Taipei has a special gift for such dedicated gentlefolk: Here, their street manners can reach utopian perfection. That one blemish to personal decorum, just for the sake of a ride, is totally unnecessary.
Standing anywhere along the sidewalks of Taipei, or in its smaller lanes for that matter, one has merely to raise a hand and, very quickly, there will be one or even two taxicabs stopping alongside, ready to pick up the soliciting passenger in fullest dignity. Indeed, so sensitive is the system that pedestrians who pause to look for a shop or an address along the street, are frequently mistaken for less-demonstrative patrons by earnest cabbies.
Actually, neither local resident nor foreign tourist ever has reason to complain of unavailable taxicabs in Taipei. At the end of January 1986, according to city records, 31,432 city-registered taxi-cabs plied Taipei streets. Added to these, any day, are uncounted numbers of cabs from nearby communities in Taipei and Han Counties, which are permitted to bring in and pick up fares in the Taipei metropolitan area. A conservative estimate of the true number of cabs daily cruising the streets of Taipei is, at least 40,000.
Balanced against a metro population of 2,500,000, that is 62.5 people—men, women, and children—per taxicab, as compared with 400 persons per cab in Tokyo and 270 in Seoul.
The city government finally announced a temporary suspension in the issue of taxicab licenses on January 16 of this year, capping a partial suspension instituted in December 1978, but apparently ignored-cab volume in Taipei seems to have maintained its rapid growth, doubling in the last ten years. According to a survey report released by National Chiaotung University, taxicab supply in Taipei, and in all Taiwan Province for that matter, has overmatched demand.
An interesting if not surprising side-light is that cab numbers always grow with the unemployment rate. Indeed, not a few people take to hacking as a temporary shield during periods of unemployment. Compared with other individual enterprises, it requires less capital and only general skills.
Those who really take to hacking as a permanent occupation cite "freedom" as the most common reason. Being self-employed—and not having to "see the expression on the boss's face," most cab-drivers let you know, is the most treasured feature of the calling.
Yet under pressure of the heavy competition, cabdrivers also endlessly moan of limited business, and complain that to maintain expected income, they are forced to extend working times and vigorously solicit customers.
An absolute majority of the cabs here are local manufacture-(Nissan-allied) 1200, 1300, and l500-cc. Yue Loong automobiles; small Fords and Honda Civics are also popular. And gradually, more costly automobiles- BMW, Renault, Fiat, the Nissan Sunny— have entered the cab fleet.
Because of the intensive usage, cabs depreciate rapidly. And that is extra important to cabbies because, "Passengers are now very discriminating in choosing taxis. My husband and I alternate, driving day and night, and we have to save for a new cab about every two years," says Lo Chun-Ian, one of the 2,000 women hackers of Taipei.
Every morning before starting business, the better cabbies thoroughly clean their cabs within and without, and take care of their personal appearance as well. Air conditioners and automobile radios are indispensable equipment. Some attentive cabdrivers- hoping for repeat daily commuter trade-also offer facial tissues, newspapers, magazines, and, most of all, a pleasant mood and polite attitude.
"Courtesy and the other small things are not expensive at all, yet customers seem grateful for them. From selfish considerations of business, I do find that because of such quality service, I sometimes earn some NT$200 to 300 (US$5-7.50) more in tips (no cab tip is really expected in Taiwan, but customers often return some change)," said the obviously good-natured Wang Hung-chao.
For both taxi drivers and passengers, safety is a priority consideration, especially in the heavy-trafficked streets of Taipei. Usually, cabdrivers—rather than curtail lane-switching and light-jumping—will have something auspicious around to protect the cab and its occupants. Many are pious believers in religions from Taoism to Buddhism, Catholicism to Mormonism, and religious goods—small wood Buddhas, crosses, medallions, etc.—are often hung on the rearview mirror. Some passengers believe they can judge an approaching cabbie's safe driving habits by the absence or presence of such safety devices in the cab.
A few taxicabs have installed special computer-calculators, which print out receipts that list fare, mileage, cab number, time, date, etc. "It guarantees honest dealing with passengers and enhances the reputation of a taxi," holds one hacker who requested he be identified only as Mr. Liu. He claims to be the first in Taipei to install such a computer device in a taxicab.
Mini TV sets and handy karaoke are the new avant-garde driver's favorite equipment. Karaoke is a Japanese word-combine meaning "empty orchestra"—any would-be singer can fill the emptiness, singing through the machine, and have his voice emerge as part of the music tape. This seems to satisfy a surprisingly pervasive desire to be a pop singer, and has become extremely popular in Taipei's restaurants and beerhalls in recent years.
