Focus

Some cabbies opt for a relaxed day behind the wheel

By Wang Chao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-19 08:06

Xia Jianzhong doesn't work long shifts and takes breaks to play table tennis. WANG CHAO / CHINA DAILY

Compared with his counterparts from the outskirts of Beijing, Xia Jianzhong, a taxi driver living downtown, has a much more relaxed life.

"You cannot earn all the money in the world, so don't work overtime, just get plenty of rest," Xia said. .

Xia, 54, is a native Beijinger and lives in You'anmen, Fengtai district. Every day he starts his shift at 7 am and returns home before dinner.

"I never work overtime, even when the airport is desperately in need of taxis," Xia said.

Health should take priority over money, he added.

"Some taxi drivers from suburban areas work 24 hour shifts - they are not working, they are risking their lives," Xia said.

Xia has been working for the Tiancheng Taxi Company for 13 years and said in that time he's hardly ever worked more than eight hours a day.

"Everybody knows that for a taxi driver, extra working time means more customers, which can bring them money," Xia said. "But if the driver's health gets worse, the extra money will be wasted at the hospital in the future."

Every Wednesday and Sunday Xia plays table tennis with his colleague for three hours, a habit he's kept for the last three years.

Drivers sit all day, so their legs need exercise, said Xia.

"Some people say I'm wasting my time, because three hours off means at least 150 yuan of income," he said. "But I don't care about such a small amount of money as much as I care about my health."

Xia's other habit is to always keep the air conditioner running in summer when he is in the taxi, even when there are no customers. This burns an extra five liters of gas every day, which costs 35 yuan.

But Xia said this keeps him from becoming exhausted during the shift and at the same time makes the car more comfortable for customers when they first get in the taxi.

"So it actually earns me much more than 35 yuan," he said.

Related readings:
Some cabbies opt for a relaxed day behind the wheel Tianjing: A 'taxi driver village'

Xia said his schedule gives him more spare time to help prepare dinner, go grocery shopping and gave him time to help his son with homework, when his son was younger.

Xia's son is 28 years old now and works as a trainer at a fitness center.

Although Xia works fewer hours than the taxi drivers who do 24-hour shifts, the almost 3,000 yuan he earns each month is roughly the same they do.

"You need to use your brain instead of working extra hours," Xia said.

Xia said he constantly plans ahead so that as soon as a customer is out of the cab he can efficiently get to a spot where there is likely to be more customers.

"Driving aimlessly on the street for hours is a bad strategy, although you think you are working hard," Xia said.