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Home → Beijing Travel Guide → Beijing Transportation → Beijing Taxi

Beijing Taxi

There are approx. 70,000 taxis going around in Beijing. The present taxi number is barely enough for the increasing public needs. At peak hours, people find it a bit hard to hail a taxi on the streets. 

Most of the taxi drivers can speak little English, you are advised to keep the name of your hotel written in Chinese or you may ask your hotel staff to write it down for you. So you are able to show it to a driver.

All legitimate taxis in Beijing use meters, so just get in the taxi and pay the fare when you get out. To advoid possible dispute, you are advised to take fapiao (receipts) which willl be printed automatically for you.



Taxi quantity in Beijing:
Beijing currently has three million motor vehicles, of which there are about 70,000 legitimate cabs, illegal taxis (commonly known as "black car") of up to 20,000 - 30,000 (one third of the legitimate taxis).

Current legal taxi models:
Major: Sonata, Jetta, the red flag, China, Elysée, Santana 3000.



Beijing taxi charges:
Daytime: 5:00 - 23:00
♦ RMB 10 just for getting in for 3km
♦ RMB 2 charged for additional 1km after 3km
♦ RMb 3 charged for additional 1km after 15km
Minnight 11:00 pm – 05:00am
♦ RMB 11 just for getting in for 3km
♦ RMB 2.4 charged for additional 1km beyond 3km
♦ RMb 3.4 charged for additional 1km after 15km
♦ Waiting in a traffic jam or for the lights to turn green, it is charged as 1 kilometer per 5 minutes.
Very important notice:
One extra yuan will be charged beyond 2km to balance the oil hike according to the policy of the local government.

Very important notice:
1. One extra yuan will be charged beyond 2km to balance the oil hike according to the policy of the local government.
2. Taxi charges from Beijing international airport to down town: about 100 RMB inclusive of both toll gate fee and gasoline taxi.


Taxi call in Beijing:
Tel: 96106, 68373399
For taxi complaints:
Tel: 68351150
Remark: Pre-book a Taxi in advance with a Beijing taxi company so that your taxi driver can "meet & greet" you, your clients, friends or family at the Beijing Airport, Train Stations, your hotel, or at your Office, Home or any other place.


Taxi Meters and driver ID:
Every Beijing cab has a meter. On the top of the meters is a big lever to start and stop it. When the meter is turned off, the "For Hire" sign will appears in the window. It is a small red sign, which lights up at night easily to be seen.

When you enter the taxi and tell the driver where you are going, the driver should drop the lever, so other potential customers can see the cab is already occupied. Once the lever has been put down and removed from the window, the meter should then start.

At this time, the 10.00 RMB price should appear in the meter, 11.00 RMB late at night starting 11 pm. This price will take you 3 km distance in Beijing, then the price will steadily increase per km.

On the dashboard on the passenger side is a placard with the drivers registration number. If this placard is missing then avoid it. So every official taxi should have his license prominently displayed in the front of the cab facing the front passenger seat. If your taxi has no license displayed, we suggest you find a different taxi.


Beijing Taxi rider's rights
As a taxi rider, you have the rights below:
Direct drive to your destination and no compulsory car pooling
Your car driver knows the streets in Beijing and the way to major destinations in Beijing;
Your driver should know and abide by all traffic laws;
Air-conditioning on demand;
A radio-free trip;
No Smoking
A clean passenger seat area;
A clean trunk
A driver uses the horn only when necessary to warn of danger;
No Tip

How to identify black taxi?
How to identify black taxi, counterfeit taxi cab and cloning?
To identify these counterfeit taxi, the key is to look at the vehicle registration number. Beijing legitimate taxi license plates starts with "Beijing B". If the taxi has the license plate of "Beijing E", or "Beijing " and non 'Beijing B' license plates, then cab is possibly a black car. Fake Cloning "Beijing B" brand of taxis in the night have no taxi light. "If you have wrongly taken a cloned car ", you must request invoices! You can tell it is a cloned car from its invoice if he gives you a handwritten invoices instead of a computerized one.

What are the places most upset with the black cars?
Black cars could be found around the subway stations, shopping malls, the entrance area and also some major tourist attractions around. The most serious areas are the railway station and Beijing Capital Airport. Especially you should pay great attention to the Beijing aiport. When arriving at the airport, keep away from drivers who approach you in the terminal or outside the terminal as they will ask for much more than the actual price. There is a taxi line just outside the terminal. Drivers should use their meter; make sure that the driver puts down the flag. Taking a taxi from the airport to Beijing downtown costs between RMB 100 and 200 according to the different distance. Beijing airport expressway toll will be paid by passengers. Beijing legitimate taxi license plates will be for the "Beijing B" otherwise it is a black taxi! After paying a legal taxi, you will get a legal computerized receipt in which you can find the taxi company's phone number while a black driver only offers you a hand-written receipt with which you will never find him! A black driver would charge you RMB 400 - RMB 500 for the airport downtown drive.

All the cab drivers are encouraged to learn English. But the situation is that most of them speak little English. The city bureau has devised a 12-item evaluation chart for cab services. Just name some of the items as follows:
Cab drivers are not allowed to smoke while driving, overcharge, spit or litter. They are requested to dress neatly and cleanly. They should be friendly and polite. Taxi drivers who refuse to use taximeters and pick up passengers will lose their job.