When the first karaoke was actually installed in a taxi is questionable. What is sure, though, is that it has become a new tactic to attract passengers, at least would-be performers. Fifty-year-old Su Ching-fang said he invested NT$8,000 (US$200) in a karaoke, and that it has since increased his income by about NT$200 (US$5.00) per day.
"Long drives are boring, and this way the passengers or the driver can enjoy them a little," hacker Chen Ching-tang maintains.
But contrary opinions are also voiced. Some cabdrivers charge that karaoke use only adds tension and irritation, especially during heavy traffic congestion. "Sometimes, with partying passengers, they are not singing, but shouting. It becomes intolerable," insists Chang Tzung-pang. He installed one, then removed it just a few months later.
The taxicabs of Taiwan are metered, and collect fares according to distance: the initial one kilometer charge is NT$22 (US$0.55) —though many cab meters may still be set at NT$24, the rate before oil prices fell—and NT$6 is added for each additional half-kilometer. No additional fees are lawfully allowed.
The cabs are thus cheap as well as available and exist in a favorable environment, since Taipei's projected mass transit network is still years away; the city bus system is extensive, but most of the busses are old and over-crowded; and parking spaces are rarer and rarer each passing day due to the proliferating numbers of private cars.
Actually, things should not really be too bad at all for any taxi business. Nevertheless, although many are agreed on the merits of Taipei taxis, as opposed to all other available transport forms, yet not a few passengers have really "had it," and complain of unhappy experiences.
The most frequently heard complaint is of scary driving. Racing against time to insure more fares per day, too many cabbies indulge in nerve-fraying tactics, jumping lights and continuously changing lanes at the utmost possible speed.
Some drivers are hot-tempered; others don't give the right change or illegally raise fares for special times or places; a few make noxious passes at woman passengers. Of course, these are the minority—odd black sheep in a vast flock.
Similarly, taxi drivers complain of bad passengers. The worst fear is of late-night robbers. And almost every taxi driver has had one or more unhappy experiences with fares running off without paying, troublesome drunkards, heavy smokers that pollute the air of the air-conditioned cabs, and so forth.
"The happiest experience is a really good conversation with a passenger. Actually, taxi drivers have more opportunities than others to meet well-known people. I remember picking up Vice Minister of Education Juan Ta-nien, who I have always respected. My talk with him made me feel fine all that day," announced hacker Mi Tsun-yi.
Interviewed cabdrivers generally agreed that a cabbie who drives 10 hours a day should net at least NT$1,000 (US$25) or so. Relatively, that is not bad at all in blue-collar jobs; but, it is also not an "easy" job at all.
It is really mentally and physically demanding work. Constant traffic alertness, untimely meals, and the mandated fixed position in the driver's seat result in various vocational afflictions, back and digestive problems being the most usual.
Since two-way communication has not been adopted by Taiwan taxicabs, except for a few limited taxicab-company fleets, most taxis in Taiwan must constantly prowl the streets and take their chances. And to earn more, drivers will almost always go anywhere customers choose.
"We have no destinations, just all directions," one cabdriver put in. He went on to describe Taipei's cabbies as 20th Century nomads-roving about to seek "water and grasses" for the herd of passengers.
The PRBS Traffic Service Station passes personal messages, traffic tips.
The Traffic Service Station of the Public Radio Broadcasting System (PRBS) is the helpful "friend on the air" of these often lonely rovers. The station reports traffic conditions all day long in Taipei, collecting information by radio from traffic police—including one police team in a special rush-hour helicopter—and from volunteer drivers. Guided by timely road-condition information, taxi drivers work hard to avoid time-consuming traffic congestion.
The station also offers liaison service between drivers and their families, and even their taxi companies.
The first "liaison phone call" ever broadcast was for driver Cheng Ming-chi, informing him that his wife had given birth to a boy. That was March 10, 1971, and since, Phone Number 351-3600 at the station has rung 24 hours each day with broadcast-message requests. One taxi driver describes PRBS as a kite string, with their taxis at the top, flying, and the families at the other end.
Another exclusive PRBS line, 393-3133, was recently put in service to handle problems phoned in by cabdrivers. Many of their questions and answers are later broadcast by the station.
Other PRBS cab services include notices on searches for, and discoveries of goods left in cabs, English teaching, vehicle maintenance tips, traffic-regulation outlines, and so forth. All of this is clearly appreciated by the cabdrivers, and the effects are substantial. According to statistics to date, some three thousand cases of lost goods have been resolved, and moving stories of honest cabdrivers, reporting left-behind purses, occur routinely. As for the English teaching courses, they help at least some cabdrivers better serve their foreign passengers.
Members of the "Faith, Hope & Charity Taxi Drivers' Crusade."
