Cabbies, farmers get fuel aid

By Dong Zhen  |   2008-7-3  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

TAXI drivers, farmers and people on low incomes got extra help from the city government yesterday to cope with rising fuel costs.

Shanghai raised the gasoline price to 5.57 yuan (81 US cents) a liter and the diesel price 6.03 yuan a liter from July 1.

Yesterday the government increased the taxi fuel allowance by 1,050 yuan a month on each two-shift taxi. The increase takes the allowance to 1,300 yuan a month, which is shared by the two cabbies working on each taxi.

The city started providing a 250-yuan fuel allowance to each two-shift taxi last November following a fuel price mark-up then.

Yesterday's increase came one day after Beijing announced a rise of 525 yuan a month in the allowance for each of its single-driver taxis. Shanghai cabbies said the new allowance was a big relief but still inadequate.

An average cabbie in Shanghai earns about 3,000 yuan a month and usually works at least 16 hours one day and takes the next day off, passing the shift on to this partner.

Taxi drivers said their gas bill had risen 40 to 50 yuan a day since June 20, which translated into an extra 600 to 750 yuan a month.

"Obviously, the new allowance is not enough to fully cover the increased cost of gas," one cabbie said.

Industry insiders said the 1,050-yuan increase should be about enough to offset the extra cost if a cabbie drives 300 kilometers on a business day and uses only the cheapest 90-octane petrol.

But Dazhong driver Jin Kangsheng said many drivers did more than 300 kilometers a day. "Plus it has become troublesome to find the cheapest 90-octane at local pump stations," he said.

The government also said yesterday it would improve the compensation for bus operators and ferry lines.

Farmers will get an extra 100 yuan a month for each hectare of cropland and those on minimum allowances will get another 15 yuan a month.