It’s no secret: Beijing is massive and getting from point A to point B as a functioning adult is tough some days. Doing it with kids…on the best of days…nightmare! For most of us, getting around requires my least favorite form of travel – Didi. It’s expensive, it’s slow, it pollutes the air and in my case, induces motion sickness. So here are a few alternatives. None of them are particularly creative but all of them will save you money, time, and could even reduce the amount of vomit you need to scrape off some stranger’s back seat.

Old-School Walking: Like I said, not creative but it has worked for thousands of years. If it’s not a yucky AQI day or pouring rain, it will help your family get their steps in and provide some much-needed fresh air. Pro tip: To pass the time, play a focused game of I-Spy. Decide what your family will look for before you leave the house. Younger kids can see how many red items they pass for instance, while older ones can try to spot as many different flags as possible. Enjoy getting around outdoors while you can. In the winter, when temperatures dip below zero, it’s simply not an option. So take advantage of the capital’s beautiful spring and fall weather. Heck, even balmy summer afternoons or evenings are an excuse to get outside and move, albeit in shorter spurts. Just make sure you put on your SPF!

Scooters and Bikes: They’ve been an iconic part of Chinese life for more than a century and by far the fastest way to navigate the city! I found foldable scooters for kids on Taobao for as little as RMB 45. There are also tons of baby bike/scooter seats a mere click away. Just please make sure they have a helmet and I’m begging you: Don’t put them in the basket of a rented bike while weaving in and out of traffic. Check out this article on cycling with kids for some great safety tips.

The Subway: Okay, not my favorite – especially in the middle of the sweaty summer heat. But, if given the choice between sitting in rush hour traffic with a potty training child for an hour or doing a 20-minute subway ride, I know what I would pick. The subway is also fun for kids. They love the trains and lights and maps so take advantage of the inexpensive adventure.

Public Bus: Did you know that Apple Maps has integrated public buses into its navigational system? A colleague of mine followed instructions on the user-friendly app and seamlessly boarded, alighted, and transferred buses from downtown CBD all the way to her home in east Beijing. She prefers buses to the subway because she loves the passing scenery and fresh air (the windows are usually open on the bus unless it’s raining). Also, you can pay your bus fare with a simple tap using Alipay!

Final Thoughts: The number one reason I hear parents say they take a taxi is not because of the kids, it’s because of kid stuff. We live in the middle of a major city, not the desert! So ask yourself, do we really need three water bottles, four snack options, half a dozen toys, a full liter of hand sanitizer, and the Nintendo Switch for a one-hour trip to the park? A friend of mine used to have a house rule that if the 3-year-old couldn’t fit it in her mini-backpack it couldn’t come. Occasionally they would need to buy a bottle of water or some extra SPF, but I never knew her to be woefully unprepared. 

No matter how you get where you’re going remember we’re expats, travel is kind of our thing, so make it fun! Explore some new options of getting around the city; it’s really is as easy as riding a bike. *wink 

KEEP READING: Beijing Students Say the Darndest Things!

Photos: Unsplash

We’ve been riding 首约 ShouYue (short for 首气约车 Shouqi Yueche) ever since we arrived in Beijing last year. I was very reluctant at first to use their service considering their high price, but my husband explained that not only was there an ongoing promotion but also it was the only cab service at the time with air purifiers. At that moment we looked out at the gray haze outside our window, and all my objections disappeared like Beijing fresh air. So yes, we’ve been using it ever since then.

ShouYue basics
My husband and I call it 首汽 Shouqi, but according to its website its nickname is actually 首约 ShouYue. This cab company is a government-run service that’s supposed to be the answer to the city’s demands for a better standard of car service. Their additional services include free wifi, cellphone charging, and air purifiers in all their vehicles. Interestingly, their drivers are former Beijing cab drivers who are supposed to have been “trained” and reformed.

