Beijingers use Uber clone Didiche and some other apps to book taxis. There is a bidding war now between the Paypal clones which are offering drivers extra incentives to pick up customers off the apps, so many drivers will not pick you up off the street as they would rather wait for an app pick up to make an extra buck.
As for Uber, one difficulty is that drivers usually do not speak English and visitors lack a SIM card, yet passengers need to call the driver to arrange a pick up location at the airport.
Visitors to Beijing should also be aware that many drivers -- especially taxi but also some Uber -- do not know the city and expect the passenger to provide directions -- in Chinese -- even to popular tourist sites or major hotels. So, just having an address printed out is often not enough for the driver to know where to take you.
For non-Chinese speakers, I'd recommend a hotel car or (less expensive), book a car from ctrip.
Good luck!
Originally Posted by
JPDM
Most taxi drivers in Beijing now use an app. I guess it works a bit like Uber to the extent that the driver gets messages from people looking for taxis in the area where he is. People leave a voice message saying where they are going and while driving the driver is notified that someone is looking for a taxi 100 meters from here then they hear the message. Not sure how efficient it is compared to just flagging one down. It's not like the Beijing taxis are lacking clients.