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Business Insider article claims Uber and other cab hailing apps/services to be banned. Think this is something they’ll actually be able to enforce?
Licensed taxis are cheap in China. I’d be surprised if Uber had much success here as a result, at least, for now.. taxis typically run far cheaper fuel (compressed natural gas) than what I’m expecting Uber cars will (petrol), and their drivers are super cheap…….so, not sure it’s a big deal or they have much of an edge 😀
I agree with Rick. How are they really competing here? In other countries it’s on price, but there, they’re expecting to meet a demand that doesn’t exist. Why would I want to pay more just to ride in an Audi A6?
No idea if this is legit but someone just posted this picture on WeChat saying Chengdu taxi drivers are on strike against Uber right now.
They are striking today, but I use DD app to order my taxis legit via wechat..
So not sure of the full reason.
I hope Uber cleans up whilst they are on strike!!! If we can add some balance to this discussion I think we should look at what the presence of Uber should cause the market to do (in normal circumstances). Of course I understand that the CD taxis are heavily subsidised but having lived in Chengdu for 7 years now I reckon there is a 50/50 chance of landing in a really crap, even dangerous and badly maintained taxi, driven by a complete lunatic….. Maybe I’m being extreme but I have no issue with these guys losing business. The easy way would be to shut down Uber of course, but why don’t the Chengdu taxis re-examine their own service, or lack of??? I have used Uber 5 times recently and my experience each time has been exemplary and timely. Excellent driving skills, clean vehicles and timely pickup and drop off. Directly to the right destination….and it was around the same price as a CD taxi. I felt safe and comfortable each time. Of course that may not be others’ experiences with Uber, but why not permit them to make an impact on the taxi business? One of my reasons for using Uber recently was because a CD taxi point blank refused to take me to my destination just outside the west 3rd ring road because it was too busy – having already taken me part of the way!!! And Uber is also a sensible choice from the HuaYang area too, where I now work.
As another thought, how many of you would take your infant child or elderly parents in a Chengdu taxi? Not many I bet. My own parents were horrified a couple of years ago when they travelled by Chengdu taxi. I think when we use the service regularly we become anaesthetised as to how poor it is. Just on Saturday I had a mercifully short run in a CD taxi with a chronic misfire, filthy seats and suspension that was well past its best – wonderful – not.
To me Chengdu taxi drivers as both a service, and theoretically as driving professionals, should set the standard for others to follow. Maybe if they were better drivers and more polite, other local drivers may follow. Let’s start by servicing the cars. Its actually testament to VW that they keep running for so long.
Who else has tried Uber? How about those who have already contributed to this column? I get the feeling you may not have done so yet…. Try it and feel the difference, before it does get banned, and despite my thoughts I’m sure banning is inevitable.
Used UBER a couple of times – and it is by far a superior service. From being able to link your Spotify to the speakers, drinks and drivers who smile, speak in clear Mandarin and are polite and helpful with bags etc. it’s worth doing for a special occasions.
I think it’s a shame if it’s banned – they is no price comparison and I still would take a taxi most of the time despite the issues mentioned above but even so it’s nice to have an option to show off, treat yourself to the airport when going on holiday or impress a date.
In the end only us the consumer will lose – and this as far as I am aware is the only service which allows you to order transportation via an English language app in China.
Which is it? Around the same price as a chengdu taxi, or more expensive? I don’t see how it can compare on price whatsoever, is there a frame of reference? (like x to y for z rmb)
Personally I’m used to Chengdu taxis and don’t mind them at all…
It would be a miracle if this isn’t banned here:
- It’s a US-based internet company worth billions which targets global markets
- It threatens local businesses
Countries like Germany have already tried to ban Uber (successfully?) based on the fact that drivers and their cars aren’t certified to be carrying passengers. I don’t think the legal implications of Uber are of major issue here in China, but they will almost surely try to disable to the foreign company on a mission of conquest into China.
By total coincidence, I took Uber for my first time last week, and ended up using it twice in the same week. Both times it was the same driver with the same A6, each time the car was called by a different person. It doesn’t seem like there are that many Uber drivers in Chengdu, and I am surprised by how small the back seat in an Audi A6 is (same size as a taxi). Uber would be great for picking up guests from the airport but otherwise Didi Kuaiche is more convenient in my opinion, plus it has the 专车 feature if you want something like an A6. I don’t think Uber has a really good reason to exist here other than catering to the non-Chinese speaking expat audience, which comprises probably 0.0002% of Chengdu’s population.
Still, here’s to hoping it doesn’t get banned since competition will keep everyone on their toes.
