According to a June 6 report on Beijing News, recent price hikes in gasoline have triggered another taxi fare increase in the major cities across China. Some are calling for privatization to help out the taxi cab drivers.
At the present time, the allocation of permits to operate taxis in China is controlled by the state. These state-authorized permits are so expensive that a single taxi permit can be worth several million yuan in some cities.
A report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has recommended that taxi services be privatized with a suitable means of regulatory oversight. This would help alleviate the excessive cost of a taxi permit.
Making the permit more affordable will do nothing about the cost of gas, which keeps rising.
Dr. Cao Heping, a professor of economics at Peking University, has pointed out that the profit ratio of domestic petroleum companies in China now exceeds the level of multinational oil companies, and he suggests that public opinion be taken into account when these state-owned enterprises set oil pricing so that “unfair factors” that have aggravated oil price hikes can be eliminated.
On Feb. 20 of this year, China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the agency that develops pricing policies, raised gasoline prices. The price for 93-octane gasoline increased 3.8 percent, to about US$4.13 per gallon.
The Beijing News report said a surcharge of 1 yuan (US$ 0.154) and 3 yuan (US$ 0.463) has been applied to every liter of gas purchased in Beijing and Shenzhen, respectively.
In Dalian, a “waiting surcharge” of 0.3 yuan (US$ 0.046) will be charged to the taxi fare every 5 minutes when the vehicle’s speed is below 12 kilometers per hour.
In Shanghai, a public hearing on taxi fares will be held on June 13. To reflect the recent price hike of gas, one proposal aims to raise the flag-down rate (initial charge) from 12 yuan to 13 yuan (from US$1.853 to US$2.008) for the first 3 kilometers. The second proposal seeks to raise the per kilometer charge from 2.4 yuan to 2.7 yuan (from US$0.371 to US$0.417) after the first 3 kilometers.
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As Chinese Taxi Fares Rise, Calls for Privatization Heard
Recent price hikes in gasoline have triggered another taxi fare increase in the major cities across China. Some are calling for privatization to help out the taxi cab drivers.
6/8/2011
Updated: 6/8/2011
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