Taxis are the cover of a city. Even in today's era when online ride-hailing is prevalent, people can have an intuitive understanding of the city through them and by chatting with the driver.

Not only that, taxis are also a ubiquitous city symbol. They appear more frequently in sightseeing photos, TV series, and movies. Even some classic film and television scenes like to use taxis to make articles.

In "The Devil Wears Prada", Anne Hathaway shuttles through the busy streets of New York every day, and yellow taxis come and go; in "The King of Comedy", Cecilia Cheung cried in a taxi, and the scene is still fascinating to this day. I was deeply impressed; some people joked that when the protagonists in Hong Kong dramas quarrel, they always wave to a taxi; and Luc Besson's classic "Taxi Express" series introduced everyone to the French Peugeot.

Taxis have become a code for a city's image and civilization. Today we might as well take a look at what taxis look like in various domestic cities.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang

The current mainstream taxi image in Hangzhou was once radically reformed by soliciting citizens' opinions. Both the LOGO and the main color are consistent with the theme of West Lake. When they first appeared, they received praise from the general public, and their appearance and car models were available. Big change.

But before that, red Xiali accounted for 70%-80% of the market share, mainly because of its affordability. Now, the main rental models in the city include Hyundai Sonata, Hongqi, Passat, Bora, Blue Bird, Picasso, Oriental Son, Zhixiang…

Nanjing, Jiangsu

In 1997, the Nanjing Customer Service Office began to consider unifying the color of taxis in the city, and "Gambia Red" became the collective memory of a generation of Nanjing people.

After that, the companies each chose the color they were satisfied with, and golden yellow, mint green, blue, and red appeared. From 2005 to 2010, "Jinling Green" won through online voting and became the mainstream color of taxis in Nanjing. In the new round of industry-wide vehicle updates in 2010, it was replaced with champagne gold. Currently, there are many models of Shanghai Volkswagen, Peugeot, Nissan and other brands on the streets of Nanjing, painted lemon yellow.

There are constant reports on the Internet about the sharp decrease in the number of taxis in Nanjing. According to relevant personnel from the Nanjing Passenger Management Office, as of mid-March 2018, there were more than 3,000 vehicles idle due to driverless driving. Many people are worried that online ride-hailing will gradually dominate the market.

Guangzhou, Guangdong

In the history of taxis in Guangzhou, the most famous one is the Japanese Iguryo Horse taxi (commonly known as: Red Stool), which was the first batch of taxis produced by Guangzhou Baiyun Company. Guangzhou Baiyun Taxi Company was established in 1979. It was the first Sino-foreign joint venture in the mainland taxi industry at that time. The now familiar "raise your hand and stop" taxi service also spread to other major cities from it. of.

Nowadays, the streets and alleys of Guangzhou mainly include taxis owned by Baiyun Group, Guangjun Group, Guangzhou Transportation Group, Tianhu Uni-President and Suimeng. The taxis are composed of sky blue, bright yellow, burgundy, apple green, champagne gold and other colors. special city scenery.

Shandong Jinan

Jinan taxis were popular around 1993 with yellow "face" taxis. They were withdrawn from the market around 1999 and replaced by red Xiali taxis. By 2002, Xiali taxis were gradually replaced by Poussin taxis.

In 2007, a new vehicle update policy was introduced, stipulating that vehicles must use CNG and gasoline dual-purpose fuels. The vehicles are mainly available in three colors: mint green, Asian yellow, and Comfort blue. The main models include Hongqi, Santana 3000, Kia Optima, etc.

At present, most taxis on Jinan roads are still mint-green taxis. Due to the influence of online car-hailing, many taxi companies are looking for new business models, such as promoting high-end reservation taxis and concierge-type cruise taxis.

The Jinan Customer Management Center has also set up a remote dispatch system to build Jinan into a city with rapid taxi response. In addition, Jinan Taxi Company also collectively invested 10 million yuan to create an online ride-hailing platform exclusively for traditional taxis to help the industry upgrade.

Zhengzhou, Henan

The history of taxis in Zhengzhou began in 1978, when Zhengzhou Passenger Transport Company was established and owned about 10 operating vehicles of Warsaw, Volga and Shanghai 760 sedans.

In 1994, Zhengzhou, like other cities, also experienced a trend of yellow “noodles”. In 1996, the number of taxis in Zhengzhou reached a historical high of 11,100. Models have changed from Fiat and Lada before 1993 to Changhe, Changan, Songhuajiang, Jilin, Tianjin Dafa, etc., occupying 70%-80% of the market share.

