Beijing to hold taxi price hike hearing

Beijing will hold a taxi price hearing on Thursday to address drivers' complaints over low income and make it easier for people to hail a cab, chinanews.com reported.

According to a plan released by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform on May 7, the base fare will go up from 10 yuan ($1.6) to 13 yuan for the first 3 km. The rate per km after the first 3 km will rise to either 2.3 yuan or 2.6 yuan from the current 2 yuan, according to the plan.

The plan will be discussed at a public hearing at 2:30 pm in Beijing on Thursday where 10 customers will be represented.

Beijing taxis currently add a 1- to 3-yuan fuel surcharge for trips over 3 km. The amount of the surcharge varies with the current price of fuel. Under the new plan, the surcharge will be fixed at 1 yuan.

To encourage more taxi drivers to get behind the wheel in the morning and evening rush hours, the waiting fee charged during traffic jams will also be increased to a rate of 2 km per five minutes from the current 1 km per five minutes.

The fares for booking taxis will also be increased from the current 3 yuan to 5 yuan if the reservation is made four hours ahead of the departure. Otherwise, 8 yuan will be charged for the reservation, under the plan.

Beijing is home to 252 taxi operators and 1,157 individual cab drivers that collectively run 66,646 vehicles, carrying about 700 million passengers annually and accounting for 6.6 percent of the city's transport.