First time in Beijing in 30 years or so. Did everything right, I think. Ignored all the people trying to entice us into unofficial black taxis. Got into the official taxi line, waited until we got to the front, got into taxi next in line. Verified taxi sign on roof and first letter of license plate was B. After we got luggage loaded into trunk, looked for meter on dash and did not see one. Said “meter.” Driver pulls out hand held device about the size of an old pager and says “meter.” My spider sense starts to tingle but we got into the car in the official airport taxi line, seems to have legitimate taxi license plate, luggage already in trunk. I have not been in a cab in Beijing in 30 years, so I am thinking maybe meter is different than it used to be? We take off, hand held “meter” disappears into his pocket or somewhere. I ask to see it but he’s pretending not to understand. Get to hotel, he parks out front on the street without pulling into driveway, pulls out the “meter” and it reads 387 RMB for what should be 100 RMB or so. I refuse to pay, but it’s a bit of a challenge— luggage is in trunk, we can’t just get out and leave luggage behind. Finally give him 200, he says no 300, I say no and he doesn’t push it. So we paid double, which is better than quadruple I guess. I suppose as soon as I saw nothing that looked like an official meter I should have gotten out of the car, unloaded our luggage and insisted on a new taxi from the airport guy running the taxi line. But all this transpired in the official taxi line at the airport. Not clear to me what would have happened if a native Chinese speaker had gotten into the taxi. Did the driver have a real meter that he disconnected and hid under the seat when he saw two foreigners? Anyway, lesson is beware of scams even in the official taxi line. They seem to be getting bolder.

The company you are referring to, offers private cars as an alternative to taxis. It’s not a scam. I have used them quite often and they are reputable, honest and transparent. Their fees are based on your destination and usually is around 250-300 rmb for central BEIJING + 10 rmb in cash for the motorway. You can see the fare coming up in the screen as they input your deatination. Taxis are generally fine, but the line can require waiting up to 1 hour at the airport, also private cars are often vans and you can fit 6 people with luggage, whereas taxis are generally for 2 people 2 suitcases. The desk understands basic English and you can agree on the destination, so there is no further need to explain to the driver where you want to go. Most drivers in Beijing would not be able to read an English address and even if you have the Chinese they may not be able to read Chinese either. Remember that even Hilton, Holiday Inn, etc all have achinese names so just saying the hotel name in egliah won’t help. Taxis are super cheap in Beijing, compared to other major cities such as London, New York, Rome, etc. So paying 250 rmb for what’s often a 45 min ride is pretty good.