\t\t\t\tTaxis in Shanghai can be a frustrating source of nerves. Maybe you\u2019ve stood for what seems like forever as cab after cab passes you by. Or you\u2019ve mistakenly gotten one at rush hour because you thought it\u2019d be faster than taking the metro – only to astonishingly tick away the last few seconds to your pressing appointment while stuck in traffic on the elevated road.<\/p>\n
We sat down (in a taxi) to talk to a Real Shanghai Taxi Driver, and he told us everything we needed to know.<\/p>\n
And now we\u2019re laying the knowledge on you.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1. Hail a cab at the right intersectio<\/strong>n<\/p>\n More traffic from multiple directions. seems like a no-brainer, right? Careful, though. Depends on which crossroads you\u2019re at.<\/p>\n For example, a lot of roads in the Former French Concession are one-way, so you\u2019re better off walking a bit further and finding another intersection with multiple lanes. Shanghai\u2019s got some huge, six-lane intersections, too, but if the \u201cintersection\u201d is a single road feeding into the big one, there won\u2019t be that many cabs willing to pick you up; they probably already have a fare and are looking to get out onto a bigger road.<\/p>\n 2. Don\u2019t hail a cab at a bus stop<\/strong><\/p>\n This one has worked for us in the past, but our Real Shanghai Taxi Driver said that if you\u2019re hailing a cab from a roadside bus station, they\u2019ll assume your home probably isn\u2019t that far away and keep looking for a better fare. So we recommend looking as much as possible like you\u2019re miles from home. A pleading look in your eyes, a frayed map clutched in your hands, tears and whimpers if possible, unless the driver thinks you\u2019re giving him attitude, in which case, well, you\u2019re already at a bus station, can\u2019t you wait a bit longer?<\/p>\n 3. Hail a cab far from the Shanghai metro<\/strong><\/p>\n You might think that the busiest metro stations will also have the most taxis waiting outside, and you\u2019re right, but they\u2019ll also have the biggest crowd of people willing to elbow you in the throat to get one of those elusive Shanghai taxis. So don\u2019t try to get a cab at Lujiazui, or Xujiahui, or People\u2019s Square, or the Railway Station or wherever there\u2019s heavy tourist and migrant worker traffic. Take the metro one stop further on, and try there instead.<\/p>\n 4. Learn to spot the busy taxis<\/strong><\/p>\n Ever wonder why there seem to be some taxis in Shanghai that just zoom past you, even when the little roof light is on? It\u2019s infuriating, isn\u2019t it? Here\u2019s the skinny from our Real Shanghai Taxi Driver; if the roof light is green, and the light inside the cab is on, too, the cab is free. However, if the roof light is red, it means that the taxi is reserved by someone else. Alternatively, if the roof light is green and the inside meter is up, with the light off, it could mean that he\u2019s on his break, getting some lunch or chatting with other taxi drivers in their secret taxi driver code language. So don\u2019t try and flag those taxis down. Well, you can still try, sometimes this \u201crule\u201d seems more like a \u201cguideline.\u201d<\/p>\n Okay, that\u2019s complicated, we know, but the most important thing to take away is this; ignore your feeling of impotent rage as a taxi with some assortment of lights on drives past you, lights shining merrily, like they\u2019re laughing at your misfortune. It\u2019s probably not because they don\u2019t like the look of your face; they\u2019re either reserved or on their way to get some dinner. It\u2019s nothing personal.<\/p>\n 5. Get the contacts of local drivers<\/strong><\/p>\n This one might take a little research and a bit of smooth-talk, but did you know you can contact drivers directly if they work in your area? Chinese commuters do it all the time. You can totally do that too! Our Real Shanghai Taxi Driver said that other drivers might be a bit hesitant to hand out their details to laowai because they expect awkward communication and unreasonable demands for pickups miles away from their operating area, presumably Yongkang Road. But if you know your area well enough to spot your regular day- and night-shift cabbies, and you can communicate with the driver in a friendly manner, you might just be able to have a few of your local taxis on standby\u2026<\/p>\n 6. Order a taxi on your phone<\/strong><\/p>\n If the idea of having a cabdriver see your WeChat moments freaks you out for some reason, try using Didi Chuxing to order a cab, a real cab, with a Real Shanghai Taxi Driver, a chain-smoking world-weary road warrior, not a pasty-faced teenager who watched a 15-minute video and is now a certified didi. WeChat has an option to use the service via your WeChat Wallet. If you\u2019d prefer, you can be super old-school and just call the hotline at 12580.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Taxis in Shanghai can be a frustrating source of nerves. Maybe you\u2019ve stood for what seems like forever as cab after cab passes you by. Or you\u2019ve mistakenly gotten one at rush hour because you thought it\u2019d be faster than taking the metro – only to astonishingly tick away the last few seconds to your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":10000032,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n