Tips for taking taxi:
1) The taxi situation at Beijing Airport is a little worse. The taxi sharks are quite active at the international arrivals doors, come straight to the official taxi area after you come out. Official taxis have a taxi sign on the roof, and on the dashboard on the passenger side is a placard with the drivers registration number. If this placard is missing then avoid it. At your destination, you should requrst a fappiao (a receipt, which is generated by the meter). If the meter isn't working, you can refuse to pay, and if the driver threatens to call the police, encourage him to do so. At this point he will write a hand-written fappiao, but make sure he (or you) writes down the car registration and the driver registration before paying your mo for the taxi.

2) Please keep the adress card from your hotel or written by your hotel staff in Chinese to show the taxi driver. A hotel card with the Hotel's name in Chinese for your return trip. So always carry a card from the hotel in the event you get lost in the city. Show the card to the driver and ask him to bring you there. Most of the drivers are not able to speak in English.

3) You can also charter a taxi ( as a private your own car ) for day trips to the Great Wall ( which is around 1.5 hour drive from city) or just to transfer you around various locations like Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Panjiayuan, Wangfujinging, etc. As long as it is within the city, most drivers are more than willing to let you charter their car for the day. A typical taxi will cost around RMB450 to RMB600 for an 8-hour day rental with driver. Each car can hold 4 comfortably. If you are sharing the car among 4, that is less than US$20 for a day.

4) Travelling around Beijing by taxi is quite easy. However, when it rains, it becomes a totally different situation. Keep in mind if you have a plane or train to catch, expecially if you have an unchangeable ticket! Firstly, cabs can be very difficult to find in the rain. Secondly, many taxis will simply refuse to take on longer journeys, especially to the airport and they also will refuse to go anywhere if it involves driving on the 3rd Ring Road which is jammed completely in the rain! So check the weather report and it is better to plan to get to the station or airport three hours before check-in time if your ticket is unchangeable.

5) The bridge and road tolls will be paid by passengers. For a journey that takes longer than 10 kilo or running after 23:00, the fares will be charged at 50% more.

6) The taxi situation at Beijing Railway Station is a little confusing. The vast numbers of people coming and going has made the taxi situation worse and more difficult. There are no obvious signs for the taxi line. It is best to cross the footbridge to the other side and get a taxi at the roadside anywhere along the street here. The taxi situation at Beijing Station should be solved immediately by the authorities concerned as it is a negative introduction to Beijing for visitors.

Beijing Accessible Taxis
There are barrier-free taxis to facilitate people with a disability in Beijing. They have no seats on the front passenger side of the vehicles and can easily accommodate wheelchairs. The LTI model from the UK that has a simple ramp that folds out of the side door and gets one more piece the driver pulls out of the trunk to get all the way to the ground.

Barrier-free taxi Bookings
Tel: 961001


Taxi to Great Wall
You can also charter a taxi for day trips to the Great Wall. The drive ranges from 1.5 hour to 2.5 hours from the city center according to the different sections of the Great Wall. Below are the approximate taxi fares to the different sections of the Great Wall with waiting for about 2-3 hours while touring the wall:

Beijing Mutianyu Great Wall: 85km - RMB 600
Beijing Badaling Great Wall: 80km - RMB 500
Beijing Simatai Great Wall: 140km - RMB 700
Beijing Juyongguan Great Wall: 60km - RMB 400
Beijing Jinshanling Great Wall: 160km RMB 800
Beijing Gubeikou Great Wall: 150km - RMB 750
Beijing Jiankou Great Wall: 85km - RMB 650
Beijing Huanghuacheng Great Wall 85km - RMB 600

Note:
The taxi prices above include the taxi with a licensed driver. Most of the drivers cannot speak any English. If you want to use an English speaking tour guide for your Beijing taxi trip, or you need an English speaking tour guide for your sightseeing, please visit Beijing tour guides for more information.

Beijing Capital Airport Taxi
When arriving at the airport, keep away from taxi or black taxi drivers who approach you in the terminal or outside the terminal as they will ask for much more than the actual price. There is a taxi line just outside the each terminal. Drivers should use their meter; make sure that the driver puts down the flag. Taking a taxi from the airport to Beijing downtown costs approxi between RMB 100 and RMB 200 depending the different distance. Passengers are responsible for the toll incurred ( RMB 10 per car ).

Beijing legitimate taxi license plates will be for the "Beijing B" otherwise it is a black taxi! After paying a legal taxi, you will get a legal computerized receipt in which you can find the taxi company's phone number while a black driver only offers you a hand-written receipt with which you will never find him! A black driver would charge you RMB 400 - RMB 500 for the airport downtown drive.

Beijing Capital Airport has three terminals - T1, T2 and T3. Each Terminal has its own airport taxi terminal. Below is the detailed information about the location of each airport taxi terminal of T3, T2 and T1 at Beijing capital airport:

Beijing Airport Taxi

Terminal No.03 Taxi Service
The Terminal No.03 ( T3 ) is a huge 4-storey building. The T3 Taxi Terminal is located outside the underground floor of T3. Your arrival hall is on the second floor. That means you have to take a lift to the underground floor, and go out of the building. Once outside, you will see the taxi terminal with one row of taxis waiting.

Terminal No.02 Taxi Service
The Terminal No.02 ( T2 ) is a big 3-storey building. The T2 taxi Terminal is located just outside the first floor of T2. Your arrival hall is on the first floor. So you just go out of the arrival hall, you will find the taxi terminal with many taxis waiting in line.

Terminal No.01 Taxi Service
The Terminal No.01 ( T1 ) is a 2-storey building. The T1 Taxi Terminal is located outside the first floor of T1. Your arrival hall is on the first floor. Just go out of the first floor, you will many taxis waiting in line.

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