If it was easy to get a cab in Chengdu, I wouldn’t care whether or not uber existed here, but literally every time I’ve wanted to take a cab it takes at least 10 minutes for a cab to actually stop (they usually just drive by while waving their hands-even when the light is on) and they usually don’t want to take me where I’m trying to go or won’t run the meter and act outraged that I won’t pay 150 RMB to go 10 kilometers.
I’ve downloaded didi dache, but don’t really know how it works, so I just use it to look for places that cabs hang out. Do you have to talk to the drivers when you do it?
If it was easy to get a cab in Chengdu, I wouldn’t care whether or not uber existed here, but literally every time I’ve wanted to take a cab it takes at least 10 minutes for a cab to actually stop (they usually just drive by while waving their hands-even when the light is on) and they usually don’t want to take me where I’m trying to go or won’t run the meter and act outraged that I won’t pay 150 RMB to go 10 kilometers. I’ve downloaded didi dache, but don’t really know how it works, so I just use it to look for places that cabs hang out. Do you have to talk to the drivers when you do it?
Is Uber really that fast? If you hail an Uber on the street, how long until it arrives?
I wrote an article describing how Didi Kuaiche works here: Hail a Taxi from Anywhere in Chengdu. It’s worth figuring out. You have to provide a destination, but you don’t have to speak, you can also type in an address. I prefer to type in an address so there’s no chance they can hear from my voice that I’m a foreigner. I have my home and office programmed in Didi Kuaiche so if I’m going to one of those destinations, I just have to hit home or office and it will do everything automatically. It’s usually pretty fast, the only potential annoyances are:
- When drivers a few minutes away agree to come pick you up and other taxis drive by while you’re waiting
- Obnoxious drivers who yell belligerently into the phone trying to locate you
They have a ?? feature which is just like Uber, there are different classes of cars that you can hail, including luxury car, SUV, minivan, etc.
Typical response times for Uber for me have been between 3 and 7 minutes, but, like DiDi DaChe you can see in advance where the vehicles are before deciding. The potential arrival times for your location are shown on the Uber map thought which is a good way to help decide. You do need a credit card to set it up, but once your journey is complete you almost instantly receive an email with the cost shown. Again no issue so far. For short journeys in town the “people’s” Uber cars have been around 2 or 3 RMB cheaper than the equivalent CD taxi fare. Longer journeys have been almost the same for cost. At the moment Uber has a 50 RMB incentive code which I can send to friends wanting to use it. So pm me if you feel like giving it a go for free. As I said before all my experiences so far have been good. Although one friend has had a driver decide not to pick up when he realised the passenger was going to be a foreigner. Nothing is perfect I suppose…..
As for DiDi DaChe I never managed to be picked up once. Despite being able to talk in simple Chinese terms to the drivers, and even using Chinese colleagues it has never worked, although all my attempts to use it were at peak times when CD taxi drivers can and do pick and choose. Charlie’s article is good on that and very informative but I think when demand exceeds supply it all goes haywire…..
For short journeys in town the “people’s” Uber cars have been around 2 or 3 RMB cheaper than the equivalent CD taxi fare
That’s shocking to me.. in audis? I drive an audi most days to/from work (minibike needs fixing), and I don’t think I could possibly be bothered to pick up anyone even if they’re on my own route for what a taxi costs..and if it weren’t on my own personal route, the cost of gas and other fees associated, I don’t see how they could earn much profit at all? And if they already own a relatively nice car, these factors combined make it difficult to understand how it can work!
I think you need to use the Black Car Uber for Audi A6. Three different vehicles picked me up on “people’s” Uber. Peugeot SUV, Buick saloon, etc. Another friend of mine used the Black Uber going from Jinsha in the west to Huayang in the south and that was 99RMB and obviously much more expensive than standard transport. However it was an E-class Mercedes long wheelbase. As Charlie says good for occasional airport pickups or impressing a lady perhaps?
Ah.. I suppose that makes a little more sense. 99 rmb seems *weird* though, did he actually receive 1rmb in change? Haha. Anyways, good info to have. In that case, I guess it goes back to the OP question — how will China expect to actually execute on their ‘ban’.
Are you using a foreign credit card or a local credit card or UnionPay?
This is what I’m wondering. Last summer Uber cooperated with Dojo for an event there but I couldn’t get it to work. I tried both foreign and domestic bank cards, no dice.
I’m using my British TSB Visa debit card. Had no problems at all in using it on Uber, although the account address is my home here in Chengdu, even though the bank itself is in Scotland
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