Most visitor's Chinese is not up to snuff to direct a taxi: have everything printed in Chinese, incl. phone number of destination. Taxi will likely be less hassle than uber.

Likelihood of a scam is very low if you go to the official taxi line.

However, after midnight, waits can be long: up to 1 hour at times...be forwarned.

tb

Thanks, hmm I'll probably stay at the airport hotels then.

Really? Although I guess with jet-lag, you could always relocate at 05:00 before the traffic gets bad!

Do note that it _can_ be long waits: not always the case -- although usually at least 20 minutes late at night.

tb

Not a smart idea unless you need to be at the airport the next day. You're probably not going to walk to any of them either. And, the area is a ghost town at night.

To be fair, he's arriving at midnight, so unlikely to 'out and about' after arrival. Makes sense if not too much baggage, and can relocate early the next morning.

The nice airport hotels are pretty pricey though, and the not so nice ones, really not so nice!

tb

Thanks guys.

I saw the Hilton and Langham airport hotels are expensive!

Maybe I'll just wait for a cab and book a hotel in town.

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!

Anyone used "People's Uber" in Beijing? It's very cheap, but not sure how reliable it is.

Link to People's Uber web site here

I'm crying foul on the "providing directions" bit. Pretty much the only times I've EVER had to provide directions to drivers in Beijing were to/from the airport, and this was only to request the ring road of my choosing (i.e. still would have made it even if I hadn't spoken up). This is because Beijing's layout is extremely EASY... very difficult to screw things up.

In spite of the fact that I've panned Uber-Beijing in past posts to this thread, I have to say that it's rising up the ladder at lightening speed. Baidu's enormous investment is also a pretty good vote of confidence.

have lousy Internet connection to site so only thread I could get to come up on uber was this older one. I went to sanlitun last night and when I went to go hotel and went to taxi queue I could not get any cabs to pick me up at all. After about 45minutes of trying a Chinese girl told me I should use uber and she was going where I needed to so she took me in her uber car. How is uber in Beijing now, is it something English speakers can use? At this point I am concerned about going out at night if I'm going to get stranded with no cabs.

On a related note how can I put uber app on my phone? I have an android and every time I go to download app it tries to use googleplay which is problematic. I was able to create account on website but can't figure out how to download app from their website without google play.

Just find a current Uber apk file and do a manual install. Sometimes I find apps with my PC and email them to myself (when Play Store is being problematic).

Apparently People's Uber is pretty much just like UberX here in the States. But apparently the cars are owned by the state and the drivers lease it from them. The cars are nice however -- I got a ride in a brand new VW Passat with full leather interior, etc.

The fares are also "only pay enough to compensate drivers for gas, tolls, and other expenses". Source.

The state owns the car? Are you serious?
Strange article in your link: "When I fired up the app while there, I discovered it was different from the U.S. version I was used to. It was Communist-themed"
Communist-theme???

I agree that's hogwash. As the name suggests, "Peoples Uber" cars are owned by "people" (for the most part; e.g. there is a company here in Shanghai that has a fleet of Rowes it puts into play on Peoples Uber).

Eta: I gave the linked article a closer read, and it's actually not that bad/inaccurate. However, I do think framing peoples uber as a charity was a bit disingenuous. We all know that uber loses lots of money in China in general and on peoples in particular. Didi also operates in the red; they are trying to decimate each other. But, neither company has long term plans of simply burning investment funds for the sake of the "people".