China: Cabbie Returns Fare Overpaid 100 Times by Tourist
The taxi driver declined a reward for his honesty.
Zhang Peng, a taxi driver in the Shaanxi province's capital of Xian, returned almost $960 to an American tourist who accidentally paid 100 times the normal fare for his ride.
Zhang reportedly noticed the mistake when he opened the wallet of his WeChat (a Chinese social media, messaging, and transactional app) account, and found an abnormally large deposit of 6,500 Yuan ($960) in his account, according to South China Morning Post, citing Chinese Business Gazette. He gathered that the payment was made by a party of four American tourists he ferried from a local train station to their hotel, whose fare totaled only 65 yuan ($10). Zhang's dispatcher was unable to confirm his theory, so he drove back to the hotel to see if his customers were still there.
After stating his business to the hotel's receptionists, the customer that paid the fare, identified only as a Mr. Liu, was called down. Liu was grateful for Zhang's honesty, and offered to let Zhang keep 3,200 yuan ($472), but Zhang refunded the full 6,500 yuan, reportedly returning even the 65 yuan he was owed for the ride. Liu nevertheless tried to return the favor, and left a highly positive review for Zhang online.
"I can't believe it," Liu was quoted as having stated in his review, written in Chinese. "For some people, money is their only goal, and [6,500 yuan] is a lot of money. I felt so excited yesterday because you returned it. I really appreciate it."
With enough stories in recent memories about nightmare Uber and taxi drivers, it's good to hear news where stubborn integrity is the focus, and not criminal activity. The Drive applauds Zhang Peng for his honesty; may his actions serve as an example for the rest of paid drivers and their customers everywhere.
