Originally Posted by GUWonder
MagLev/Long Yang station to the railway station closest to Heng Feng Rd (i.e., the railway station closest to the Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai) for 320 CNY isn't a big rip-off? (It should be about 50 CNY, but certainly less than 75.) The MagLev station must have at least some bad cabbies working there, for I've heard about a few foreigners being fleeced for around the same amount with the same M.O. We happened to catch one in action. License plate DW3730 or something like that.
Most are completely honest, but there are a select group that do play games, expensive ones at that.
This probably is the main point --- taxis or black cars congregating where only inexperienced foreigners will come are much more likely to be problematic. Grabbing a car which wouldn't normally be expecting to pick up a foreigner is not near as risky. A 4 or 5 star hotel in an industrial area which is the only place foreigners want to stay probably has more problems with ripoffs than a lower class hotel which normally has no foreigners.
KNowing approximately what something should cost should help avoid all rip off issues.
The only thing that I concern myself with is personal safety. And when in doubt, I go for the dilapated proper taxi over a shiny black car which approaches me.