Beijing to raise taxi fuel surcharge

 Beijing will raise the taxi fuel surcharge following an oil price hike, the city's development and reform authorities said Thursday.

As of March 1, the fuel surcharge added to taxi fares will increase from two yuan (0.32 U.S. dollars) to three yuan per trip, although passengers traveling a distance of 3 km or less will not have to pay the extra fee, said an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

The Beijing municipal government approved the increase after the national development and reform commission raised the retail price for gasoline by 300 yuan per tonne on Monday.

Since 2012, the taxi fuel surcharge has changed four times based on oil price fluctuations.

People in Beijing and many other cities have had a hard time finding available taxis in recent months, as many cabbies refuse to drive during rush hour due to high gas prices that make it uneconomical for them to do so.

Beijing's fuel surcharge policy was introduced in late 2009 in order to counteract the effects of fuel price increases.