Taxi App “Shakes The Foundation Of China’s One-Party Rule,” Says The Guardian

The Guardian headline featured image
A Guardian sub-editor overdosed on caffeine while writing the headline to a humdrum taxi-app story. How else to explain this? China's one-party rule has survived market reforms, the killing of students, Wukan, and Bo Xilai. But it currently quakes at its foundations because you damn people can't stop using Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache.

Shanghai Cabbie Tries To Charge 2,300 Yuan For 4-Kilometer Ride

Shanghai cab overcharges
If you ever run a scam, please note that overcharging by roughly 8,000 percent will probably get you caught. That's the sort of greed that's plain reckless. In Shanghai last month, as reported on Sunday, a cab driver charged a Japanese passenger 2,300 yuan for a 4-km ride in Pudong. But there's a happy ending here, as Global Times reports:

Chinese Student Scammed, Overcharged $4,000 For Cab Ride From O’Hare

Chicago cab at O'Hare
An international student with limited language skills arrives in an airport and is approached by a helpful-looking taxi driver. The student needs to get to a place 150 miles away. Sorry kid, no more buses, says the driver. But I can take you. Great, the kid replies. How much? Oh, only 1,000 RMB. Sound familiar? Except this didn't happen in China...

Beijing Taxi Fares Will Start At 13 RMB Beginning June 10

Taxi meter
For years, as the price of everything around us in Beijing increased, taxi fares remained unreasonably low, starting at 10 yuan ($1.63) and moving at a snail's pace when the vehicle was stalled (i.e. stuck in traffic). This has caused problems for drivers, especially during rush hour, and this, in turn, has caused problems for passengers, who have found it difficult to find open cabs during times of need.

Alert: Taxi Fuel Surcharge Raised To 3 Yuan Again

Taxi Beijing
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,... Read more »

Man In Beijing Jabbed By HIV-Infested Needle Hidden In Back Of Taxi, Police Decline To Investigate [UPDATE]

HIV from taxi cab
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 District Disease Prevention and Control Center.