Alien, have you seen the clouds of heavy metal rich soot that pours out of buses' exhaust pipes? I estimate that they account for about 40-50% of the air pollution in Kunming. They are particularly bad as the pollution goes straight to street level and so straight into people's lungs. So take buses if you like, but don't pretend its good for Kunming air quality. Traffic - yes.

Well I don't take taxis to often myself as my wife drives but when I do this is my experience. Usually when I do its for a bit of shopping at nan ya mall and I can say pretty much for sure that each is empty when ignore me as they either drive five meters along and pick up someone chinese or I speak to them and they say no lol.

And speaking of cliques I have to say for myself I don't know one other foreigner in kunming lol. Nearest I get to hanging out with foreigners is speaking on here :o)

I've never seen an eco bus lol

Filthy & sooty as you say Haali :o)

Tricks: A) Get in first. Then tell your destination. Taxi drivers are lazy.
B) Or use the taxi app. On your phone. Then they are required to pick you up.
* note: they try to get it, but there is no "return fee" on late night trips to the outskirts of town. The meter should already have a "night-time" price.
But it is a little courtesy to a taxi driver to make him stop at a crowded place like a busy KTV or club and just walk the last minute / block. I saw some divers' faces really light up when they saw they had potential for business after driving halfway to Chenggong in the middle of the night. They will notice when you make them stop there instead of somewhere else. They ask if it is the right place and I just say: "Don't worry. It's no problem."

Of course, there are a lot of asses (too many in my opinion). Try getting rejected by 30 taxis on a normal day going to a shopping center. That's why the police don't heras the illegal drivers and scooter drivers too much yet. They know there are no way near enough taxis and that most taxis don't do their job.

Taxis in China are not taxis. They are cars driving anything and everything to earn a little on the side. Family, friends, uncles, aunties, neighbors' kids, groceries, lunch boxes, kid's homework they forgot to bring to school, etc.

Taxis in Kunming, maybe 50% of them, are really assholes. Another half are fine guys who want to help you etc.
Best bad places for take taxi are train stations or bus stations where they ask for much more money...

@Haali, Have you noticed that a public bus easily carries 40-50 people and that the pollution from the bus is not 40-50 times that of a taxi carrying one?
As for the traffic: one bus hardly congests it as much as 40-50 taxis.
Where do you get your estimate that 40-50% of Kunming's air pollution comes from buses?

@Silvio: I take taxis with meters & lights. I've never had any problem with school lunches, family, friends, groceries, etc.
@hanshan: I agree with you about taxis at train/bus stations - when that happens, don't take the taxi, just walk a way up the street until you get an ordinary guy who uses the meter etc.

all drivers are different.. a lot share their cabs and thats where it get dicey. if you find a good driver ask for a card or phone number. they are happy to give it. lunch and dinner times are hell, if youre on a busy street walk to a less busy street. 80 percent of chinese i know use apps because of the discount. the cabs that use those apps pass up people on the street since they cant deny the person using the app that paid with a card. they are not scared of foreigners, they are scared of the few foreigners that flip out if they take a different route to avoid traffic. i think the anger comes from not understanding the system. try getting a cab in ny or la, same darn thing.

Alien: most of the time they don't carry 40 or 50 people. Sure, they do at busy times, but the average is probably closer to 25. Often a taxi carries more than one passenger. Let's say the average is about 1.8 passengers. 25 / 1.8 = approx 13. A bus, with its huge, outdated, and badly maintained diesel engine, is probably easily 13 times more polluting than a taxi with a small german petrol engine, particularly in terms of pm.
I acknowledged that buses are better in terms of traffic.
My estimate is not backed up by any clever science or calculations. Its just an estimate. But my educational background is partly in environmental pollution. So you could say that it's an educated guess.

If you want to be eco friendly, bike.