This training is evident by the memorized lines that exit their lips once they’ve started the car. Welcome to Shouqi Yueche. Please put on your seatbelts. Please tell me if the temperature is to your liking, etcetera. One time I actually answered, and the driver was confused and didn’t know what I was talking about. Of course, it could have just been my bad Chinese.

These drivers are supposed to be above par, which means they are expected to provide a better service than their average cabbie counterparts. They’re expected to open the door for you, help you put your things in the trunk, help you with whatever you need, basically.

ShouYue cars are mostly black, but the bigger ones for disabled people are silver. Each bear their company’s logo on the door of their back passenger’s seat, and their nameplates start with 京B.

In order to start using Shouqi Yueche, you’ll need to download their app.

App Info
Using their app is fairly easy…if you read Chinese. To install, download the app via your app store of choice by typing in the words 首汽约车 (Shouqi Yueche). After installing it, you will be asked to provide your phone number and also your city.

To add credit to your phone, click on the tiny hollow human on the upper left. A list of options will appear. Select the second option （我的账户）. Here you can prepay in six denominations: RMB 100, RMB 300, RMB 500, RMB 1000, RMB 2000 and RMB 5000. On the little box below these denominations, you also have the option of typing in your own amount. Your different online payment options are Alipay, Wechat, Jingdong and using online banking payment.

Price
To give you an idea: every morning around 7:45-8:10am, my children and I leave for my daughter’s school which is 4.16 km away from the gate of our compound. The trip will take us roughly 13-20 minutes, depending on the traffic. A trip to the school using Shouyue costs around RMB 39-49. Your average Beijing cab driver, however, would only charge me RMB 15.

Here is what the Shouyue breakdown of a morning trip looks like, translated:

The basic price is more or less what I would pay if I had hailed a normal Beijing cab. “Super mileage” is (Number of kilometers traveled) x (Fixed price: 2.8/km). Overtime charges are divided into two: flat peak and peak hour. For non-peak hours (aka “flat peak”) the calculation is (No. of minutes) x (RMB .5 per minute), while for peak hours it is (No. of minutes) x (RMB .5 + RMB .5/minute).

ShouYue has Air Purifiers
In my moments of frustration with ShouYue drivers, I’ve actually turned to the supposedly all-knowing Baidu and searched for alternatives. Unfortunately though, I’ve yet to find an another cab service with an air purifier in every single vehicle (99% of the vehicles we’ve ridden, anyway). Their newer cars (Camby Hybrid) already have air purifiers installed, while older cars have either the black ones like the one in the picture below hanging behind the driver’s seat or smaller black ones settled nicely on the car’s dashboard above the controls.

But here’s the thing: not every ShouYue driver believes that pollution is a worrisome foe, which is why some of them don’t even bother turning theirs on sometimes. This is why the first thing I recommend immediately looking for that air purifier and making sure it’s turned on soon as you’re settled.

Service
This premium car service also allows its customers to rate their respective riders. In the past, drivers were motivated to treat their customers better because they would get a 5 RMB reward for every 5 star rating they had. That motivation has since gone, and not all drivers have been giving the star quality treatment we once had.

I generally have a good experience riding these prestigious black cars. But on those days when I’m treated badly by a Shouqi Yueche driver, all I have to do is look out the window and see the gray sky and remind myself: as long as there’s clean air in this car, the kids and I are just fine. Then I mentally add “Rate this Driver after getting off” to my list of things to do for the day.

Photos: Jackie Park

(UPDATED) Transportation in Beijing via taxis is convenient and relatively cheap if you can get around the traffic. However, newcomers might shy from hailing taxis on their own due to the language barrier (the prospect of having to speak Mandarin), or a fear of being rejected by a cabbie (due to his fear of having to speak English). Fortunately, taxi and car hailing mobile apps have become more commonplace. In this guide, we outline the basics of taxis and the most foreigner-friendly private car hailing apps in Beijing.

