Beijing Taxis: Off the Clock

Part tour guide, part philosopher, and part news-commentator, Beijing taxi drivers are some of the most unabashed opinioned voices on life in the city.

Even the government has recognized their potential to be the face of the city, passing resolution after resolution to get them cleaned up, non-smoking, and smiling. Witnessing the rapid rate of change on the streets everyday, Beijing taxi drivers are on the frontlines of the New China. Here are some of their stories.

Zhang Biao, ID #122064

What’s it like driving a cab in Beijing?
It’s just du [jammed]—what else do you want to know?

Is driving a taxi getting better or worse?
In general, traffic aside, everything is getting better—the cars, the roads, even the company benefits. Out of every 5,000 RMB we drivers make for our company, we earn back 500 RMB. Their benefits are very good: insurance, pension, an allowance for kids’ education...but no holidays.

What are the best routes?
The longer drives, like going to the Great Wall or the Ming Tombs. The farther, the better! [Laughs.]

If you could change anything about this job, what would it be?
The hours—taxi drivers are always tired. I don’t get any vacations and some drivers work really hard—even 24-hour shifts. There was even a driver who was found dead in his cab on the side of the road! Each day, you can only work so much.

Has the upcoming Olympics increased your foreign fares lately?
I do get some foreigners, but still mostly Chinese customers. But one time I drove an American hei ren [black person] who was in Beijing to give a dance performance. We started talking and he explained the performance to me, which involved America’s native people. It sounded very interesting, and he ended up inviting me to the performance! I attended. There was even a dinner, and they invited me up to dance with them! I really remember that fondly.

Do you have any other unusual taxi stories?
Another time, a young man got in my car to go visit his girlfriend at the hospital. After he got out, I noticed there was a package in the car—it was full of money! I went back to find him at the hospital. I had to, it wasn’t mine, I had no right to take it. It turns out that the guy had just sold his house, and that was everything he had—can you imagine if he had lost it all? I waited at the hospital entrance for him, and eventually he came out. As soon as he saw me, he knew why I was there.

It’s important to xingshan [do good deeds]; every year, I try to follow this belief, it’s something that Confucius said.

An Zi, ID #199204

Is traffic getting worse?
If you compare the traffic to when I started seven years ago, there’s no question it’s gotten worse. That’s guaranteed. It’s a very serious problem for Beijing—but in other big cities, like in America, traffic is a problem there too, right? [Laughs.] But maybe not as big of a problem as in Beijing!

As the Olympics approaches, have you noticed more foreigners lately?
While I do get a fair amount of foreign fares, I still mostly drive Chinese people —I’d say I have about 80 percent Chinese passengers. My English isn’t quite conversational yet, but if you can communicate with our foreign friends, it’s much more enjoyable and they’ll use you again. It’s also interesting to practice chatting with them—and they’re often very courteous! It’s a good relationship overall.

Are you excited about the Olympics?
Very excited—I think it will be very successful, both nationally and personally. It’s such a big opportunity: quan ming jie bing—“all the people become soldiers.” This isn’t literal, of course, but everyone in the country, from workers to senior citizens to young children and students, everyone will take part in the Olympics. This is an opportunity for everyone to show off the good things about the
country.

One time I had a young couple that was moving, and they brought their kid in the cab with them. When they got out, they moved all their stuff into the house—but they left the kid!

If Taxi Driving were an Olympic event, would you compete?
Absolutely! Actually, there already is something like this but it’s not exactly a contest, it’s a friendly competition. Every year in July, the city announces the best drivers, and their cabs get a red star on their taxi light. It’s not an award; each year they choose 600 drivers to be the standard of our profession. It’s judged on how well your customer feedback is, so it’s good if you have your customers write in about you! But of course, this is the way it should be for all drivers—it’s our duty.

The Olympics are an opportunity for international exchange, and right now I’m trying to improve my English. It’s very difficult! [Laughs.] I want to be able to communicate with my international passengers, so that they can also better understand China. This is silly, but I’ve heard that someplace in Africa, if you shake your head, it means yes, and if you nod your head, it means no! A Singaporean client told me about this. It’s very interesting to me! I think listening is very important—I learn a lot just by listening, when I can understand and communicate with my customers. The things that they can tell me about are not things I can easily hear about by reading or on the internet. So I always try to listen as much as possible. Of course, my customers can also learn a little about China from me.

Do you have any crazy taxi stories?
One time I had a young couple that was moving, and they brought their kid in the cab with them. When they got out, they moved all their stuff into the house—but they left the kid! I didn’t notice either, so I drove for about 2 kilometers and almost picked up another customer. This was around 9pm, and when he looked in the back seat, he said, “Wow, you really work hard—you’re even taking your baby along with you!” Wah—I looked in the back and there was the couple’s kid! So I rushed back and the couple was still there. They hadn’t even finished moving their stuff in—or noticed that their baby was missing! When they saw me, they said, “Did we forget one of our bags?” and I said, “No, I’ve got something else—come over here and look in the backseat, I think it’s much more important than a bag!” I didn’t go back to them in a panic and say, “Oh my God, you left your kid in my cab!” Instead I was joking with them, so everyone was pretty amused. They could have gotten upset, or the wife may have gotten angry with the husband, or vice versa…but in the end, it wasn’t a problem.

