Shanghai Expat :: View topic - Is it worth hiring a driver? or just catch taxis?

Shanghai Expat

Lifestyle Recommendations - Is it worth hiring a driver? or just catch taxis?

camelina - Mar 27, 2007 - 03:45 PM
Post subject: Is it worth hiring a driver? or just catch taxis?

Is it worth hiring a regular driver to take you places? (particularly if you need to bring/carry lots of stuff) or just take a taxi?

Has anyone had one? and how much do they cost?

Juan_Tamad - Mar 27, 2007 - 03:51 PM
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Taxi is better alternative.

suziqueen22 - Mar 27, 2007 - 03:58 PM
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it really depends on how much you spend on Taxi fee

randyman - Mar 27, 2007 - 04:14 PM
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A driver is very convenient and an excellent alternative to taxis, especially if you would like to go to multiple places on a rainy day. There is a person named Lily who advertises on this site can take you for 100 rmb 8 hour day if I remember. I hired her for a day and she doubled as an interpreter at several companies I was visiting. Much to the chagrin of many people who post here I felt obligated to tip her. I now have a driver every day.

horsemandk - Mar 27, 2007 - 04:22 PM
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Full time drivers are way more expensive than taxi (around 10.000,- RMB) because they usually have valid insurance (other don't) so the question is more like "do you want to gamble with your life in case of an accident", 26 people get killed in car accidents every week in Shanghai!

didarx79 - Mar 27, 2007 - 04:55 PM
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Really? The driver we hired is only 2000rmb/month, EXCLUDING car costs (we own the car, gas/parking/maintenance are extra) and overtime (in the evenings and weekends, 10rmb/hour or 100/day). What I do is that I split the cost with another person who has different working hours, because we share the driver for going to and from work.

kenkingdotcom - Mar 27, 2007 - 05:14 PM
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I think you will enjoy having a driver when you can't find a taxi in the rain Smile

greenmark - Mar 27, 2007 - 06:13 PM
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Stop all this polluting nonsense.

A bicycle and a rain cape. That's all you really need.

rachel_milne - Mar 27, 2007 - 06:32 PM
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If you have to carry a lot of stuff and if you have a family, having a driver is more convenient. We pay RMB 1700/month inclusive of the car and driver 5 days a week. For weekends we pay him overtime but we seldom ask him to work during weekends. Taking a taxi would be cheaper but more risky. I hope it answers your questions.

camelina - Mar 27, 2007 - 07:47 PM
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Thanks for your replies. We don't have a family but I'm just thinking if I buy something big. I don't mind taking the bus, train or taxi.. but here in Australia I'm used to driving everywhere esp. if I am buying groceries or other bulky/heavy goods.

horsemandk - Mar 27, 2007 - 08:01 PM
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I wonder why nobody worries about insurance in case of an accident Smile

aaah, maybe people just don't care about such simple things Wink

twinpointe - Mar 27, 2007 - 08:19 PM
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We have a car & driver - company provided - and I know he is more expensive than taking taxis but the convenience is overwhelming. We both work and in different parts of the city so I am occassionally in a taxi since our driver is my husband's company driver. He also is a personal shopper of sorts, runs errands, picks up this and that for us. My husband is a regional VP and has MANY home office visitors and our driver can pick up his boss (or other VIPs) at the airport & take them to the hotel and we have no worries of any kinds. He is avaiable to us 24/7 with no added costs. But then there are times like this week when I am in Beijing - my husband is overseas and our driver is home watching the NBA on TV all day. But if it were coming out of my pocket directly - probably would be in a taxi. Oh yeah, he also speaks pretty good English so I guess that qualifies me as a spoiled expat?

guel27 - Mar 27, 2007 - 10:01 PM
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its comfortable having a driver but its cheaper taking a cab

Angie - Mar 27, 2007 - 10:10 PM
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rachel_milne wrote:

If you have to carry a lot of stuff and if you have a family, having a driver is more convenient. We pay RMB 1700/month inclusive of the car and driver 5 days a week.

...should be exclusive of the car??? People pay 1700RMB for an ayi (yes, I know, you can hire less expensively), but surely you will have to pay some money for depreciation of the car - and of course for insurance.

deppy - Mar 27, 2007 - 10:56 PM
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^ I have to agree with Angie. RMB1700 per month inclusive of car and driver? That's a damn good deal!

twinpointe - yes, you're one lucky spoiled expat! Razz

answerer - Mar 27, 2007 - 11:03 PM
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The driver is the cheap part. It's the car rental/purchase that will be expensive. With license plates that cost 40k RMB in Shanghai, owning a car is expensive. I took a look around and it looked to be driver + car rental would run RMB 8-10k/month. An english-speaking driver would cost more.