Taxis
If your phone is out of battery, not set up for payment, or you just don’t want to try to speak Mandarin over the phone, a normal taxi will do just fine.  Beijing taxi rates start at RMB 13 (RMB 14 between 11pm-5am), then RMB 2.30 per km (RMB 2.80 per km at night, RMB 3.5 after 15km).  Most drivers do not speak English — you’re lucky if they speak standard Mandarin — and many are illiterate, in case you’re wondering why they get angry when you stick an address in their face. So sometimes it helps to prepare your own GPS using Baidu Maps, or at least a map with your intended location. It might be worth investing in a “taxi book”, which has lists of destinations with their addresses in Chinese characters and Pinyin. The newer versions have maps too, and there’s even an app for i-Phone, called Beijing Taxi-Book.  Drivers tend to know major street names and landmarks such as tourist sites, but if you do encounter a clueless driver, try suggesting a nearby subway station to keep him on track.  Be warned that taxis might smell of third hand smoke! They usually only take passengers from the right side (for safety reasons), and most do not have seat belts (so don’t bother with the child car seat).  If you travel far, or use an expressway, the incurred toll fee will be added to your total cost (usually RMB 5-10) and you will receive the receipt for it.  If you prefer ordering a taxi the traditional way (for a RMB 5 tip), then call 96103 and press 8 for English service.

Taxi Vocabulary
Prefer to just hail a cab? If possible, have the Chinese address handy. At first, it’s helpful to have a contact number for someone who can guide the driver if necessary. Here are some useful phrases:

• I’m going _____.  Wǒ qù _____. 我去 _____。
• How much? Duō shao qián?多少钱？
• We’ve arrived. Dào le . 到了。
• Turn right. Zuǒ zhuǎn/guǎi. 右转／拐。
• Turn left. Yòu zhuǎn/guǎi. 左转／拐。
• Please give me the receipt. Qǐng gěi wǒ fāpiào. 请给我发票。
• Where are you going? Nǐ qù nǎr? 你去哪儿？

Dididache (Didi) 滴滴打车
Dididache, previously a taxi ordering service that merged with its American rival Uber in 2016, and has been providing us with everything we could possibly ask for in a car hailing service in one app.  The app is not only available on iOS, Android, and Windows interfaces, but has also been added into the WeChat platform, allowing users to order a car even without downloading their app.  The only caveat to the app is that it’s in Chinese.

How to use Didi on WeChat:
(note, you’ll need an active WeChat Wallet)
1. Click on the “Me” tab
2. Click on “Wallet” and you’ll see the option to “Order a Taxi” once you scroll down
3. Allow the app to find your location (click “OK”)
3. Fill in your locations (to and from)
4. Enter tip amount (optional)
5. The driver will call you to discuss the pick up

If you don’t want to pay via WeChat wallet, you can always pay cash and still get a receipt (fapiao), making it easy to order taxis for other people.

How to use the Didi app:
1. When you open the interface, select the type of service you want: Chūzūchē 出租车 (normal taxi), Kuàichē 快车 (private drivers), Zhuānchē 专车 (VIP version), Pīnchē 拼车 (carpool), or Dàijià 代驾 (driver drives your car for you)
2. Input pick up location by tapping into your GPS.
3. Input drop off location.
4. Wait for driver to call you.
5. Pay via app (unless it’s a legit taxi, in which case you could pay cash).

Payment method: Cash for licensed taxis, WeChat Wallet, and Alipay. Normally you have to go in and manually “pay” for the ride (and you won’t be able to request another ride until you’ve cleared your debts), but you can also set up “automatic payment” which will deduct as soon as the driver taps the arrive button.  For company reimbursement purposes, if you do not pay cash or you use Didi private car services, you can request receipts to be sent to you for free if the fare is above RMB 200.

Verdict:  Didi is the most convenient way to order a licensed taxi without having to add a tip. Since you’ve already inputted GPS locations and addresses, it also does not require much communication with the driver.  The Kuàichē function is significantly cheaper, especially since Didi regularly gives users vouchers and coupons.  While Kuàichē  cars can be domestic, or even electric, Zhuānchē has higher standards where drivers are often professional chauffeurs working on the side.  Pīnchē is the cheapest option of all as it is a legitimate carpool, but can be a slower alternative due to pitstops.

