Taxi deal should ease cab problems at Pudong mall

By Jessie Dong and Qian Tong  |   2008-10-31  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

IT will be easier to hail a taxi at Super Brand Mall in Pudong's Lujiazui area from tomorrow, as the mall has cut a deal with Shanghai Bashi Taxi to set up a dispatch center and a special lane for cabs at the mall's north gate.

Qian Wei, a Bashi Taxi manager, said the company would send dispatchers and management personnel to the mall from 7pm to 10:30pm to ensure supply meets demand.

Qian added that more staff and taxies would be made available on weekends and holidays.

The area has had a chronic shortage of taxis for years. Both traffic police in Pudong and traffic law enforcement teams said they would cooperate to help resolve the taxi problems.

Complaints about the availability of taxis have been rising since 2006, officials said. The city's taxi watchdog said further problems arise when some cabbies are too picky about who they take and turn down passengers in the area.

A large number of cabbies waiting around the Super Brand Mall had turned down passengers to avoid driving them to nearby places or on congested routes.

A recent report by the taxi watchdog claimed increased supervision had largely reduced the frequency of this type of violation in the area around the Super Brand Mall.