New smart meters installed in Beijing cabs to prevent scams

These 'all in one devices' help prevent taxi scams and rigged meters

Taxi scams are still fairly prevalent in China: rigged meters, fake money, even fake taxi cars are the realities that many of us had to face at one point. However, according to a report by Sixth Tone, Beijing authorities are now taking measures to deter dodgy drivers.

The crackdown will be conducted by installing new smart meters in roughly 10,000 taxis. Not only will these ‘all-in-one devices’ count the fare, they also require every driver to swipe their staff ID to start the meter, making it considerably tougher for them to hoodwink passengers. On top of that, the device will also be able to process bank cards, as well as Alipay and WeChat payments.

It should be noted that Beijing is not the first city to tighten the reins on taxis. Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, has had similar devices installed in every taxi for almost three years already, even going as far as recording audio and video during every ride. While that might be just a little bit over the top, Beijing is definitely on the right track.

Prefer to drive around the city yourself? Hit 'Read more' for 6 of the most ballin' ways to get around Beijing.

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