Beijing taxis are more difficult to come by than ever before, according to a recent blue book report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences(CASS) on December 20.
However, while the public complains about the capital’s taxi service, cabbies are also voicing their own issues.
●Statistics:
The blue paper shows that 53.77 percent of the residents in Beijing wait more than 10 minutes for a taxi.
| Rank of taxi service(38 cities in total) |
Rank of public transportation |
| City |
Rank |
City |
Rank |
| Lhasa |
1 |
Lhasa |
1 |
| Tianjin |
2 |
Shanghai |
2 |
| Shanghai |
3 |
Xiamen |
3 |
| Beijing |
28 |
Beijing |
16 |
●The situations you may meet, when you want to take a taxi in Beijing:
Taxi drivers ignore people trying to hail them.
Drivers refused to go places because of bad traffic.
Drivers try to gouge customers with off-the-meter rates.
You get on a fake taxi.
●Scandals of Beijing taxis:
Cabbie meters out blow to passenger
Beijing resident Li Yang and her husband were told by a taxi driver they had to pay 100 yuan ($16) if they wanted to take his cab from Sanyuanqiao Station on Subway Line 10 to Wangjing, a distance of about six kilometers that usually costs less than 20 yuan. When the couple attempted to report the driver, the cabbie attacked Li's husband and gouged his eyes.
Taxis overcharge in heavy rain
With the downpours that have hit the capital since July 21, frequent complaints have arisen from commuters over taxis overcharging on rainy days, especially at the airport, railway stations, public transport hubs and downtown areas.
'Clone' cabs con airport passengers
Drivers of fake taxis, indistinguishable from real cabs, are allegedly scamming passengers at Beijing Capital International Airport, possibly in collusion with airport taxi dispatchers.
Low incomes
Taxi rates in Beijing have remained unchanged since 2002, although the Beijing municipal government now gives every taxi driver 1,305 yuan each month as a subsidy, to balance the increasing price of gas. Nonetheless, their income has been wildly outpaced by the increasing cost of living.
Heavy traffic
Many drivers won't take customers during rush hours, because it's very common to get caught in traffic for an hour. Though we get compensation for being trapped, 1 kilometer (about 2 yuan ($0.30)) every five minutes, it can never make up for our loss of time.
Poor work environment
In order to secure an income of 5,000 yuan ($784) a month, a taxi driver works 12 hours a day and is too afraid to join any protest or strike.
Tough industrial rules
Even if their cars have accidents in harsh weather conditions, the same amount of "contract money" still has to be handed in to the companies they work for. This daily fee charged to drivers is how taxi companies make money but it is becoming a growing burden for drivers. Every day, their debt increases.
Fake cabs
There are about 66,000 taxis in Beijing, but illegal cabs outnumbered them over 10 years ago, said Guo Yushan, president of Transition Institute
Government's actions:
●Crackdown: Beijing crack down on illegal taxi drivers
Beijing has launched a four-month crackdown on taxis that refuse to take passengers, illegal taxis and unlicensed tourist vans on July 31.
●Award: Bad weather cab service
Traffic authorities in Beijing set up an award mechanism for the city's 66,000 cabs, in an effort to encourage more drivers to carry passengers during bad weather.
Suggestions from the public:
●The only solution to this problem is getting more licensed taxis on the roads. To do this, the government needs to ensure that driving a taxi remains a worthwhile profession.
●Government should create two separate taxi queues at the transportation hub: one for passengers traveling within a 5-mile radius, and the other for people traveling further than that. In this way, cabbies will know exactly who they are picking up and will hopefully refrain from creating such a bad impression of our fair city.
●We need roadside surveillance systems on roads or GPS records to try to resolve the some disputes.
Comments:
Stop being taken for a ride
The taxi camera never lies
Vox Pop: Taxi drivers charging unfair fares
A taxi ranking that serves
We’re paying a high price for low taxi fares
Taxi racket brings service, not smiles
Reports:
Taxing them too hard
Fake cabs get what’s coming
Taxi companies take harsh toll