Guangzhou taxi drivers strike over licence fees, black cabs
Industrial action also triggered by city's plan to allow more taxis on the road, which drivers say will squeeze their already low incomes
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 16 October, 2014, 4:53am
UPDATED : Thursday, 16 October, 2014, 4:53am
He Huifeng [email protected]
Taxi drivers in Guangzhou went on strike yesterday as the Canton Fair opened. Photo: Ivan Zhai
Taxi drivers in Guangzhou went on strike yesterday as the Canton Fair opened, with some claiming that more than two-thirds of the city's cabbies had joined the industrial action.
Drivers said they were calling on the authorities to cut monthly licence fees, crack down on unlicensed taxis and reverse plans to allow more taxis in the city.
Xinhua reported that more than 400 taxis had "operation suspended" signs on their windshields, adding that some drivers put the number at over 2,000.
Several taxi drivers told the South China Morning Post that as many as 70 per cent of the city's taxi drivers were taking part in the industrial action. They said they would continue the strike today because the government had ignored their calls.
According to the municipal transport authority, Guangzhou has about 22,000 taxi drivers.
Strike organisers said they notified most taxi drivers across the city through online social media and phone messages. Many drivers parked their cabs on roadsides all day yesterday while others roamed the streets without stopping for passengers.
The Yanggcheng Evening News reported on its website yesterday that hundreds of taxi drivers went on strike in the early morning. But the report was soon inaccessible.
The authorities ordered all state-run taxi companies to dispatch vehicles to the Canton Fair.
"All the taxi drivers I know took part in the strike today, including many working for state-run taxi companies," one driver said. "We are very much of one mind this time because it's too hard for our taxi drivers to make a living. We have to pay 12,000 yuan a month to rent a vehicle."
The city's taxis are controlled by a few government-sanctioned operators with ties to the local authorities.
"We work 12 hours per day, 365 days per year. But most of us only earn about 4,000 or 5,000 yuan a month after paying the taxi companies," another taxi driver said.
"Now the government is going to add 10,000 new taxis. It's too unfair to us. Many of us have even become unlicensed taxi drivers because the government sits idly by and does little about the unlicensed cabs."
In March, the municipal government announced a plan to add more than 10,000 new taxis by 2016 to ensure two taxis for every 1,000 citizens.
Many Guangzhou residents said they had heard that the city's cab drivers were on strike.
"I understand why the drivers are doing it. The cost of living is soaring," resident Luo Bihua said.
Additional reporting by Mimi Lau and Chim Sau-wei
