Shanghai Taxi Hacks
You are in downtown Shanghai on a rainy afternoon and it is impossible to find a taxi. Here are a few hints to get you home quicker.
- Don’t stand close to other people.
This increases competition and cab drivers don’t like arbitrating a struggle between commuters fighting to get in the taxi. - Hail with purpose.
Shanghai people wave towards a free taxi like they are cutting through air with a chainsaw, although their fingers look slightly fay. You have to look like a cross between Leatherface and Liberace so the taxi driver knows you want a ride home. - Go into a side street away from the main roads.
Huai Hai Road, People Square and Nanjing Road are not good places to get a taxi during busy times, because there are not enough taxis to go around. Go into the smaller streets nearer natural drop off points like hotels and malls. - Don’t stand in one place.
Taxis will not come to you. You have to look out for taxis that are just letting out a passenger. Even before you see the taxi’s vacant light, run like you are from Shanghai. - Keep out the competition.
Don’t let other people sneak in the taxi that you have found. Open the door and block all points of access while the existing passenger is stepping out of the vehicle. Take care that small feisty Shanghainese women are not sneaking through under your legs unless they are getting a taxi on your behalf. - Try alternative methods of transport.
You can always walk, cycle, bus or metro. It is often quicker, cheaper and offers the opportunity for some exercise. Running towards an empty seat on a metro takes great dexterity and is worth a post all of its own.
- Go to Longyang Road
Where are all the empty taxis when you need them? Outside Longyang Road Metro Station.
- Keep unsociable hours.
Don’t expect to find a taxi at 6pm in Nanjing Xi Road when millions of office staff are also trying to get home. Get a horrible job that ends at 11pm. - Two is better than one. Three is better than two.
If there is more than one of you then work as a team. Stand on both sides of the road or on different parts of the street. Each person needs to use all the taxi hacks at their disposal to increase the overall chance of finding a taxi.