Illegal-cab crackdown begins in Chongqing

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-11-10  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

TRAFFIC authorities and police in China's fourth-largest city yesterday launched a crackdown on unlicensed taxis, which were partly blamed for triggering a rare strike by licensed drivers last week.

"Illegal drivers will be fined from 30,000 yuan (US$4,412) to 100,000 yuan, and their illegal earnings will be confiscated," said a spokesman for the Chongqing Traffic Administrative Law Enforcement Corps.

Unlicensed cabs at transport hubs will be a focus of the crackdown, he said. He acknowledged that it's difficult for law-enforcement personnel to identify illegal cabs, which are mostly private cars with no visible cab sign.

"But we will strive to achieve a good result within three to five months," he said.

Licensed drivers went on strike last Monday and Tuesday to protest several issues, including insufficient supplies of compressed natural gas - which fuels most cabs in the city - competition from unlicensed cabs, high fines for traffic violations and the unfair division of fares between drivers and companies.

The strike became violent as some strikers gathered on streets to stop cabs that weren't striking and pull out their drivers.

The city government promised to reduce the fees that drivers pay to their companies, increase gas supplies and step up efforts to crack down on unlicensed cabs.

Bo Xilai, secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, met representatives of cab drivers on Thursday, pledging to help increase their income.

"Our officials should always bear people's interests in mind," Bo said.