Accelerate reform to break all monopolies in taxi industry

China's mobile taxi-hailing app operators Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache jointly announced their strategic merger via their Sina Weibo accounts on Saturday, also Valentine's Day. [Photo/IC]

The State Council, China's cabinet, recently issued a guiding document on deepening economic reform in 2015, which, among other things, mentions accelerating reform of the taxi management system. Comments:

It is easy for experts to make prescriptions to remedy the ills of the taxi management system, but difficult for those who profit from their monopoly of the industry to take the medicine as advised; that's why all previous efforts to reform the system have failed. This year is a good opportunity to restart reform of the taxi management system because the central leadership has expressed firm determination to propel reform. We hope the authorities act firmly this time in the face of the opposition from those monopolizing the industry.

Huashang Daily, May 19

Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang province is an international trade center with an inflow of over 10,000 businesspersons every day. However, under monopoly control, it has only 1,300 taxis, a number that has not increased for years. Under heavy public pressure, the local government has agreed to open its taxi market by 2018 and gradually loosen restrictions. Will other cities, which are not under the same pressure, follow the example?

Xinhua Daily, May 19

Taxi companies claim they "manage" the sector but in reality they do nothing other than collect fees from the taxi drivers, who pay most of the costs such as insurance and maintenance. Thus an interest group based on monopoly has been formed, which always opposes any change to defend its illicit interests.

Xu Zengqi, secretary general of the taxi society of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, May 19

Monopolies might still try to resist the reform, but their days are numbered, because modern technology is bringing changes - taxi-calling apps and other emerging technologies make it impossible to maintain monopolies in the sector.

Zhang Baoyi, a researcher of sociology at Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, May 19

For long, it was too much State intervention that distorted the taxi market and created monopolies. What is needed now is a reform toward open and fair competition and the State should withdraw its interests.

Jia Xijin, an associate professor of management science at Tsinghua University, May 19