Drivers lose out on fee hike

Wang Jiansheng, a veteran cabbie for Beijing Beifang Taxi Co, said it was improper for taxi companies to raise the charges because any pricing change should be determined by government departments.

However, Wang, who had participated in the public hearing for a taxi fare hike in May, also said taxi companies face operational pressures because franchise fees had not been changed since 2006.

Wang said it was very possible that the government will raise the franchise fee in the future.

Beijing has 66,000 taxis - a number that has not changed for a decade - with more than 100,000 taxi drivers working for about 250 taxi companies, according to the Beijing Transport Commission.

Responding to taxi drivers' complaints as well as the difficulty of hailing a cab during rush hour, the city authority increased the starting fare for taxis from 10 yuan to 13 yuan for the first 3 kilometers, effective from June.

The fare for each subsequent kilometer is now 2.3 yuan, up from 2 yuan. When the average speed of the cab drops below a particular threshold in rush hour, the equivalent of an additional 2 km is added every five minutes. Before the change, 1 km was added every five minutes.

Shen Jiahui and Yan Ran contributed to this story.