Beijing planners move to make fare deal on taxis

Mobile apps

But today more customers are turning to mobile apps rather than traditional telephone hotlines.

With a few touches on the mobile phone screen, a passenger can send message to nearby taxi drivers who use the same apps. Cabbies usually arrive in a short time to pick passengers.

It has been working well, especially in populated areas and during rush hours, said online reports.

The Beijing municipal government plans to introduce its own booking app covering the city's 66,000 cabs, according to local media.

Like existing apps, the government software will enable passengers to check for empty cabs nearby and contact drivers.

Analysts said that the government will not develop an all-new system. Instead, it will cooperate to add more complete data to the existing apps.

Some taxi drivers said that there are some advantages in the government approach, covering all taxis in the city and providing the most comprehensive information to passengers.

The government can rely on its unified system to guarantee successful bookings by implementing compulsory measures.

According to Liu Xiaoming, director of Beijing Transportation Commission, the regulator will also impose new standards on existing apps already in use.

The popular app Didi Taxi - which now covers 21,000 taxis - is cooperating with the 96106 call center. The partnership is expected to expand to include 43,000 taxis, 65 percent of the capital city's total.

Some experts have questioned whether the city government should be involved in the operation of taxi booking apps, saying it should instead just provide more data to taxi companies or software developers while implementing more regulations to standardize the process.