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 It
would be wise to use taxi services as main transportation means if you are
the first time in the city. Taking taxi is extremely convenient in Beijing.
There are over 70,000 taxi cabs running in every corner of the city. In
order to better serve the Olympic Games, 90,000 taxi drivers had been required
to speak some basic English. Recently, some taxi service companies started
to install translation devices in their taxi cabs, in an attempt to provide
multi-lingual services. The languages initially covered included English,
Japanese and Korea.
Cost of taxi services in Beijing is quite reasonable, with 10 yuan for the
first three kilometer and 2 yuan per additional kilometer thereafter during
day time. If the total trip is over 15 kilometers, however, the rate
for the excessive portion would become 3 yuan per kilometer. Between 11:00pm
and 5:00am is considered as night run. The nightly taxi rate is 11 yuan
for the first three kilometers, 2.4 yuan per kilometer afterwards up to
15 kilometer and 3.4 yuan per kilometers for the portion over 15 kilometers.
You will also be charged for waiting and stoppage time, adding one
kilometer for every five minutes. You are recommended to request a receipt
at the end of each trip with detailed trip information listed. This would
be very helpful should you have any problems such as having left personal
belonging in the cab.
Typically you should be able to hire a taxi anywhere in Beijing, even on
the street. In some busy areas such as Tiananmen square, however,
you may want to watch out. If there is a solid white line on the curbside
of a street, taxi can not stop. Otherwise, the driver will be ticketed
by traffic cops who are constantly patrolling the streets. In this case,
you need to look for the designated taxi pickup locations in the nearby
area. In addition, if you know the direction to your destination,
it would be a good practice to hire a taxi on the correct side of the road.
Tips on hiring taxi services in Beijing
It is very easy to hire a taxi cab in Beijing. However, you want to make
sure to hire only legitimate taxies. There are always unlicensed "cabs"
running around on the streets and soliciting business from the tourists.
This type of taxi can not provide you with the service you expect and you
may also get ripped off. A legitimate taxi must have a roof top sign and
a driver's registration card adhered to the dash on passenger's side.
Always ask someone to write down your destination in Chinese beforehand
in case of getting lost.
Try your best to avoid the rush hours.
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