I've shared cabs many times over the 7 years I've been here. I've never had a cab driver demand more money for stopping more than once. There've been a few times where we had 3 stops, although they were all on the way to the final destination. I just tell the cab driver that we're going to two places, first to x, then y.
Welcome To Share The Beijing Taxi?
Would you share a taxi with a stranger?
You might need to soon, because cab-sharing seems to be the closest Beijing transport authorities can get to a "policy" that would solve the ever-increasing problem of finding a taxi in Beijing.
China Daily today quotes Yao Kuo, the head of Beijing's "transportation law enforcement team," as saying:
"Regulations permit co-hiring a taxi when all passengers get in the car at the same place and head in the same direction ... We hope taxi enterprises will try to offer such a service."
The report goes on to quote a traffic law professor who suggests cab-sharing would also reduce congestion and carbon emissions from exhausts. I would have thought that only further reducing the number of vehicles on the road would have those effects, but there you go.
Passengers and taxi drivers are later quoted as having reservations about the prospect of taxi-sharing: passengers don't want to share with strangers at night, drivers don't want the headache of dealing with cab-sharers who both want fapiao, and so on.
And anyway, just how easy is it to find other people who are getting into a taxi at the same place and going in the same direction?
From my near-daily routine of hailing a cab from the East Second Ring Road at Chaoyangmen, I'd say it's not particulary easy. I'm often the only person looking for a cab, and even when I'm not I can't imagine many of my cab-seeking rivals are going my way. (On one day of particularly bad weather, a very kind lady did tell the cabbie to stop and let me get into her cab. I was massively grateful for the gesture, but even at that she was going from the East Second Ring Road to Jinbao Jie, and I to Wanda Plaza.) If Beijing is serious, the only solutions I can see involve designated taxi stops (which sounds like a terrible idea) or some kind of taxi social networking site.
The latter might actually already be here, with new website Wodache. The upcoming issue of our sister magazine Agenda (out April 5) features an interview with Wodache's founders, so you can read the full story on them there, but in the meantime take a look at their site. They're not fully launched yet, and the site is currently only available in Chinese, but this might be the kind of tool that Beijing's transport chiefs will be thankful for if they're going to insist on taxi sharing rather than any other policy that doesn't rely on the goodwill of strangers.
How do you feel? Would you share a cab? Any cab-sharing experiences? Tell us all about them in the space below.
PHOTO: Africabeatblog.com
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"But even if I did, the larger issue remains. There would still be thousands of other people in Beijing looking for taxis every day."
Yes there would be. However, its not about them; its about you. I'm encouraging YOU to set an example.
your tag reads:
Iain Shaw
Deputy Managing Editor
the Beijinger
Use your public presence to set an example, not just shrug responsibility by saying, "everybody else does it too."
Think of it as a good opportunity to build your magazine's PR image.
the public transportation option
Public transportation is still not a regular option for many; the public transportation network is not yet comprehensive and the city has primarily focused on accommodating the masses of cars. It won't be until sometime next year that the (affordable) area I used to live in will receive its own subway station. I attempted several times to commute back and forth between home and the office via public services, but a 20 to 30-minute ride on the scooter always became a 1 1/2-hour odyssey by bus, subway and foot...if I could even get into one of the packed buses especially during the evening rush hours.
At this point in time, sadly, we NEED this alternative of taxis if the alternative can't be to return to a more bike-friendly territory, which would make so much more sense. Personally, I use the scooter as much as I can if the distance is not too long, the item I need to transport not too big, and the temperature not too low.
GJN,
Thanks for your suggestions. I'll admit that taking a taxi every day is no good. I should probably start cycling again. Or walk.
But even if I did, the larger issue remains. There would still be thousands of other people in Beijing looking for taxis every day. Try ordering them to "take the subway" - it's more complicated than that.
A few good reasons why Beijingers will still want to drive or take taxis:
1. People have jobs that require them to cover distances too large for cycling.
2. Many parts of Beijing are not yet covered by the subway system.
3. The subway is already dangerously overcrowded. Line 1 at rush hour is an accident waiting to happen. If everyone who you accuse of "killing the earth" by taking taxis or driving took your advice and shifted onto the subway and/or buses tomorrow, I doubt the system could cope with the extra volume.
Public transport could be a solution, but Beijing needs to invest in building a subway system that can safely handle the demand. Until that happens, It's not simply a matter of ordering the city's residents onto the subways.
and unless your are physically handicapped (or in your case mentally handicapped) you should slap yourself. doesnt the theme of this article address the fact that taxis are never in sufficient supply at peak hours? and here you are writing a piece in which you admit you contribute to the problem rather than taking the public transportation option.
"From my near-daily routine of hailing a cab from the East Second Ring Road at Chaoyangmen, I'd say it's not particulary easy."
take the subway. you are the reason beijing has horrible traffic. Wanda Plaza (the beijinger) is at dawanglu station. stop killing the earth.
It's already standard practice for taxi drivers to "invite" more than one passenger especially on rainy days, so they can charge double or triple. They figured this out a long time ago 
Though adding a financial incentive for Beijing taxi drivers to drive more and moan less, legitimizing and advertising this practice is not going to fix the underlying, general problem with the capital's horrid taxi "services"...it will just add another set of problems.
Introducing the idea of private car sharing - a great solution for Beijing - would be extremely hard because a "pooling culture" simply does not exist yet, but hopefully become an option in the future if nothing changes on the taxi front. It would be great if people would start looking into and taking such initiatives independent of a taxi scene that needs a radical kick in the butt.
This is just taking what's already being done in many places across Beijing and legitimizing it. When I used to live in Fangshan taxis would wait near Liuliqiao and once they were full they would leave. At worst its just finding another way to take a cut of the taxi drivers cash. At best its pretty cool to see law reflecting what people actually do. I hope they aren't trying to make this normal for every cab ride though..
