Alright Beijing folks, taxi fuel surcharges are up to 3 yuan again, where they should have stayed after the April increase from 2 to 3 yuan. (The price went back to 2 yuan on June 18 due to a sharp decline in oil prices.) According to BJ News, gasoline prices are the main reason, again, for this price increase. As always, if the distance traveled is within three kilometers, there is no fuel charge. Everythi ...

This is the sort of story that you wish was merely an urban legend. Recently, a man in Beijing taking a cab from Wudaokou was jabbed by a hypodermic needle hidden, for reasons unknown, in the back pouch of the front seat, where magazines are kept. Apparently the syringe broke skin on his right knee. When he saw there was fluid inside the needle, he became very worried and had it examined at the Chaoyang Dis ...

In Hong Kong, millions take the Peak Tram every year, making it one of Hong Kong Island's biggest tourist draws. And where there's tourists, there'll be vendors who try to capitalize. Unregistered taxi drivers, for instance. There must be several unwritten rules among such drivers, which I won't pretend to know, but one such rule seems to be obvious: don't bargain with potential customers until those in fro ...

I'm embarrassed to have gone so long without posting this, but last month, Chengdu tourism officials created a commercial promoting black-and-white "panda cabs" in London using Kate Middleton, Prince William, and the Queen impersonators, and the Daily Mail tells us, in its article yesterday, that Britons aren't too happy about it. Is it because the Duchess of Cambridge says, "I just don't understand why we ...

Only two weeks ago, a reckless Chinese driver in Singapore plowed into a side of a taxi, killing both cab passengers and himself (GIF credit: Alicia). We now have more of the same. (And in case you needed a reminder -- there's a lot of the same.) On Shenzhen's Binghai Road on Saturday around midnight, a speeding red coupe crashed into two taxis, causing one of them, an electric BYD, to erupt into flames (al ...

I first encountered the following diagram -- origins unknown* -- two or three years ago, but considering it was revived as recently as a month ago -- I noticed a bunch of friends passing it around on Facebook -- it's possible it's been around even longer. And why not? Everything depicted is true, more or less: there is nothing more crucial to master on the roads here than the left turn, especially if there' ...

"What is it with people falling through the sidewalk in China?" asks Katie, who brought my attention to the above, which happened in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Remember the woman in Beijing who was plunged into boiling water when the ground inexplicably gave out from under her feet? How can you not remember. Sidewalk. Walking. SUBMERGED BY SCALDING WATER. DISASTER. She would perish from her injuries, which we ...

Starting tomorrow, taxis will charge 3 yuan instead of 2 yuan for distances over 3 kilometers. According to CNR, this regulation was approved by the Beijing Municipal Government in accordance with the National Development and Reform Commission's increase in the price of refined oil to 600 yuan per ton on March 20. Before your eyes glaze over completely, what does this mean for you, me, all of us? I have a f ...