Originally Posted by
jiejie
Actually, yes, there is a requirement in nearly all municipalities, that a driver accept you as a passenger if the journey is within jurisdiction. Of course, we all know that cabbies routinely violate this everywhere, but few people bother to report them. The main dispensation altering this rule is for a driver on his way to shift change to turn in his vehicle, when the fare would take him in the wrong direction and cause him to late return his cab.
There is no requirement for a driver to accept a passenger wanting to go outside the normal limits of his territory, such as a Hangzhou-based cabbie going over into Shanghai. Driver can refuse. Driver can also ask for a deposit, though as a matter of course, it is rarely asked for.
You may believe I am wrong, but my track record on this forum of being right is pretty darn strong.
"Shift change" is only one of several top excuses; "eating time", "resting time", and "waiting for pick-up" are just as common IME (though, I don't have any formal data on this).
Switching gears slightly, based on my knowledge of how things work in the Beijing taxi circuit, the ONLY revenue taxi companies care about is the lease money that drivers pay them. As long as the drivers don't violate any laws (AND, don't get reported for doing so), they are free to do as they please. I'm assuming things work the same in other parts of China, and drivers who actually own their cars are in a similar position, apart from the fact that the monthly fees they pay to their companies are substantially lower.