Cabbies lead a difficult life

Comment on "Illegal taxis keep on rolling despite penalties" (China Daily, Oct 9)

It is unfair that legal taxi drivers slog throughout day only to see the illegal ones pocket the gains. Legal taxi drivers face other problems as well.

I live in Shenzhen and I don't like taxi drivers who drive recklessly. After returning from Hong Kong recently, I took a taxi home and started chatting with the cabbie. I told him that I don't like reckless driving. He said he didn't like rough driving either, for it endangers the lives of passengers as well as the driver. But he has a huge burden on his shoulders - paying his rent and the taxi company's charges, and have enough living expenses. He can fulfill these needs, he said, only if he picks up as many passengers as possible, for which he has to drive very fast.

Perhaps the government should look into the difficulties taxi drivers face and provide them with some kind of aid. Passengers and pedestrians will be much safer if cabbies are less anxious about making ends meet and drive safely. They are forced to drive recklessly and break traffic rules just to earn enough to live a decent living.

A reader, on China Daily website

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(China Daily 10/17/2012 page9)