Photo: BFISHADOW and POELOQ (Flickr)

Editor’s note: This article had a section about Uber, but it was removed since the company had merged with Didi. This article originally appeared on pages 52 and 53 of the 2016 Home and Relocation Guide. Click here for your free online copy. To find out how you can obtain a hard copy, contact distribution@truerun.com.

Rude Public Taxis or Polite Ubers
Readers across our social platforms responded to our last Uber article with both shock and anger. Some vowed to never use Uber again, while others defiantly protested the conditions of public transportation, from taxis to buses to subways. Other than complaints of cleanliness, most comments revolved around the issues of price, customer service and driver attitudes. Kristiana L., 36, mom of 2, explained her reasons for picking Uber over Didi’s pool of public taxis:

“I chose Uber over Didi because when I downloaded both apps (a while ago), Uber was in English and easy for me to set up, without having to translate anything. I just stuck with it.”

Her experiences continued to validate her choice.

“I have to drop my son off at school before I go to work. When taking public taxis, there would frequently be the situation that the driver would get upset or frustrated if he had to wait while I went inside to bring my son to school.   Of course, sometimes there was no problem, but it is just not a battle you want to worry about having every day during rush hour. Uber drivers simply nod their heads and we head to the school.”

She notes that there are disadvantages to Uber, like lack of fapiao and that drivers don’t know their way around as well as city drivers. Also, functional Chinese is a must since drivers always call to coordinate pick up.

Regardless, she points out, “I am really happy with Uber. Some drivers are better than others, but overall, it is just less stressful than taxis. And having kids, you try to minimize stress in any way you can, [especially in another country].”

Uber Drivers Spooked
Prompted by the buzz, another reader came forward with her story.  Megan R., 29, from Rochester, New York was in Beijing for a visit with friends in early March.  During her stay, her host set up an Uber ride to Solana for a shopping trip.

“The drive was fine. When we arrived, he pointed to the entrance. I got out, then a gentleman in plain clothes got into the front seat.  I walked about fifteen feet toward the entrance when a couple of younger officers in uniform greeted me in English.”

They asked for her details and identification.  The also took down her host’s phone number since Megan was in town for a short time and chose to go without a phone.

“I’m not scared of the police, and since the guy spoke English, I wasn’t nervous. When the driver was brought out of the car and handcuffed, he looked at me like he wanted help. He looked scared and nervous.”

Although her experience was much less frightening than the previous account, Uber drivers are responding to the crackdown. Community members have reported strange Uber behavior, from hugs to handshakes to star treatment.

“The day after a friend reported a similar incident, my Uber driver treated me to what felt like butler service. He greeted me loudly, then when we arrived at my destination, he got out of the car, opened my door, and shook hands when I got out before he climbed back into the car with a wave. If I hadn’t heard my friend’s story, I’d have thought he’d mistaken me for Mick Jagger,” said Mike Peters, 58, Food Editor at China Daily.

A Language Lyft
With these concerns from women and families in Beijing and the recent Uber arrests, Didi Chuxing’s timing may be perfect in partnering with Lyft and introducing a new service called “Baby Project” (Baobei Jihua).

Xiaoni Chen, a representative at Didi, explained parents can expect to see the new app floating around sometime before June 30 this year, the last day of China’s Q2.

When asked about the concerns of moms shared with our team, Ms. Chen responded that Didi’s current application allows for immediate feedback on driver performance so users are able to avoid drivers who have received poor ratings, while Didi uses this feature for quality control for their private drivers.

Didi’s private driver pool receives training in customer services on site and in person. Their elite hailing services provide a water bottle in the back seat, and a cell phone charge for a few extra RMB.

Many expats who are able to speak putonghua but cannot type and read hanzi were dismayed by the removal of the talk function. Lyft’s new application will be completely in English.

