Hangzhou cabbies strike over fees and fuel price
By Zhang Xuanchen |
August 2, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUSANDS of taxi drivers in east Hangzhou City went on strike yesterday calling on the government to lower fuel prices and the fees charged by cab companies.
In response, the Hangzhou Highway Transportation Management Bureau offered temporary subsidies and pledged to adjust taxi fares by the end of October.
Until then, drivers will receive an extra one yuan (16 US cents) per trip. Authorities said the policy was being reviewed by experts and public opinion will be sought.
The bureau sent more than 1,000 vehicles to the city's bus centers, railway stations and the airport where many people with luggage had arrived to find no taxis available in the tourist city.
Drivers said they "were forced to take action" after suffering shrinking earnings, high transaction fees and rising gasoline prices.
For each 10-hour shift, cabbies are charged up to 230 yuan by their companies and had to pay nearly 200 yuan for gasoline.
Many found it difficult to make ends meet as they earned just 300 yuan to 500 yuan on each shift.
Drivers said they had raised their concerns repeatedly with the local government since the beginning of the year, but received little response.
To make matters worse, their business was being adversely affected by a growing group of unlicensed cars and motorbikes that grabbed their customers by charging less.
Drivers also said Hangzhou's worsening gridlock was preventing them from making enough trips as they spent more time stuck in traffic.
The flag-down fare in Hangzhou is 11 yuan, including a one yuan fuel surcharge, and passengers pay two yuan per kilometer after the first three. The waiting fee is set at two yuan per five minutes.
A driver surnamed Cao, who had parked his cab at a travel bus center, said he and other cabbies were not happy with the government's latest one-yuan plan. Cao described it as "temporary and not powerful" and said it was unlikely to save them from making a loss.
Drivers said the government should raise the waiting fee to 5 yuan per five minutes, pay allowances for night driving and lower the fees they pay to their companies.
Also, an adjustment of current taxi rules was necessary as cabbies said it was too easy for them to be fined by their companies and the government in response to customer complaints, many of which were groundless.
In 2008, cabbies in Sanya and Chongqing cities went on strike to demand a cut in the fees companies charge and a crackdown on unlicensed cabs.
In response, the Hangzhou Highway Transportation Management Bureau offered temporary subsidies and pledged to adjust taxi fares by the end of October.
Until then, drivers will receive an extra one yuan (16 US cents) per trip. Authorities said the policy was being reviewed by experts and public opinion will be sought.
The bureau sent more than 1,000 vehicles to the city's bus centers, railway stations and the airport where many people with luggage had arrived to find no taxis available in the tourist city.
Drivers said they "were forced to take action" after suffering shrinking earnings, high transaction fees and rising gasoline prices.
For each 10-hour shift, cabbies are charged up to 230 yuan by their companies and had to pay nearly 200 yuan for gasoline.
Many found it difficult to make ends meet as they earned just 300 yuan to 500 yuan on each shift.
Drivers said they had raised their concerns repeatedly with the local government since the beginning of the year, but received little response.
To make matters worse, their business was being adversely affected by a growing group of unlicensed cars and motorbikes that grabbed their customers by charging less.
Drivers also said Hangzhou's worsening gridlock was preventing them from making enough trips as they spent more time stuck in traffic.
The flag-down fare in Hangzhou is 11 yuan, including a one yuan fuel surcharge, and passengers pay two yuan per kilometer after the first three. The waiting fee is set at two yuan per five minutes.
A driver surnamed Cao, who had parked his cab at a travel bus center, said he and other cabbies were not happy with the government's latest one-yuan plan. Cao described it as "temporary and not powerful" and said it was unlikely to save them from making a loss.
Drivers said the government should raise the waiting fee to 5 yuan per five minutes, pay allowances for night driving and lower the fees they pay to their companies.
Also, an adjustment of current taxi rules was necessary as cabbies said it was too easy for them to be fined by their companies and the government in response to customer complaints, many of which were groundless.
In 2008, cabbies in Sanya and Chongqing cities went on strike to demand a cut in the fees companies charge and a crackdown on unlicensed cabs.
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