Taxi drivers in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan Province, returned to work yesterday, ending a two-day strike aimed at securing more autonomy from taxi management companies.

The reconciliation came after the local government promised to protect "the interests of individual taxi drivers" against the privileges that taxi companies enjoy.

Taxi drivers in the city generally pay about 200,000 yuan ($26,400) to buy a taxi and operating license from a taxi company, which receives favorable treatment when securing operating licenses from government authorities.

But both the ownership of the taxi and the license belong to the company, leaving drivers few options when they want to transfer or sell their licenses.

In one case, a local taxi driver was beaten to death by representatives of the company he was working for because he was trying to sell his car. The people responsible were not punished, which some people said led to the strike.

In response, local government officials promised at a press conference on Tuesday to streamline the relationship between individual taxi drivers and taxi companies.

"The interest of the individual taxi drivers will be protected," said an official with the city government, promising that taxi drivers could secure ownership of their cars and have their operating licenses re-registered under their own names if they had paid the money owed.

Public buses were overcrowded during the strike, and people in need of urgent medical service had no transportation to turn to except calling for ambulances.

Five hundred additional buses were put in circulation to ease traffic jams yesterday.

Zhengzhou is not the only city experiencing taxi driver strikes due to a complicated ownership and operating license system.

Taxi companies control most taxis in cities, which helps to strengthen government control, but leaves drivers in a passive position.

Experts have called for a reform of the system to improve conditions for drivers.

"The government should focus more on pricing supervision and the protection of consumer rights," said a researcher surnamed Chen with Peking University.

(China Daily 08/02/2007 page5)