Yongchuan, Chongqing Taxi Drivers Strike

• Date: Nov 19 2008 Time: 10:00
• Description:
  From China Daily: There were few cabs to be seen on the streets of the Yongchuan suburb of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Wednesday morning, as drivers briefly stopped work to protest a government plan to increase the number of taxis. The district's road traffic and transportation administration confirmed that many cabbies were showing opposition to a proposal to raise the number of cabs from 300 now to 400. The district, about 60 km west of the city center, has a population of 310,000. However, the cabbies returned to work by about 1:30 p.m. in response to requests from local government officials, said Hu Longyi, director of the administration. "There are some misunderstandings among the tax drivers on the policy to increase taxi numbers," said Hu. "We have given detailed explanations to the two taxi companies and the drivers agreed to go back to work." According to the official, the local government made the decision to put more taxis on the road as the current 300 was "far from enough" to meet demand. "We have received complaints from citizens that it is hard to get taxis in Yongchuan, especially at rush hours," said Hu. The district held a public hearing on the subject a month ago, in which 30 representatives from various parts of the community participated. "All the representatives voted for the [taxi increase] policy except the two from the taxi companies," said an official with the administration who declined to give his name. "I think basically, they were afraid of more competition." Cabbies in central Chongqing struck earlier this month, asking the city to raise fares, increase fuel supplies and crack down on unlicensed cabs. The Yongchuan cabbies didn't take part in that strike.