will be along shortly.
If you’re in a cab and the meter is running, but you think the guy is driving you a long way round?
Well then it might cost you another 3 or 4 RMB for the journey- if your local knowledge and Chinese is up to it then go ahead and argue.
Otherwise sit back, light up a cigarette, and enjoy the ride.
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I rarely have trouble with Shanghai cabs, EXCEPT for those spots you mentioned above.
However, what is much more of a helpful tip is to avoid the maroon cabs in particular and the maroon cabs with B X license plates.
On wangjianshuo’s blog he has a list of what cab companies are better and worse in order of cab color, but if you keep away from B X/Maroon cabs you should be fine. Almost all the cheating cabs are BX cabs.
(you might ask why. I’ve been told the reason is that BX cabs are self-owned, as opposed to being owned by a large corporation like Da Zhong – so you can’t pick up the phone to call and complain to anyone)
Also, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT get in a cab at Longyang Lu.
Here’s the link to Jianshuo’s blog:
http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/taxi.htm
hah, very smart answer !
who’s jianshuo btw
T – They have a better system now at Long Yang lu with a proper taxi rank. I think it’s better than it used to be. I agree the purple cabs are the worst. I am pretty sure that was the worst rip off I ever experienced in Shanghai, from Jin Mao in Pudong to The Bund. Apparently we covered 15 km in just 10 minutes which is an average speed of 90km / hour. Even for a car on fire, that’s pretty amazing!
I had that Jackie Chan in the back of my cab once.
Yeah I deliberately didn’t mention Longyang Lu because even though I’ve heard a load of horror stories- the last 2 times I’ve got in a cab there, have had no problem at all.
I was going to mention about the maroon coloured cabs too- at best they smell worse than all the others and are less comfortable. It’s only very recently though that I’ve started specifically avoiding them and going for the blue ones (or whatever else is around)
In the end though I sort of figured that if you were a tourist you’d have enough to think about without checking the colour of the cab.
Zicca- now I don’t mind them Hong Kong pop stars coming over here, but why can’t they learn to speak the Mao’s Chinese eh?
Even if you don’t know Chinese and you think they’re taking you the long route a quick “Ne Qu Na Li?” (Where are you going?) seems to be enough to make them a little more honest. You don’t need to be able to understand their answer.
We also called 110 once when we were taxiing between airports and the meter started creeping up over 200RMB. He explained to them that it was traffic and that’s why he needed to take side roads, but she told us that when we got to the airport to just pay him what it usually costs and walk away – we ended up paying him 160.
200 rmb between airports seems a good price to me but I suppose it depends which two airports! I’ve also called the police once and the plain clothed policeman that showed up was stocky with a shaved head. I was seriously concerned for the driver’s safety – I thought they were gonna give him a beating for trying to swindle a lao wai. This was in Beijing by the way.
Is that Gok Wan driving your taxi?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gok_Wan
It’s a relief to know that not all the cabbies in shanghai are total sharks! We’ll be sure to watch for these signs when riding the taxi.
Thanks for your blog post, James. This site is actually a great source for information for 1st time travelers (oh it’s also a fun blog too!). We’ll definitely be checking out some of your recommendations for nightlife bars, etc.
That glass is very strange!
http://googleearthpage.blogspot.com/
I would add that you can tell really good taxis because 3, 4 and 5 star taxis (yes, they’re all rated) usually have their star ratings posted on their windshield in front of the mirror.
The only time I’ve been passed fake bank notes in Shanghai is by taxi drivers, happened to me a few times now and always when I was drunk and paying with a hundred, they try to give you fake 50s in the change. Still, only happened 2 or 3 times in 4 years.
One trick the taxi drivers use when I lived in Xujiahui and wanted to go to Pudong airport was to try and go via Xupu bridge rather than Lupu (adding an extra 40 rmb to the bill). I’d always insist on Lupu and would regularly be told there was roadworks or traffic jams (which would subsequently not exist when we went that way)
Now, China is the only place I have been (and I HAVE BEEN some places) where when the taxi drivers make a mistake, they will often flip off the meter and end the fare early so you don’t have to pay for their mistake. I am always heartened by this because it’s really their choice to do this. Once in a while, if the fare is say 16 rmb and I give a 20, they will hesitate before giving the change, but it is very rarely. It really does help to speak a little Chinese to them – only the real suckers don’t speak any Chinese! By the way, a little cute movie about taxies in Shanghai is (I only know the English title) “One Night in Shanghai”. In that movie, going from Hongqiao to the Bund only takes 6 seconds.
To AnJie’s point, once I was in a cab going home and right when it pulled up to stop, the meter flipped from 20 to 21, so I gave the cab 21 and he said “no, it’s not fair” and gave me back 1 RMB.
Last week I took a taxi home and about halfway through the trip the driver pulled over, got out of the car and came around to my side, turned his back to the window (thankfully) and proceeded to take a piss. That was awesome.
@ Jenn – Maybe it’s because you’re a girl it’s only happened once. I’ve lost count on the number of times that’s happened to me. They always stop the meter though and on every occasion, they did ask first.
I once did a taxi ride here in Suzhou. 13 km. Average speed 111 km/hr. I still have the receipt to show my disbelieving friends.
It was a Passat, and I nervously reached for and buckled the seat belt, avoiding the passenger airbag with my backpack thrown on to the back seat.
I thought I was on the Starship Enterprise in suburban Suzhou.
“Xiao Xing ah, Man man ah….”
Perhaps the driver was on acid.
This is a TRUE story.
Z.
Shanghai cab drivers are probably the most honest i have ever met anywhere, seriously.
No ‘Meter broken’, ‘Do you want to go to my friends rug shop’ or ‘These bloody immigrants are ruining this great nation’.
Good people Shanghai cabbies, one even told me once i was very handsome, how cool is that?
CK1- I’d be nervous having a taxi driver with such poor eyesight.
I totally agree with AnJie there aren’t many cabbies in Europe who will switch off their meters when they admit they are lost or take the wrong exit – and yes these are the guys i tip.
Two bad experiences a) a trip from the Shangri La Pudong to M on the Bund , guy tried to charge me 180 RMB despite the meter being about 25…
b) a cab in Beijing dropped a friend off and then took me home somehow the journey that cost me 30 everyday showed 80 on the meter ( something dodgy there then!). He went absolutely nuts when i refused to pay more than 30. He had to be restrained by the security guards at my compound and when the police turned up after i called them told them the stupid laowai spoke English so he didn’t understand me. Thankfully the police seemed happy with my level of basic mandarin at least i can say enough to explain a guy tried to rip me off and then tried to hit me as a woman so they told him to **** off and i got a free trip home albeit rather a shaken up.
Best advice i can give is at first sign of trouble take their licence from the windscreen and sit on it until you reach your destination – they don’t like it but tend to play ball!
@ Charleybeijing – Almost identical to my Beijing experience above. The argument started when I took his licence and refused to put it back on the dashboard, instead throwing it on the front seat. He physically prevented me from leaving so I had to call the police.
Yeah, there are some sneaky pricks. A classic trick is to put smaller tyres on the rims so there are more spins per km, more meter pulses.
Know your average fare and argue if you are being gouged.
Did a trip recently, meter just rolled over to 16 kuai on arrival, driver said 15 was fine. He knows, and I know the fare is 15. Chatting in Chinese the whole way back, he figures I’m not a newbie.
That’s fair…..
You never know your luck !
J.