Coming on a taxi windshield sporting Chinese and English stickers proclaiming "God Is Love," you can be sure that this cabdriver is one of at least 80 now participating in the "Faith, Hope, and Charity Taxi Drivers' Crusade."
Founder of the movement Wu Hsin-yen, a fervent Christian, although not a cabdriver himself, pondered how to identify devout, dedicated-to-service, honest cabbies from their less-pleasent brethren. He conceived the idea for the Cabdrivers' Crusade.
In order to assure the integrity of the group, member-cabdrivers must have the recommendation of ministers, stipulating also that they do not have such bad habits as smoking, drinking, chewing betel-nut, and gambling.
Once they stick the symbol to the window, member-drivers must emphasize better service, neatness, courtesy, honesty, and respect for traffic rules. They are also more than likely to entertain passengers with cassettes of religious music, and even faith messages.
Since September 1984, the Department of Reconstruction of the Taipei City Government has done its bit, along the same general lines, by identifying excellent taxi drivers. The city awards them white flower-shaped symbols marked with the red character yu (excellent), which is then displayed to the left-front of the windshield.
Kao Chueh, chief of the Public Relations Group of the Taipei Professional Drivers' Association, says that the association not only approves such good-service campaigns, but itself is planning a new self-improvement campaign among cabdrivers.
Actually, the long-effective Green Cross Traffic Service Team was founded on exactly such a basis back in 1981. Manned by volunteers, first screened to assure that only those with spotless personal and driving records were selected, the Service Team has been limited since to roughly 150 members.
Team members help traffic police channel vehicles at congested crossroads from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, taking turns so each is on duty just twice a month.
They also react to any accidents, traffic-signal breakdowns, traffic jams, etc. they come across, leaving their cabs at roadside and donning their Green Cross armbands and directing traffic. Once traffic police are on the scene, the Green Cross men go back to their taxis.
Obviously, a taxi driver makes money only when his cab rolls. Yet, during rush hours, the self sacrificing Green Cross Team members often give up opportunities for fares to do a job with no external payoff. Don't they feel some heartache?
Of course, especially if nearby people are waiting for empty taxis. "But, if traffic is at a standstill, we cannot make money either. There is also a payoff in leaving the driver's seat and limbering up your muscles and joints instead of sitting there," Green Cross volunteer Wang Hung-chao said.
A bridge has been gradually built between volunteer-service cabbies and police, and other cabbies and the public at large. "It is very effective when ordinary people—cabdrivers—direct ordinary people—the other drivers and pedestrians. By their own examples, our volunteers help promote the concept that everybody shares the responsibility for improved traffic order," asserts Green Cross Team leader Chen Wei-ta, who is concurrently director of the Taipei Professional Drivers' Association.
Wang Hsiao-han, chief editor of the Chung Hua Daily News, sees gabby cabbies as another form of mass media, "more direct than television, radio broadcasting, and newspapers."
The popular writer and well known PRBS program hostess, Lo Lan, has said that if she were a taxi driver, she would base her novels on the exchanges with passengers.
There are now seven "service-rec" centers for Taipei cabbies.
Indeed, many cabbies say their passengers spontaneously divulge personal secrets in their "taxi-chats."
The police have another viewpoint. If each Taiwan cab transports 20 passengers a day, that would mean daily contact with about two million people around the island. The police see the more than 100,000 taxi drivers as possible "ears and eyes" in their fight against crime.
And many public-spirited cabdrivers have indeed helped police in this and other ways. Recently, the most talked about is a cabbie named Hsu Hsing-fu.
Hsu, a regular listener to the PRBS Traffic Service Station, one day heard a broadcast appeal for drivers to keep an eye out for a particular stolen 1600-cc. Ford. Hsu suddenly noted that the car right in front of him fit the description. He tailed it till it stopped and parked, then phoned police, who were able to arrest the robbery suspect soon after.
From then, Hsu has had "the bug." He jots down data on suspect or stolen vehicles from radio broadcasts, and even goes directly to the police to get more information. He keeps an active list stuck to the front of the steering wheel. When his cab stops for a red light, he checks the numbers of the cars around him. In this way, he has helped police to locate more than 150 wanted vehicles over the past three years.
PRBS initiated an award system to generate public recognition of public-spirited cabbies like Hsu, and those that return, via PRBS, the money and valuables passengers forget in their cabs. Hsu is the first cabbie to receive such a public-spirit award. Now, he and a number of others display arrays of such honors from a variety of organizations.
The new Taxi Magazine proclaims that cabdrivers have more opportunities than most to do good deeds and be examples for other men. By accepting social responsibility and demonstrating moral courage as they dedicate themselves to the belief that "protecting society is protecting themselves," it promises them, every cabdriver can be a true "street hero" - a man among men.