By staff reporter ANAÏS CHAILLOLEAU

IN China, there are ample means of locomotion for day-to-day living: subway, buses, cars, motorbikes, bikes, rickshaws, scooters, and even electric-powered wheelchairs… but taxis rank high on the list.

Taxi Profusion   

Taxis are certainly the most convenient mode of transport, as it requires little effort to raise your arm, hail a cab, and sink into a comfortable seat. What’s more, fares in China remain affordable. They start in daytime hours in the capital at RMB 13 (about two euros) for the first three kilometers, after which you pay another RMB 2.3 (about 0.30 euros) per kilometer. This is far less expensive than that in European capitals. In London, for example, the taximeter displays a minimum price of £2.20. This then soars, according to time and distance, so rapidly that you could pay £10 for just two kilometers over 15 minute.  And in some cities, like Paris, the cab driver expects an additional fee if you have luggage. In China, taxi drivers make no charge for this service.

This difference in tariffs is due, firstly, to different living standards, and secondly, to the different numbers of taxis in these countries. For example, 50,000 taxis operate on French territory (one third in Paris and two thirds in the provinces). In some cities, the French government imposes a “one taxi per 2,000 inhabitants” quota. In China, the number of taxis is estimated at one million, 70,000 of them in the capital city alone, which means a ratio of one taxi per 300 inhabitants. In fact, it is never difficult to find a taxi in Beijing, other than if you are in the middle of nowhere, or, at the opposite end of the scale, in a crowded urban center during rush hour.

Taxicabs as we know them today came into existence in Europe and in the U.S. at the end of the 19th century. They appeared in China at the beginning of the following century, but were the exclusive reserve of distinguished personages. During the 1960s and 70s, taxis were used as a quick bus: they picked passengers up at one station and drove them to another. As the Chinese enjoyed better living conditions, the demand for taxis increased, and associated services improved after 1980: more taxi companies then came into being, and equipping each vehicle with a meter became compulsory. These innovations started in Guangzhou, and rapidly spread throughout the country.

Nowadays, taking a cab is commonplace in China. Taking a taxi from the airport to the hotel you have booked is in fact a form of initiation for foreigners arriving in this country. Before coming to China, I was warned to beware of rip-off drivers, who brazenly turn off the meter or make long detours without your knowledge. According to my personal experience, as long as you avoid illegal, or “black’ taxis,” you won’t meet such problems. The worst case scenario is a gruff driver with a strong Beijing accent who doesn’t know the way to your destination. But you are most likely to hail an experienced navigator who knows the city like the back of his hand.

No Calm Waters in a Cabbie’s Life

In order to protect customers from misconduct, taxi drivers are strictly regulated. Possession of a driving license is not enough to pursue a professional career. You need to have had your license for at least three years, during which time you have been “free of any accidents.” Only then can you undergo training and a final exam. Furthermore, taxi drivers are mandatorily affiliated to big taxi companies — generally a local monopoly or duopoly — to which they pay high monthly franchise fees. But the most effective control emanates from passengers, who can lodge complaints against inept drivers through the fare receipt. In 2012, Chinese transport authorities enacted a rule whereby any driver refusing to accept a passenger without due cause, or intentionally followed a longer itinerary to inflate the bill could be liable to a fine.

In brief, taxi drivers have no choice but to be nice to their customers. Some stay silent to concentrate on the road; others like to start a conversation. They are generally curious about foreign fares: “Where do you come from? What are you doing in China? Oh, you can speak Chinese! How long have you been in China?...” They are sometimes quite likely to keep you in their taxi longer than necessary just to have a chat. 

A taxi drivers’ life seldom encounters calm waters, but more likely a waterfall of automobiles poised to honk. In 2014, job search website CareerCast listed taxi driver as the 10th most stressful profession. The hours Chinese taxi drivers spend on the bitumen – about 14 a day – don’t count, and they earn an average monthly salary of RMB 2,000-3,000. Despite their inevitable fatigue, most work at night too, as the fare fixed by the municipality is higher at this time, and subways and buses have stopped service.

Heading towards Modernity

In 2012, innovation gave way to new opportunities, but also new challenges. Today, thanks to mobile applications, taxis can be ordered online. It’s easy: you state your points of departure and arrival; if an empty taxi is nearby the driver answers and comes to pick you up immediately. Both parties benefit from this new service: passengers are certain of getting a taxi and can wait for it indoors if the weather is bad, and taxi drivers don’t have to cruise for miles to find fares. At the end of the ride, all the passenger has to do is tap his smartphone to pay via an integrated payment system. In addition, regular users might win discounts as a reward for loyalty.

The taxi-ordering app is a huge hit. About one fifth of journeys are booked from a smartphone, according to periodical Le Vent de la Chine. There were at first two competing apps in China: Kuaidi Dache (sponsored by Alibaba), which holds 56.5 percent of the market share, and Didi Dache, (sponsored by Tencent), with 43.3 percent of the market share, according to statistics from Analysys International. After engaging in fierce competition, the two online taxi reservation leaders declared last February 14 — maybe a Valentine’s Day miracle— a “strategic merger” valued at US $6 billion.

Taxi drivers see this as a pretty nifty invention, but one which nevertheless needs to be as controlled as their job. At the beginning of 2015, a wave of protests exploded throughout the country: on the one hand taxi drivers were complaining about the exorbitant fees they have to pay; on the other, they were protesting at the illegal competition these new technologies have generated. In response, China’s Ministry of Transport took action by forbidding, for safety reasons, private cars and unlicensed taxis offering services via these applications. Further rules are under consideration, for instance, restrictions based on time, and prohibiting taxi drivers from using the device when they are already carrying a customer.

New possibilities deriving from technological improvements focus more on Chinese cab drivers and highlight the difficulties they suffer in their profession, and how undervalued they are. It’s to be hoped that reforms arising from this situation will ensure them the better lot they deserve.