Taxi drivers protest high rent

(TibetanReview.net, Jul30, 2009) Yet another protest by taxi derivers occurred in China, with the country’s official Xinhua news agency Jul 29 reporting that two thirds of the 3,329 taxis in Wenzhou City had gone off road on Jul 28. It said dozens of cabs were smashed since their drivers refused to join a strike in protest at what was claimed to be China's most expensive taxi licenses.

The drivers were reported to complain that their monthly income was only 2,500 to 3,000 yuan a month even if they worked for 12 hours a day because of the 3,000 to 4,500 yuan rent charged by vehicle owners and agents who owned the licenses. Taxi owners usually subcontract cars to agents who hire drivers from Anhui and Hunan provinces.

Police were reported to have detained 12 people for handing out leaflets calling on Taxi drivers to take protest actions or for damaging taxis. No immediate solution appeared to be in sight.

The cost of a taxi license in too high for an ordinary driver to afford.  It has risen from more than 200,000 yuan (US $30,000) in the 1980s to 1.2 million yuan now. However, the licenses are hereditary and can be passed down from generation to generation.