Yet again I ride a taxi in Beijing and find the taxi driver without sufficient change to break a ¥100 note; the fare was ¥20.
80RMB in this day and age is not a lot of money, even for a taxi driver, and it annoys me that in Beijing they carry around such little change. In Hong Kong should that happen (which it rarely does, even if you present a $500 bill) the driver would be most apologetic and you might even find yourself riding for free. It’s their responsibility to give change. Over here, lots of people in retail / services can’t even break a note. Yet with ¥100 being the largest note in China – meanwhile businessmen and the middle class are walking around with bags full of cash just to buy a car or make that down payment on a flat. It’s pathetic.
The good news is that Beijing taxi’s now accept payment with the transport smartcard (北京一卡通). This is a good starting point… now they just need to make it easier for you to topup.
Side note: All these pre-Olympic reports that Beijing taxi drivers are being forced to wear uniforms are somewhat misleading : I have yet to see a single one wearing a tie, most not even wearing a collared shirt. This may have been true, but the enforcement has just been dismal.
Immediately after writing this I now notice the yellow uniforms – and have even since seen a couple of drivers with ties! But it’s definitely not consistent, and enforcement not 100%
Still, I take it back somewhat, because evidently they DO exist