Taxi Driver Waives Fare for Tearful Boy in Zunyi

When a young boy's phone died mid-call with his mom and the taxi meter kept climbing, driver Wang saw a chance to teach kindness instead of collecting a fare.

The 10-year-old was riding alone in Zunyi, southwestern China, on May 17 when traffic turned his usual nine-yuan trip into a problem. He anxiously told his mother the fare had already hit 9.4 yuan and he only had 10 yuan in his pocket.

Then his phone went dark. The boy started crying.

Wang, watching in his rear-view mirror, told the child not to worry. "If the fee goes higher than 10 yuan, I will not charge you," he said.

But Wang didn't stop at just waiving the extra fare. He gently explained that communication could solve many problems.

"You can tell me in advance that perhaps the money you have will not be enough," Wang suggested. "When the fare meter reaches 10 yuan, you can get out."

He added that most drivers would happily drive a bit further without charging extra. "I regard it as doing a good deed," he said.

The final fare was 12 yuan, but Wang only charged the boy 10 yuan. His reasoning was simple: "I treat other people's kids kindly, so other people will treat my kids kindly too."

Sunny's Take

Wang has two children around the same age as his young passenger. He says child passengers often twitter happily in his car, which "aroused my desire to protect them."

The surveillance footage, shared by state media CCTV, earned more than 1.2 million likes online. One person offered to pay the boy's future taxi fares, while a fruit seller wanted to send gifts to Wang's kids.

Wang turned down all the offers. For him, the reward was already complete: knowing he'd helped a scared child get home safely while learning an important lesson about asking for help.

Sometimes the best lessons come from strangers who choose kindness when they could just as easily choose the meter reading.