Taxi Drivers and Directions

[muyongshi]

I have been noticing recently something that I find quite interesting. Taxi drivers [at least here in MY] really hate not knowing where you want to go.

Many times I am just wanting to run a quick errand and tell them to head towards such and such a bridge on xx road and they start to freak out.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Just head in this direction and I'll tell you."

Now I don't do this for the sake of messing with them but some places I need to go, are those little, no name places that they wouldn't know. Sometimes even the small roads they don't know. So I just insist that I will direct them and here at least it really makes them nervous. They don't like not knowing specifics.

Anyone else have a similar impression?

[roddy]

I usually give a general location and then refine as we get closer here in Beijing, don't tend to have any problems. As long as you don't actually try and give them step-by-step directions, as you're driving along, then I thnk you're ok - which is fair enough, nobody likes to be micro-managed and in Beijing at least you need plenty of advance notice if you're going to avoid missing your turning and doing a three kilometer U-turn. Perfectly normal in Beijing to give the name of a bridge or a bus stop.

[muyongshi]

Hmmm....interesting. They sure don't like it here.

[gougou]

I've had that a couple of times in Beijing as well. What roddy mentioned works well though - just tell them to go to the bridge instead of towards it, and you shouldn't have any problems.

What I'd avoid is describing the place in advance (e.g. 200m south of such and such a landmark on the east side of the road). That didn't work a single time.

[abcdefg]

In Kunming I tell them to go to such-and-such hotel or such-and-such cinema then when we get close I'll add other directions, such as "Now please take the first right and drop me off by the XYZ bus stop."

[芳芳]

Depends also where you are going. If you stay inside the city it is OK, but when going to that countrysided industrialish undevelopped zone where I often have to work is quite a hassle. Most of them don't know and as you step into the taxi don't even want to drive you there, presuming that that foreigner who confidently says (yells) "I know where it is, just go toward it and I will tell you" will of course never know the way. So sometimes giving a general indication is a risk to have the taxi ask you to take another one.

Even in Beijing, I often had to take a cab late at night to go to somewhere between Yizhuang (the big clean kaifaqu) and Majuqiao (the less clean I admit but still ok suburbs south of it), 1 in 3 drivers just slammed the door to me. I then had the method of jumping in, let them start driving a bit and then in the middle of the circulation, tell them where to go. I recognise that the more you sound confident when you say right/ left/ stop, the more they don't dislike it too much. But most of them are whining all the time about annoying clients.

Last time I had a nice taxi driver who sounded a bit scared but thrilled to go to a industries-and-dormitories-soon-to-be-village outside of Nanjing he's never been to, especially directed by a little laowai. But still, those adventurers are few.

[leeyah]

I had no problems with taxi drivers in Guangzhou, quite the contrary, they were always very friendly and never cheated me out of my money, which was the best part, of course.

My first time there though, I thought giving them the address to read would do, but it turns out most of them aren't very good at reading, as I'm sure more experienced China-hands already know. Later I realized it was either read out the address for them, or use simple words (street names, take this or that turn, etc etc) to patiently direct them to where I wanted to go, then it was ok. Basically these things work for me: show respect for others, be natural & act cool, then you should have no problems in China. Anyway, the few times I really had to take a cab, mostly far away from my dorm on late evenings, I was treated like a lady in GZ & I must say I liked it. (Have I ever mentioned how much I miss Guangzhou?... )

[gougou]

I thought giving them the address to read would do, but it turns out most of them aren't very good at reading

Another problem is that, at least in Beijing, they aren't very good with addresses. Usually your best bet is to point them to the closest landmark (a bridge, crossing, office tower, famous restaurant...)

[Lu]

In Taiwan I once got a driver who handed me a little notebook when I told him where to, and asked me to write it down. I hadn't had enough sleep to remember how to write the 瑞 of 瑞光路, fortunately he understood when I repeated it more loudly. He was hearing impaired. I thought it was quite cool he had a handicap but still a job like that.