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Majority for taxi fare rise
By Zha Minjie |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
The majority of people at a public hearing yesterday on Shanghai's taxi fares favored a plan to increase the flag-down fare by 1 yuan.
They also supported the introduction of a fuel surcharge to help the industry cope with rising petrol prices and called for more attention to be paid to the welfare of taxi drivers.
Officiails with the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, the city's pricing authority, said the fare rise aimed to "increase the cabbies' income and make the industry more attractive."
The commission has proposed two options. In one, the flag-down fare would rise to 13 yuan (US$2) from 12 yuan while charges after the first 3 kilometers remained at 2.4 yuan/km.
In the other, the flag-down rate would remain unchanged but the per/km fee after the first 3 kilometers would rise to 2.7 yuan.
The additional revenue in each proposal will go to the cabbies, who work long hours but whose incomes have risen at below the Shanghai average in recent years, the commission said. Many young people were reluctant to go into the business while many drivers were reaching retirement age.
The city also plans to apply a separate fuel surcharge for the taxi industry, a measure already adopted in other cities, including Beijing.
The pricing authority also revealed yesterday taxi companies' average revenue, costs and profit, saying the net profit of each cab was about 1,022 yuan per month, about 12 percent of the monthly revenue.
At the hearing, 15 of the 24 people taking part - customers, cabbies, experts and lawmakers - said they preferred the first option.
"It's more simple for customers to understand," said Xue Meigen. "It would also be good for those passengers taking long journeys."
Some drivers voted for the second option. "Passengers won't care too much if they find the starting price does not rise," said cabbie Qi Bo.
Qi added that he worried that drivers would lose more business on short-ride to illegal taxis if the starting price rose.
But to others, neither option was welcomed.
"I do not see the reason why customers should bear the fare rise," said Jiang Xiaoqing, a lawmaker.
Jiang and some participants questioned the taxi companies' revenue report, saying the companies should further look into cost management and give out part of the profits to drivers instead of simply raising fares.
With opinions collected on the hearing will be taken for reference, officials said they would not be a decisive factor for policymakers.
Final fare rises have yet to be announced but any new prices are expected to be effective from mid-July. Shanghai last raised its taxi rates in October 2009.
They also supported the introduction of a fuel surcharge to help the industry cope with rising petrol prices and called for more attention to be paid to the welfare of taxi drivers.
Officiails with the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, the city's pricing authority, said the fare rise aimed to "increase the cabbies' income and make the industry more attractive."
The commission has proposed two options. In one, the flag-down fare would rise to 13 yuan (US$2) from 12 yuan while charges after the first 3 kilometers remained at 2.4 yuan/km.
In the other, the flag-down rate would remain unchanged but the per/km fee after the first 3 kilometers would rise to 2.7 yuan.
The additional revenue in each proposal will go to the cabbies, who work long hours but whose incomes have risen at below the Shanghai average in recent years, the commission said. Many young people were reluctant to go into the business while many drivers were reaching retirement age.
The city also plans to apply a separate fuel surcharge for the taxi industry, a measure already adopted in other cities, including Beijing.
The pricing authority also revealed yesterday taxi companies' average revenue, costs and profit, saying the net profit of each cab was about 1,022 yuan per month, about 12 percent of the monthly revenue.
At the hearing, 15 of the 24 people taking part - customers, cabbies, experts and lawmakers - said they preferred the first option.
"It's more simple for customers to understand," said Xue Meigen. "It would also be good for those passengers taking long journeys."
Some drivers voted for the second option. "Passengers won't care too much if they find the starting price does not rise," said cabbie Qi Bo.
Qi added that he worried that drivers would lose more business on short-ride to illegal taxis if the starting price rose.
But to others, neither option was welcomed.
"I do not see the reason why customers should bear the fare rise," said Jiang Xiaoqing, a lawmaker.
Jiang and some participants questioned the taxi companies' revenue report, saying the companies should further look into cost management and give out part of the profits to drivers instead of simply raising fares.
With opinions collected on the hearing will be taken for reference, officials said they would not be a decisive factor for policymakers.
Final fare rises have yet to be announced but any new prices are expected to be effective from mid-July. Shanghai last raised its taxi rates in October 2009.
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