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November 1, 2016

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Taxi! Taxi! The frustrations of finding a ride

By Wu Huixin | November 1, 2016, Tuesday | Print Edition

HANGZHOU’S efforts to place tighter controls on cab-hailing mobile app services are really just a guise to protect traditional taxis from unwanted competition, many local residents complain.

That opinion is backed up by daily experiences on the street. Mainstream cabbies continue to be accused of poor service, failure to pick up curbside hailers and exorbitant fares. The problems, long and ongoing, are especially critical around popular visitor venues.

A Shanghai Daily reporter last month stood in front of the Zhejiang Museum on Gushan Road, trying to hail a passing taxi. Although many cabs that passed her were empty, the drivers didn’t stop.

Zhejiang Museum is always packed with tourists. It sits at the intersection of Solitary Hill and Bai Causeway, two of the most popular scenic spots around West Lake. A mini bus that runs every 30 minutes is typically jam-packed with passengers, leaving other people no recourse but to try to hail a taxi. Few succeed.

In the end, the reporter had no choice but to walk to Beishan Road, where a taxi finally stopped but insisted the ride would cost more than the usual metered fare.

This experience is not uncommon in the West Lake area. With insufficient numbers of taxis to meet public demand, many drivers feel free to charge whatever they please.

“Such a phenomenon has existed for 10 years,” according to an official at the Hangzhou Urban Transportation Administrative Department. “Ever since the West Lake Scenic Area Squad was established in 2007, we have dispatched staff to the area to monitor the situation. But when monitors aren’t there, the problem reappears.”

Last month, the squad received more than 100 complaints. They included extreme cases where taxi drivers forced passengers to exit their vehicles halfway through a trip.

New regulations, coming into effect today, require that drivers for app cab-hailing platforms to either have a Hangzhou permanent residency permit or have held a temporary residency permit for at least six months. In addition, they must show proof that they have been licensed drivers for at least three years.

The new regulations also place minimum limits on the wheelbase of cars that can be used for cab-hailing services and on the age of those vehicles.

The government said the rules were adopted to try to protect the public from unscrupulous drivers. But the net effect will be fewer cabs that can be booked by mobile apps.

“So what’s really the difference between traditional cabs and the hailing-app cabs that are now declared illegal?” asked one netizen calling himself Shihao. “The way traditional taxis are behaving is really a slap in the face of local authorities. The new regulations help them a lot. They keep spoiling the market. It is blot on Hangzhou.”

Some residents are appealing to the municipal government to replace the current mini-buses with standard-size buses on Gushan Road.

The transportation department says the road is always so packed with private cars that it’s difficult for a big bus to navigate. But officials have pledged to investigate illegal parking and eliminate some public parking in the area to make way for bigger buses.

Three new taxi pick-up zones along Gushan Road — at Xiling Bridge, Zhongshan Park and the Zhejiang Museum — are supposed to be set up this month. Taxi drivers are being told to pick up passengers only from the three zones or face fines of up to 100 yuan (US$14.75).

Transportation officials said they will step up inspections in the West Lake area, and taxis violating the rules may lose their licenses.

“We will mete out punishment according to the seriousness of the violations,” said an official with the West Lake Scenic Area Squad. “Drivers with multiple violations will have their licenses revoked.”

In addition to West Lake, Hubin and the Hangzhou Railway Station are also sore spots for taxi services. Sometimes cabbies persuade tourists they pick up to patronize certain specialty shops or travel agencies, and then take them to the businesses. The cabbies get a kickback for each customer they deliver.

The government has now dispatched monitors to cruise these areas, equipped with closed circuit television to supervise cabbies.

Persistent online discussion about traditional taxi services breaks down into two camps. One wants the mainstream cab industry to undergo a thorough investigation and restructuring. The other says the best solution would be to introduce more competition into the industry.

“No competitive system, no healthy market,” said one netizen. “Government cannot protect traditional taxis forever. The market needs good service, not protection.”

Hangzhou


 

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