I'm visiting Beijing for the first time in a few days. I recently tried Uber car service for the first time in New York and was very impressed with the convenience. I just read that Uber has started a few months ago in Beijing?

Has anyone used Uber in Beijing to or from the airport? I am wondering about the wait times for a car given that the service only started very recently. I would like the convenience of a private car over taxi, and Uber is quoting slightly less than half the price my hotel is for a transfer.

Uber Beijing has only sort of launched (very limited fleet). Ctrip's car service is a pretty good deal from the airport.

Any option will be cheaper than a hotel car service.

As follow-up, I used the hotel's car service from the airport (I know, I know).

Just for jollies I opened up the Uber app a few times whilst at my hotel (Wangfujing). At certain times of day I'd see a few cars roaming around nearby on the map, however when I left the hotel finally at 7am Monday morning the app could not detect a single car anywhere. I took a taxi - 30 minutes and Y100.

Last I was in Beijing, taxis are plentiful, no need to use an app to flag them down. Also, taxis in Beijing are a lot more regulated than any of the US cities. Once, my cab driver got quite a bit lost and my fare ended up almost double what it should have. Friend called cab company and they quickly sent the cab driver to my dorm to apologize & hand me a full refund. My friend explained that the taxi company could be in serious trouble if we report it to the authority.

There is a phone number on the bottom of all official taxi receipts that you can call to report discrepancies. Always get a receipt!

Haha!

-CBD/Jianguomen between 3p and 8p
-Guanghua Lu between 4p and 10p
-SLT between 8p and 2a
-Guomao any time
...MANY other examples

I struggled to get taxis sometimes, as did staff at my hotel and also another that I used. I think it very much depends on time of day, how far you want to go etc. many 'available' taxis were refusing fares. Doorman at hotel seemed to indicate it was common.

The procedure for hotels fetching taxis on the fly consists of: 1) waiting for drop-offs and hoping those taxis will transport their guests; and 2) sending staff out onto the street to fight with everyone else who wants to leave the area.

#1 does not work very well during around shift change times. Meanwhile #2 is often a hopeless case. I used to work near the St. Regis, and learned that there was simply no point in standing in their queue during the afternoons. By strategically positioning myself on the street, I was usually able to succeed within 15 minutes, but struck out on numerous occasions, and didn't even try when it was raining.

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.

IME the taxi apps are effectively meaningless during busy times because there is simply no incentive for drivers to detour to the St. Regis when hundreds of people are taxi hunting along the way.

Apps work a little better in Shanghai because price controls are less stringent (i.e. high bidders win), but this has caused a bit of an uproar because it undermines the government's pledge to keep taxis affordable for the 老百姓.

Just FYI, official taxis in Beijing are NOT allowed to refuse a fare unless it is going past fourth ring road after sundown (might be 10pm, can't remember which). They may give excuses that are not actually refusals (for example: I am done my shift, waiting for the other guy to take the car) but they cannot outright refuse, otherwise they are fined when reported.

That is why I learned to just get in. Just open the door, ask "shi fu, zou ma? 师傅，走吗?" and if they ask you where you're going just sit down first and tell him. If you can read the ID plate on the front seat you can report them or threaten to do so if they refuses you out right. If he has a good excuse then it comes down to your bargaining or complaining skills (please? pretty please?). If your telling the guy at the hotel where you're going and he's trying to get cabs there and telling the driver where you're going before the cab gets to you then the hotel employee should know this rule and tell the cab he cannot refuse a fare simply due to it being inconvenient for them.

I know this may sound mean, but when your standing around for an hour trying to get a cab you lose regard for such niceties.

Also travel in general in Beijing is the opposite of convenient. Taxis are not easy to come by, basically anywhere in the city at all waking hours. Some taxi companies offer a service where you can call and they will take down your information and call you back in a few minutes to arrange a convenient time for the taxi to pick you up, but I can't remember where I found the phone number that I had saved in my old phone, I think they are just written on the rear windshields of taxis.

1) "Unofficially", they can and will tell you to pound sand if they don't care for your destination. (This was not true ~10 years ago before McDonalds employees surpassed them in the income category.)

2) Advance bookings are okay during off peak times, but good luck pulling one off during an afternoon in the CBD.

I used it in Guangzhou once. Cheaper than in Seoul and Tokyo but the car was older than my own vehicle and reeked of smoke. Wasn't too happy about that.

True, it depends a lot on the taxi company. The company I find that has the best overall service and cleanest/newest cars is 首汽 Shou Qi, but especially in the East of the city it's hard to find empty 首汽 cars around. All the taxi company names are printed on the outside of the cars though, so if ever you have the choice you can opt for them.

Advance bookings are useless at certain times and places though, it is most useful if your calling a cab at 2AM and don't want to be standing out on the street for 20 minutes or if you're booking ahead for the next day.