Taxi firm chases up missing fare

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-10-28  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

SHANGHAI Dazhong Taxi Co plans to help one of its drivers recover a fare of 1,039 yuan (US$152) through legal channels, which may be the first case of its kind in the country.

Female driver Chen Aihua picked up a young woman surnamed Hu on September 23 asking to go to Jinhua in Zhejiang Province.

The woman later claimed she had no money to pay the fare when they were close to the destination, according to Shanghai Dazhong Taxi Co, one of the city's leading taxi fleets.

When police became involved, the woman wrote an IOU and promised to return the fare of 1,039 yuan before September 30. However, Hu has since disappeared.

Neither Chen nor Dazhong can reach the woman.

Chen said she was still waiting for Hu to turn up and pay the fare. But she will consider taking legal measures if the woman avoids payment.

"We will continue to help our driver look for the woman. If Chen needs help, the company will offer to protect her rights," a company official told Shanghai Daily.

Chen said she picked up Hu, about 30 years old, on Changzhong Road in Zhabei District.

"She asked to go to Xianxia Road (Changning District), but changed her mind when we approached the destination," Chen said in a news release provided by Dazhong. "She asked me to drive her to Jinhua so she could visit her boyfriend."

Chen agreed and about three hours later they reached a toll gate at the Jinhua exit. "I asked her to pay the 150-yuan toll. However, she told me she did not have any money and the taxi fare would be paid by her boyfriend in Jinhua."

Chen stopped by the roadside and called police. When officers came, Hu said her boyfriend would meet her at the toll gate, but that she couldn't contact him at the moment.

Police called the number she provided, only to find it did not exist.

"I cried," Chen said in the statement. "I didn't have enough money to get gas to return to Shanghai."