Let taxi fare reform be fair

The Beijing planning body and transportation authorities held a public hearing on Thursday to address taxi drivers' complaints against low income and make it easier for people to hail a cab, especially during rush-hour traffic.

Earlier this month, the Beijing municipal commission of development and reform issued a set of proposals to raise taxi fares in order to increase cabbies' incomes by 1,400 yuan ($226) to 2,300 yuan a month so that their total earnings add up to 6,000 yuan to 6,800 yuan a month. The proposals include raising the fare for a trip of less than 3 kilometers to 13 yuan, with 2.3 yuan or 2.6 yuan for every km after that and a fuel surcharge of 1 yuan. Plus, the fare for a 2-km journey is to be added to the total for every 5 minutes a taxi waits in the traffic.

The authorities hope that raising taxi fares will make it easier for people to hail a cab during rush hours, between 7 am and 9 am, and between 5 pm and 7 pm, because cabbies will have greater incentive in picking up passengers during those periods. Taxi drivers' incomes could fall by up to 62 percent during rush-hour traffic and that's why many of them choose to take a break during the time and thus make it very difficult for people to get a cab.