It sounds like you have a knack for dealing with customers.
You can say something in a different way to make it much more agreeable to a customer. I remember one passenger—dressed like someone important, maybe a doctor—asked me if he could smoke in the cab. I told him “I’m sorry, but the taxi companies don’t allow smoking in the cars anymore.” He lit up a cigarette and said, “If I just take a quick puff or two, would that be okay?” So I said to him “How about this: I’m a smoker also, if you really need to smoke right now, I can go pull over at a safe spot, and then we can get out—and I’ll take a puff or two also!’ Then he said, “Well, no, that’s okay, let’s just keep going” and he put out his cigarette. If I had just gruffly told him “No smoking,” he might have gotten put off and gotten a new cab—but by telling him this way, he was able to accept it. I knew he would stay in the cab.

If you were in charge of all taxi rules in Beijing, what would you change?
I would make it a requirement to go visit other countries and see how other taxis are. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to experience this myself.

Tian Hongjie, ID #089158

What’s the best and worst parts about driving a cab?
I have some independence, but I don’t make much money as a taxi driver­—the fees are too high. If I could change anything, I would reduce the company fee and give drivers more rest time.

What’s your favorite route to drive?
Whichever road doesn’t have a traffic jam on it! The routes I like best are the long-distance ones.

In general, how do you like your fares?
All customers are the same; whoever gets on, I’ll take them wherever they want to go. One time, however, a Mongolian customer didn’t pay me. I drove him to a hotel and he said he would go inside to get money…then of course, he just disappeared. I went into the hotel to find him, and the whole place was run by Mongolians—I felt very threatened! I don’t think even the police would have had a chance at finding that guy in that Mongolian hotel.

Since you first started driving, are things getting better or worse?
The traffic is getting worse every year, that’s just how it is in big cities. It’s not going to get much better. Of course, other things like the roads, the cars—these things will only get better. My first car, 14 years ago, was a Lada—a Russian car. It really was a po che [broken-down car]—I was always fixing it. So every year, things are generally getting better.

Are you excited about the Olympics?
Of course I’m happy about the Olympics! I’ll probably be working, but if I have the time I’ll go see some events...it’ll have to be from the back door, though! I’d like to see some basketball, I can just watch from the door. [Laughs.]

If Taxi Driving were an Olympic event, would you compete?
Of course I would! Would I come in first? Well, that’s hard to say.… [Laughs.]

[After the interview, an unidentified interloper approaches us:]
Interloper: Hey! Hey, are you doing a media report? Write this down: they won’t fix the potholes! There are almost 10,000 of us that pay 1.5 kuai to park here each day… and look at this! Look at all these holes!

Sorry, we’re interviewing taxi drivers
You want to talk some more? I’ll tell you what—are you hungry? Why don’t we go over to the restaurant over there, we’ll get some food, you foot the bill, and we’ll answer all the questions you have. Whaddaya think?

Xiao Wang*, ID #253717

*unwilling to give his real name

You say you’re not actually from Beijing, but from the suburbs?
Don’t write that! And it’s best if you don’t take photos in my cab, either!

How long have you been driving a taxi?
Almost two years now. I work my own hours.

What are the best and worst parts about being a taxi driver?
What? What’s...good? I don’t really understand this question…ah, it just is what it is.

Well, for example, do you like chatting with customers?
Talking with customers? Well, that’s tricky, because there are many different people. If you can’t connect with someone, what is there to talk about? Because once you start talking, it’s easy to just go off in a random direction...and if you can’t really make a good conversation, or you get into an argument, why bother in the first place?

What’s your favorite route through?
Beijing? This…there’s no answer to this. Wherever the customer wants to go, that’s where we go. There’s no like or dislike involved—first, it’s the customer’s decision on where to go. The next thing to consider is which roads are jammed or not. This has nothing to do with where I like to go, or where I want to go.

Where is your favorite place to pick up fares?
I don’t have a set place to wait. If there are customers, I’ll pick them up and take them wherever. You really can’t have a set place—if a customer takes you to Xicheng, you can’t just drive back to Dongcheng—oil is expensive, not to mention the time it would take!

What types of people take taxis in Beijing?
What do you mean by this?

Well, why do you have this guard cage up?
Oh this? Yes, this fence, I think, shouldn’t be taken down. Is there an issue? My company hasn’t yet made any regulations. But just speaking for myself, I like the safety. That’s my one-person opinion, I’m not qualified to speak for others.

Is driving that dangerous?
Safety, I think, is very important. If the company makes a rule [to have them taken away], then I’ll just go to another company. Er, what magazine are you from again?

What makes a good or bad fare?
I like customers who are more civilized or polite, people with less issues…bai nian [literally, “white-faced;” loosely, “white-collar”]. If their intellect is a bit higher, that’s good for communication, and better understanding.

Are you looking forward to the Olympics?
Yes—well…I’ll say what they all say; this is, of course, very important for the country, definitely a good thing. But I can’t really say much more.

What about during the actual two weeks of the Olympics? Will you work or take some time to see some events?
What? There’s no way we’ll be able to rest during the actual Olympics—we can’t go see the matches! Where would we go to watch the competition?

If Taxi Driving were an Olympic event, would you apply for competition?
I’m not sure I understand...What kind of taxi competition would there be?

For example, who’s the fastest? The safest?
How would you have a competition like that?!? Even if there was one, I wouldn’t join. If there was really a competition like that—“who drives the fastest”—that’s not safe at all! Who would want to get first place in something like that?