Netizens give thumbs-up to taxi driver who rides with his sick wife

Netizens have praised a Beijing taxi driver for working while his wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease, rides in the front passenger seat.

The touching story was brought to public attention by a Sina Weibo user called “Cai Hongyan”, who wrote about hailing the cab on Nov 30.

In a blog post, “Cai Hongyan” said the driver, Shen, told him not to mind his wife, explaining that she has Alzheimer’s and rides with him every day so he can care for her.

Shen, who has a licensed taxi and also drives for the Didi ride-hailing app, said his situation meant several passengers had refused to travel with him after spotting his wife upfront. This had caused his Didi score to slip to 56 out of 100.

The cabbie declined to comment when contacted by China Daily on Thursday, but Beijing North Taxi Co did confirm he worked for them and that his wife has Alzheimer’s.

After learning of Shen’s situation, Didi said it had contacted him to offer support, including providing an automated message to inform passengers who hailed his cab that his wife would be in the car.

Some netizens said they had also taken Shen’s cab and that they hope passengers will show the couple respect and kindness.