The application will also use both the public and private drivers in Didi’s pool of registered drivers.

Didi’s app in other countries has live translation services between driver and rider, but whether Lyft will also have this function is currently unsure. Ms. Chen said, “Lyft’s product details will not be available until after the launch.”

The First Kid Ride App of the Future
Also in a move to cater to the parent community, Didi announced on Thursday they are to release a service to provide safe commutes for children whose parents are unable to drive them to school, according to a report from AllChinaTech, a content partner of beijingkids.

Drivers must have a clean criminal record and more than ten years of driving experience, and pass a health exam.  All drivers will take Didi-provided emergency training in first aid and child psychology.

Cars will be equipped with Britax car seats for children under the age of 12 and first-aid kits, and Didi will purchase insurance for drivers and passengers. Before you get too excited though – these services might only be available to those using the Didi Chinese app, not Lyft.

Source: AllChinaTech.com

It’s not easy going green, but the Beijing taxi fleet seems set to give it its best shot.

The city’s 46,000 taxis will be switched from petroleum power to electric over the next three to four years, if a statement made by Zhang Xiyong, vice-president of China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Group can be believed. Zhang made his comments at the Global Automotive Forum in Wuhan.

The idea has been met with resistance from Beijing’s notoriously not-so-charming drivers, who fear that battery capacity will reduce the time they can spend on the road waving people off. Electric vehicles have a range between 160 and 320 kilometers per charge. The city government plans to establish battery exchange stations, where drivers will be able to swap batteries and head back on the road quickly. The move is part of the city government’s efforts to reduce pollution, especially auto emissions.

Drivers were less than amused by the smattering of compressed natural gas-powered taxis that were introduced prior to the 2008 Olympics and removed from service shortly afterwards. There is no indication that the move to electric power would affect taxi fares.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on October 17, 2014

Photo: Boris Van Hoytema (flickr)

Image via chinatravelcompass.com.

According to a report from the Bureau of Transportation of Beijing, there are 67,000 registered taxis in Beijing and over 200,000 registered taxi drivers. There is no shortage of people to drive the 67,000 cabs … so where are they all?

Anecdotal evidence of taxi-related frustrations is on the rise; it seems like everybody in the office has a story about their recent struggles to hail a cab. If you are lucky enough to spot one these days, then you’ll need lotto-winning luck to get anything other than the world’s most dismissive hand wave from its driver. And this is when it’s not bad weather (and all Beijingers know that bad weather can mean as little as a couple of raindrops or being slightly breezier than normal). Or at changeover time (which seems to be about every ten minutes these days). Or at dinner time (the taxi man has to eat too). 

The average working time of a Beijing taxi driver is 14 hours per day and 427 hours per month – that’s 168 hours more than legitimate working hours, and their typical wage is less than the Beijing average. We understand that cabbies don’t have the easiest job, and that there will be mitigating circumstances at certain times, but what is going on with Beijing taxis? Where have all the cab drivers gone? Is it us that’s going mad?

We’ve checked the local media and there’s been no mention of a decrease in taxi numbers. The Global Times published a story on the difficulties of getting a legal taxi outside Beijing’s railway stations but that’s nothing new. We’d expect to wait for a cab at the airport or train station or outside the NCPA after a night at the opera, but why has the supply of taxis dried up in other parts of town? Without any official comment, and nothing else to go on, all we can offer is speculation and our own observations. We’re not saying that these are causes or knock-on effects, merely things we’re noticed.

• Increase in rickshaws (especially in Sanlitun)
• Drink-driving stops at major intersections
• Unwillingness of drivers to take fares (or use the metre)
• Huge spike in fake/illegal taxi drivers

Have you noticed this phenomenon too? What do you think is going on? What are the alternatives to waiting for a cab (when there’s no subway or you’ve no bike)?

Thoughts? Opinions? Share your thoughts on this issue in our Forum here.

This article is excerpted from thebeijinger.com.