Nothing seems to rile up Chinese urbanites quite like the poor quality of the country's taxi services. But while city dwellers are becoming more apt to criticize taxi drivers, many drivers are in turn complaining about seeing their employers cut into their incomes.

Several taxi fleet operators have stated that they are trying to improve working conditions for their drivers - and push back the public's rising antipathy in the process - by offering contracts which provide drivers more time off and lighter financial obligations to their employers.

While drivers may welcome this turn of events, it's doubtful whether a change in the contractual relationship between taxi drivers and operators will actually promote better service. Ultimately, local authorities should work to break up the taxi monopolies that exist in many of China's urban areas while simultaneously promoting competition between fleet operators. If more companies are allowed to enter the market, high quality service can become a competitive feature that helps an operator realize greater business success.

The author is Liu Yuanju, a commentator.