At a public hearing in Beijing yesterday, 56 percent of
attendees agreed to a pricing plan, which aims to offset the impact
of up-to-50 percent rises in fuel prices since 2000.
This means Beijing may raise taxi fares from 1.6 yuan (US$20
cents) to 2 yuan (US$25?cents) per kilometer.
The plan was submitted by the Beijing Municipal Transportation
Bureau to the city's pricing regulator earlier this month.
Chai Xiaozhong, deputy director of Beijing Development and
Reform Commission who organized the hearing, said they had
solicited opinions from 25 people representing taxi companies,
schools, research institutions, consumer associations and
factories. Fourteen of them had approved the fare rises, two gave
qualified approval and the others opposed the increases.
The price hike was proposed to offset rising fuel costs and to
pay for drivers' social insurance and third-party liability, said
Yao Kuo, deputy director of Beijing Transportation Bureau.
Chen Jianmin, a law professor of the prestigious Tsinghua
University, said most of the 100 residents and over 40 cab drivers
she surveyed were against the fare increase.
The majority of the people surveyed by Chen believed fare
increases would very likely lead people in Beijing to take black
market or unlicensed cabs thereby depriving legitimate tax drivers
of income.
Chai said the commission would fully consider the opinions it
had heard before making a final decision.
The government and taxi companies started to give drivers a
monthly petrol subsidy of 300 yuan last year to help cover
increased fuel costs. After oil prices jumped at the end of last
month taxi drivers started to receive an additional monthly subsidy
of 150 yuan.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily April 27, 2006)