From 1998 to 2013, the Zhengzhou Passenger Transport Management Office formulated a series of updated policies to improve the urban environment and enhance the overall image, unifying taxis into gray at the top and red at the bottom.

In August 2006, Zhengzhou Taxi launched another update, allowing citizens and taxi drivers to participate together, and the models were designated as: Sonata, Son of the East (luxury type), Santana 3000, Corolla (improved type), Poussin, and New Qiyun (Practical type). The colors are green and blue.

Now, taxi selection in Zhengzhou has been completely liberalized. The number of taxi models has increased from 6 to 49 (as of last year), including hybrid and pure electric vehicles. People have more and more choices.

Xi'an, Shaanxi

In 1934, Xi'an's first taxi company was established. At that time, the city had not yet been completely liberated from human-powered tricycles. In April 1980, Xi'an welcomed 15 Shanghai-brand cars as taxis. Since then, taxis have developed vigorously. Before 1989, Fiat, Polonaise, Lada, Mazda, Nissan, and Crown were the Main types of taxis. During this period, taxi drivers were a high-tech profession, and their monthly income was about 10 times that of ordinary workers.

In the 1990s, red Xiali and Alto were the mainstream models. Judging from the situation of taxis in other cities, Xiali seems to represent the memories of a generation.

On the roads in Xi'an now, the image of yellow and green taxis occupies the mainstream, including BYD and the British sc7. In addition, there are also many BYD blue e6 electric cars.

Taiyuan Shanxi

The taxi industry in Taiyuan originated in the early 1970s, when the Taiyuan Three-wheel Motor Vehicle Factory took the lead in putting 11 old-fashioned jeeps into the market, and taxis were born.

In the early 1990s, the familiar yellow "noodles" also appeared on the streets of Taiyuan. On July 28, 2000, the launching ceremony for the first batch of updated taxi vehicles in Taiyuan City was held, and "Miande" and old Xiali began to withdraw from people's sight one after another.

At the end of 2007, red body with silver roof and blue body with silver roof became the updated unified body colors for taxis in Taiyuan City.

Now, the blue and white BYD e6 electric car is gradually entering the public eye and will greatly improve the urban environment.

Beijing

Beijing is also one of the major cities where yellow noodles are popular. Someone once asked why the north likes bright yellow, but the south prefers cool colors. Experts speculate that in areas where there is frequent fog, if cars use brighter colors, their visibility on the road will be greatly increased. There are also studies showing that yellow is a safer color, and it is known through data tracking that it can greatly reduce the casualty rate.

The early taxi brands in Beijing were also Xiali, Fukang, Santana, and Jetta. As for the colors, there were golden, white-green, light blue-silver gray, red, etc.

Beijing taxis between 2004 and 2017 were dominated by models such as Elantra, Sonata, Santana 3000, Santana Zhijun, Citroen Elysee, Hongqi Mingshi, and Hongqi Excellence. Elantra currently accounts for approximately 70% of the market share.

In terms of color, yellow is the dominant color, forming blue-yellow, green-yellow, red-yellow, purple-yellow, and white-yellow forms. You can see family portraits gathering in transportation hubs such as train stations and airports.

Shanghai

Taxis in Shanghai mainly come from brands such as Johnson & Johnson, Volkswagen, Jinjiang, Bus and Nonggongshang. The most commonly seen ones are Shanghai Volkswagen, but there are also some Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz 200, Hongqi and other car brands.

Even before online car-hailing existed, Shanghai Taxi had already won a reputation in the market with its unified management. As long as you made a reservation call, you could wait for the taxi to arrive. Sometimes, after just a few minutes of putting down the phone, the car would arrive before you could even go downstairs. coming.

Among the local people in Shanghai, it is often said that when you take a Johnson & Johnson or Volkswagen taxi, you don't have to look at the navigation, and you don't have to worry about the driver taking detours, because if found, the fine will be very serious. The drivers will also wear uniform white gloves and uniforms.

Johnson & Johnson's taxis are mainly yellow. Recently, a large number of them have been replaced by Volkswagen Touran. Volkswagen's taxis are mainly green, and other brands include blue, white-green, burgundy, etc.

The development of taxis is actually not only the development history of China’s automobile industry, but also the history of the development of China’s national conditions. What we see is the growth of the economy, the inheritance and promotion of local cultures, the daily life of ordinary people, and the innovation of people's travel methods. No matter what form the industry will take in the future, I believe that the taxi will still be a place that reminds you of the wonderful life.