If you're just going to and from work, you're better off choosing a place close to work and taking the bus/metro/walk to work. If you visit clients in different places very often, it may be a good idea to get a driver.

How often do you really need to bring/carry lots of stuff? Either do your grocery shopping at City Super and have them deliver or go to Carrefour once a week and do some major purchasing.

rachel_milne - Mar 27, 2007 - 11:22 PM
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My apology! We actually pay RMB 8800 for car and driver/month, RMB 1800 is just for the driver. That includes insurance.

mswp - Mar 28, 2007 - 08:45 AM
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At one point, I was traveling a pretty far distance, four times a week, and was watching my travel costs really hoping I could get to where it would justify a driver. Didn't happen. You can take an awful lot of taxis for 8-10,000rmb.

It's possible to rent a car and driver for a day for about 500rmb, and that can be great for those days when you have to do a lot of running around or lugging stuff. I've done it when I had guests and the thought of trying to deal with two taxis was too much. We were able to fit 5 in a comfortable vehicle. I assume that you should expect the driver to speak no English.

yu888 - Mar 29, 2007 - 11:59 AM
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There are many independents professional drivers that drive for a select clientele. You can verify their insurance and such and use them on a regular or irregular basis and they will schedule appointments. Some are taxi drivers on thir days off with a second car (many drivers will work their off day this way), others are full time former taxi drivers who bought their own vehicles and have a portfolio of clients. I use on that used to be a DaZhong driver. Runs a Hyundai van now and he runs airport pickups for me and my extended family and we use him fot time we really need a driver for a period of time. Depending upon where and how far, a day rate can be as low as 500rmb. A PVG run from ZhongShan park runs a standard rate of 200rmb, only slightly more than the 160 taxi metered rate but far more comfortable in a van. I try and talk to different drivers wheniver i run across them. Sometimes they are dependable, sometimes not. Ours makes arrrangements for us if he is busy so he has been really really dependable. They are out there so, good luck.

DragonAss - Apr 10, 2007 - 08:37 AM
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Hey Lily, could you drive our Buick minivan?? I will recommend you to our bosses... since all the casual drivers that have been driving us all this time really scared the **** out of us. It's occassionally thing... that's why we dont have any reliable driver

I am not very clear for your daily charge thou?? Is it 100/day or 500/day??

DragonAss - Apr 10, 2007 - 07:48 PM
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thanx for your info, I'll to my bosses.

powerbook - Apr 10, 2007 - 08:37 PM
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lilywang: what car do you drive?

robnot - Apr 11, 2007 - 02:54 PM
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I paid my driver 2000 rmb per month (I bought a car and my own insurance).

He borrowed my car with my permission but then picked up some strangers without my permission at the train station for 15 rmb cab fare... the police caught him and confiscated the car. The official fine for this is 30,000 to 100,000 RMB!!! Owner of the car pays, not the driver!!

After a lot of guanxi we got it down to a 6800 rmb bribe. We got the car back after a week with dried puke on the back seat, obviously the car was being used for drunken joy rides by the police and/or their friends.

Needless to say we got rid of the driver. My new driver we pay 1800 rmb a month.

They both drive like sh*t but what can you do....

princessatwork - Apr 12, 2007 - 11:14 PM
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Robnot: That's a real horrible experience u have there!

I was wondering how about engaging a driver to Hangzhou to and fro? How much would it costs? If I rather not take a train........

answerer - Apr 12, 2007 - 11:27 PM
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With the new high-speed trains, a trip to Hangzhou is only about 80 min. A few of my friends have taken it recently and said that it's quite nice.

princessatwork - Apr 14, 2007 - 12:23 PM
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answerer wrote:

With the new high-speed trains, a trip to Hangzhou is only about 80 min. A few of my friends have taken it recently and said that it's quite nice.

Really? I was told that it takes at least 3 hrs....!! Anyone to verify this ?

answerer - Apr 14, 2007 - 12:49 PM
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N521 上海南——杭州 8：30 --10：00
N523 上海南——杭州 10：05-- 11：35
N525 上海南——杭州 13：35 --15：05
N527 上海南——杭州 15：58-- 17：28
N529 上海南——杭州 19：12--20：42

This week they added a few more but can't find the information on it.

tansy39 - Apr 21, 2007 - 06:09 PM
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Hi Lilywang, how much do you charge for a trip from Pudong Int'l Airport to Tian Yao Qiao Rd - or vice versa? Appreciate your reply. Thanks.

