Heaven and Hell in Hangzhou

Nearby my small city is the famous city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is one of the most famous cities in China and there is an ancient saying regarding it’s beauty:
Above there is heaven, below there are Hangzhou and Suzhou.
But there is one part of the city that will make you feel like hell: hailing a taxi.
When I first came to teach here I was warned about Hangzhou. “It is the worst place to get a taxi,” my fellow foreign teachers told me. And they were right. First off, there are not many, and hailing a taxi can be a test of patience. Even worse, the shift change starts at 4:30 and goes until about 5:30. You know, the time pretty much everyone wants a taxi ride back home. And every taxi in the city changes at that time. So starting from about 4, the drivers only want to head back to their hub, and if you want to go somewhere not near their hub, forget about it. Once, at around 4 we saw an available taxi stop, and about 10 people swarm around it. “Where are you going?” the driver asked through the cracked window pointing to one group. The answered him and he shook his head. “Where are you going?” he asked the next group. He drove away alone leaving a frustrated crowd behind him.
Second, if you are lucky enough to get one to actually stop for you, the drivers are highly selective. Even during non-shift change time. Traffic is really bad in Hangzhou and I think if you want to go to a congested area they often just don’t want to deal with it, and they will refuse you. Dealing with taxis is one of the major frustrations of an otherwise beautiful city.

But these days I have a little bit more sympathy for the drivers. During the summer we heard that the Hangzhou taxi drivers were on strike for low wages. At first I called bullshit. I’ve traveled all over China and Hangzhou taxis are one of the most expensive. What could they possibly complain about? But then I read this article and realized that things might be tougher than I realized. (VPN warning, the website with the article is blocked in China.)
The article explains that everyday the drivers have to pay a commission and fuel fee to the company. So even before they begin work they are out 400 yuan (or $65), and due to the congestion and traffic, it takes them longer and longer to make back that money. The taxi rides start off at 10 rmb ($1.5) for the first 3 kilometers, then every additional kilometer is 2.4 rmb (about .37 cents) and if they stay within the downtown area, it could take them all day to make back the commission, much less any salary for themselves.
Many drivers live together in areas outside of town in tiny rooms with their families. Hangzhou has some of the highest real estate prices in China (think San Francisco) and they just can’t afford anything better. The article had some interesting pictures of their living area.

So what is the solution for the taxi drivers? I’m not sure. Because of the sumertime strike, the government is giving them an addition 1 rmb per trip as a temporary stopgap. In October a new price policy will begin, presumably one the drivers will be happier with.
As for me, I’ll just keep trying to avoid taxi’s all together. The one thing the city does get right is a free bike share program. It is the world’s largest bike share program with 50,000 bikes available all over the city. It is much more affordable than a taxi, cuts down on traffic in the city and is good for your health, what could be better? So I’ll avoid dealing with the taxi situation entirely. Until the next rainy day of course, then I’ll be lining up with the rest of them, vainly trying to hail a taxi…