Just another thing Beijing should be embarrassed about. Along with the pollution and food scares, this city doesn't have a lot going for it these days.
Welcome To Fake Beijing Taxi: Cab Tips
Ever wondered where taxis go when they die? In China a taxi is retired after clocking 500,000km and is then sold as a private car. In theory. In practice these cars are often bought and then illegally returned to working life. Often these taxis have manipulated meters that will charge a lot more than official taxis. They might also be trying to give you fake money. They also do not have insurance, which won’t be fun if there is an accident (not that accidents are fun).
The difficulty of this matter is that these taxis are incredibly hard to recognize. Luckily, there are a variety of measures you can take to avoid being ripped off:
- Keep track of how fast the meter is going up and if you have a feeling it is going up a lot faster than it usually does, get out and hail a different one.
- Make sure you aren’t being given fake money. This mainly happens when handing RMB 100 bills to drivers which they then reject – either calling it a fake or saying they have no change. Read here on how to recognize fake bills.
- Always carry small change when planning on taking a taxi.
- Ask the driver if he has change before handing him the bill.
- Fake cabs are most common around the subway stations, shopping malls, and also near the major tourist attractions. The most serious areas are the railway stations and Beijing capital airport.
- Check to see if the receipt is fake and if it is try to take a photo of the license plate of the car.
Here's a reminder of the going rate:
From 5am-11pm
- RMB 10 for entering taxi and next 3km
- RMB 2 charged for additional 1km after 3km
- RMB 3 charged for additional 1km after 15km
From 11pm-5am
- RMB 11 for entering taxi and next 3km
- RMB 2.4 charged for additional 1km beyond 3km
- RMB 3.4 charged for additional 1km after 15km
All in all, we’re afraid there isn’t much anyone can do. But we suggest you use your common sense when taking cabs and read more about the topic here. Maybe we should just count ourselves lucky that we've found a cab, even if it is fake.
Photos: China Daily, www.insightsedu.org and TheBeijinger.com forum
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I got done by one of these swines last weekend. Not only did the driver keep turning round and leering at my chest at every opportunity, he kept insisting I looked tired and should go to sleep. When we got back to mine I was sufficiently uncomfortable enough to keep my stare out of the window - clocking this, he switched my 50 when I wasn't looking for a fake one, and told me to change it as it was ripped. I shoved it back in my bag and gave him a 100 and he told me to give him more change so as to save his, and he could give me another 50 instead. Which I did. When I got out I realised the 2nd was a fake and hollered him back, and he changed it without question. I didn't realise til I got home that the 1st was a fake. This guy must've had a whole stash of these fake notes in his cab. And he gave me the taxi receipt without any question either (which is the same as the fake one above). I've been here 4 years and like to think I'm quite savvy about the local scams, but I guess these b*stards just keep throwing them out there. Still livid I got scammed by this slimy git. Girls beware too 