Monopolies over taxi operations should end

STRIKES BY TAXI DRIVERS, which started in Shenyang, Liaoning province, last week, have spread to more provincial capitals such as Jinan, Shandong province, and Nanjing, Jiangsu province, with brawls erupting in Nanjing. It is mainly high fees collected from drivers by taxi companies that have sparked the protests. Comments:

Reports show that drivers pay half to two-thirds of their monthly income to the taxi companies, which provide little service in return. How can such a system be fair? It is necessary to change the mode of monopoly companies renting cars to drivers, and introduce one in which taxi drivers enjoy more freedom and a lighter burden.

Guangming Daily, Jan 12

Some say it is unfair for taxi management companies to charge the same fee regardless, because drivers' incomes vary. The problem is, it is hardly possible for the companies to supervise drivers' incomes and there is no better way than levying a single fee.

Fu Weigang, a researcher at SIFL Institute, Jan 12

There have long been calls for abolishing the monopolies over taxi management, and local authorities are always "doing research", yet without reaching any conclusion. The root cause is monopolies have interests intertwined with the authorities and any change will hurt vested interests; it is time to deepen the market-oriented reform and prevent local governments from being involved in the taxi business.

Beijing News, Jan 13

Taxi drivers used to negotiate with monopoly companies, but their negotiating power is by nature inferior to that of the latter, which has the full support of the authorities. Proper legislation is needed, so that taxi drivers can form their own labor union to defend their rights - their current union is "under the leadership of" monopoly companies and it has seldom helped them.

cnhubei.com, Jan 13