Cabs drivers gouge passengers during deadly storm

(Ecns.cn) -- The behavior of some of Beijing's taxi drivers during the worst rainstorm to hit the capital in more than 60 years has sparked further indignation toward a troubled industry.

During the nearly 20-hour deluge, which left at least 77 people dead and damaged major roadways, many cab drivers either refused to pick up passengers or tried to profit from their ill luck.

"I heard that some cab drivers were demanding 400 yuan (US$63) for a trip that normally costs less than 100 yuan," said Su Ye, 24, a driver who volunteered to help transport people stranded at the airport.

Ai Li, a business traveler who returned to Beijing at around 1 a.m. on July 22, said several cab drivers tried to charge him 200-300 yuan for a journey of only 1.5 kilometers.

"Many people were cheated, but there were no buses," he said. "We had no other choice."

The capital's taxi industry has already been struggling with a low public opinion.

A survey conducted in June by Beijing Youth Daily found that 97.4 percent of the respondents had had difficulty finding taxis, while 54.2 percent had often had trouble getting them to stop. 66.6 percent said the situation was potentially harmful to the city's reputation.

The storm wreaked havoc at Beijing's busy Capital Airport, resulting in more than 500 cancelled outbound flights and 80,000 stranded people. Yet cab drivers were few in number.

A taxi driver named Qi said he didn't go to work that day because the waterlogged roads might have damaged his new car (an engine problem could cost more than 3,000 yuan, he said, a sum equivalent to his monthly income).

Mr. Wang from the Beijing Sanyuan Taxi Company explained that drivers must pay contract fees that cut deeply into their earnings. That's why most of them avoid the hassle and risk of working on rainy days.

Drivers have long complained that the fees are too high, resulting in a flawed a restive industry.

A survey of taxis in key cities by the Development Research Center of the State Council showed that an average of 1.2 mass incidents by cab drivers occurred every month from 2004 to 2009.

Ren Lingyun, a visiting research fellow at the Rural Development Research Institute of Hunan, says the root cause of the conflict lies in the way taxi companies operate.

In most cities, including Beijing, local governments grant licenses to taxi companies only through auctions. A limited number of licenses makes them valuable, which allows companies to either resell the operating rights at double the price or lease out taxis for high fees, says Ren.

In other cities such as Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, local governments auction licenses to individuals, "but the number is still limited, and it's the government, not the market, that decides the number of taxis a city should own," he adds. "That causes the scarcity."

"Taxi companies in the country operate under the protection of local governments. They face no open market competition, and this hasn't changed much in the past decade, despite all the problems that are so widely known," Yu Hui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said during an interview with China Daily.

Feng Zhenglin, deputy transport minister, has said that a more scientific management system of taxi firms and cab drivers will be adopted: drivers will be able to negotiate contract fees, social security and days off with employers, and work conditions will be improved to provide greater convenience for drivers to park or stop for meals.

Moreover, a price fixing mechanism between the fluctuation of fuel costs and the adjustment of taxi fares should be established. "Employers should sign labor contracts with all drivers, and we would calculate the cost of operating a taxi and urge companies to set reasonable contract fees," Feng said.

Some experts say the long-term solution to the problems of China's taxi companies is to open the industry to the free market.

Xinxiang, a city in Henan province, has set an example for reform by allowing individuals to bypass taxi companies and bid for taxi quotas themselves.

But Dou Keying, a Beijing cabbie, says he doesn't have much hope for such proposals.

"Calls for reform of the taxi business have never stopped for the past 10 years. Strangely, nothing has changed at all," he told China Daily.