Just before Christmas 2014, I was in Beijing and saw a type of transportation I had never seen before. I am not sure what to call it, nor do I know much about it, but I wanted to share it you. I was sitting at a traffic light in a taxi, when two new types of vehicles appeared. They were smaller than a bus, but larger than a taxi, as you can see from the picture below.
In a way, it reminded me of a large enclosed golf cart. I don’t know if this vehicle ran on batteries or was gas powered, but it didn’t look like it would be super powerful. I will attach a picture with a van beside the new mode of transportation so you can judge the size.
The rear seats actually face toward the back of the vehicle; you don’t see that very often in public transportation. The taxi driver told me it was very inexpensive to ride one of these, so I will take his word for it. Well, now you know you have another mode of transportation from which to choose in Beijing. This was a nice day, but everyone inside was wearing a heavy coat, so you may want to dress appropriately if you take one of these vehicles in the winter.