Xcina - Apr 27, 2007 - 11:21 AM
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If safety and insurance is a concern you can always use the services of Avis rent-a-Car (only international rent-a-car company in China). They provide 1/2 day up to monthly rentals with or without driver.

JD - Apr 27, 2007 - 02:14 PM
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I have been leaning on the availability of taxis for long, very convenient especially if you are living downtown... The story is totally different if you have to engage a taxi further away from the city centre.

I am flying a lot from Pudong (almost weekly) and last Sunday ran across the worst possible nightmare so far... Returning from Singapore from a long weekend... From tropics to a chilly 10 degree shower... No taxis around (at 2230). Queue for the taxi (both domestic and international) was hundreds of meters long. No seats in the buses ....

Me pre-arranges the rides from now on !

dfoo - Apr 27, 2007 - 03:08 PM
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Why not drive yourself, btw?

answerer - Apr 27, 2007 - 10:24 PM
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It was raining all of last Sunday, so pre-arranging a taxi would have been a lost cause anyway. You can get a car to pick you up on Ctrip.com. 200 RMB from Jingan to Pudong Airport.

I rely mainly on the metro, but it's also a very good idea to know bus lines when it's raining and there's no hope of a taxi.

snowflake - May 20, 2007 - 11:28 PM
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Hi Lily - Do you also do airport pick-ups and send-offs? How much do you charge?

foreverinchina - May 30, 2007 - 06:54 PM
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yu888 wrote:

There are many independents professional drivers that drive for a select clientele.

Where / how to find them ?

DesertSpider - July 01, 2007 - 03:59 PM
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We waived our driver for the time being and up'ed our expat package - working very nicely at the moment.

Ah, the bliss of flexibility.

YorkshireKing - July 11, 2007 - 10:30 AM
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dfoo wrote:

Why not drive yourself, btw?

Are you mad?

dfoo - July 11, 2007 - 11:03 AM
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YorkshireKing wrote:

dfoo wrote:

Why not drive yourself, btw?

Are you mad?

No. I drive here all the time. What is the big deal?

LaVecchiaSignora - July 11, 2007 - 11:07 AM
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I get frustrated behind the wheel and I am not good enough in being a complete b*tch on the road.

Rather sit back and relax in the back while my driver takes me home.

yu888 - July 11, 2007 - 03:53 PM
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dfoo wrote:

YorkshireKing wrote:

dfoo wrote:

Why not drive yourself, btw?

Are you mad?

No. I drive here all the time. What is the big deal?

Driving here is more challenging but I don;t see an issue with it either. Yorkshireking is just not used to traffic pon the RIGHT side of the road combined with the local traffic patterns yet. Give him time.

dfoo - July 11, 2007 - 04:46 PM
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Driving here is definitely different. People are complete animals with little or no regard for any other driver on the road. But once you adapt to that (ie: forget all of the polite driving habits you learned back home) I don't see what the big deal is. In fact, its better than driving in the US or the UK; At least I don't have to worry about some bastard smashing up my car with a tire iron because I cut him off...

MartialArt - Apr 04, 2008 - 10:13 AM
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Normally driver's base salary ranges from 1800 rmb to 2500 rmb/months.Car plus driver costs differ very much.
Like a vw passat, 9000 rmb-10,000 rmb/month;
Buick van, from 10,500-13,000 rmb/month;
Other cheaper van might costs 8000 rmb-9500 rmb/mth.
Recommend a reliable car leasing company: asd.carrental@gmail.com
Call: 13472525956

ai0322 - Apr 24, 2008 - 11:35 AM
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Hi Lily,

How much do you charge for hourly basis.

Thanks.

zanderion - Apr 25, 2008 - 03:54 AM
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robnot wrote:

Is there a way to protect ourselves from something like this?
I mean I wouldn't loan the car and all but what if he does it without permission like when on an errand?

Would a disclaimer that attempts to transfer liability for such a scenario in the contract help? Where the contract would explicitly state that such personal profiteering is not allowed by the owner and that violations would be reported to the authorities etc.

nigt - Jan 01, 2009 - 07:07 AM
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I'm coming in for a few weeks and will be visiting a number of suppliers that we work with. I thought about renting a car, but after reading about driving in Shanghai, I've given up on that idea. Does anyone know a service to contact that has English speaking drivers (doesn't have to be great), decent cars, and reliable drivers?

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