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From JTTP:

昨日（10月6日），厦门市发生部分出租车停运事件。

　　昨日，厦门市坤驰、盈华、联亿三家民营出租车公司的部分司机因反映出租车租金高、营运收益低等问题，未与公司达成协议，部分出租车停止营运。事发后，市委、市政府高度重视，市相关部门迅速行动，及时进行协调，并对极少数砸破正在正常运营的出租车车窗玻璃的人员及时进行依法处置。

　　目前，市有关部门正在就部分出租车司机反映的问题，抓紧与相关出租车公司及部分司机进行协调处理。

From Want China Times:

Taxi drivers in Xiamen, Fujian province began a strike on Oct. 6 to demand lower rents on housing and higher initial taxi fees, according a report from a local internet forum through the Chinese internet portal Tianya.

At 6am on Thursday, a large number of taxi drivers gathered at the intersection of Xiamen International Exhibition Center. Passing taxis were intercepted, and those who refused to participate in the strike had their keys taken away by other drivers. The taxis were parked in the middle of the intersection, causing a traffic jam near the exhibition center. A group of police were sent to the scene to maintain order and attempt to disperse the crowd.

Insiders said half to two-thirds of the over 8,000 taxi drivers in the city have stopped operating due to an increase in private vehicles and public transportation, high-flying commodity prices, rising rents and the soaring price of fuel.

Of the 500 yuan (US$78) earned on a single taxi shift, 220 yuan (US$34.50) must be handed over to authorities. Fuel costs add another 200 yuan (US$31) or so, leaving only 70 (US$11) to 80 yuan (US$12.50) for other expenses.

One taxi driver said that more than a dozen cars were smashed on Thursday. A similar strike will reportedly take place in Quanzhou, also in Fujian province, in a few days.

From Boxun:

博讯记者刚刚接到微博网友爆料：2011年10月6日晚，福建厦门大批的士司机举行集体罢工，要求降低租金、提高起步费并抗议市政府准备新增1000辆出租车。
6日下午，市区内的很多司机接到通知：
“同行们：我们要齐心协力行动起来！定于11年10月6号到30号不要出车，把车停在家里。向政府讨口饭吃，我们要求政府给出租车计程、计时合理运价，谁出车后果自负。”
于是，大批的士司机于傍晚时分自发聚集在厦门国际会展中心前埔东路十字路口，举行罢工示威活动。路过的的士都被停驶的司机拦截，凡没有参与罢工的出租车都被强抢车钥匙，将车子熄火停在马路中央，造成附近交通大堵塞。
目前，市政府有关部门正调集大批警察在现场维持秩序并试图驱散聚集人群，据传，现场有十几辆的士玻璃和车门被砸。

From Epoch Times:

When thousands of taxi drivers in Xiamen in southern China’s Fujian Province went on strike on Oct. 6, the situation turned violent as striking drivers beat non-striking drivers and damaged their cars.

Negotiations between the striking taxi drivers and their employers broke down on Oct. 7. Organizers of the strike said they would strike until Oct. 30 if an agreement couldn’t be reached.

Drivers of three major taxi companies were protesting high taxi rental fees, rising gas prices, and the government’s plan to increase the number of taxi licenses even though startup fares hadn’t been increased in 12 years.

During the protest, the taxi drivers held up traffic and caused a massive traffic jam. Authorities dispatched 1,000 police to the scene and arrested some protesters.

Some Chinese media and bloggers described the strike as violent, as some striking drivers beat non-striking drivers, took away their car keys, and forced them to turn off their engines. At least 60 taxis were damaged in the mêlée.

Taxi driver Mr. Xu told The Epoch Times that thousands of drivers participated in the strike on the morning of Oct 6. “Many drivers were on strike and the line extended for more than two kilometers (a little over one mile). I couldn’t even see the end of the line. Thousands of policemen were also at the scene,” he said.

Another taxi driver, Mr. Zhao, told The Epoch Times that the drivers went on strike to protest their low profit margins, “The government exploits taxi companies, who then exploit taxi drivers. Hence the drivers are at the bottom of the chain. We work immensely hard only to earn less than we need to support our families.”

Mr. Xu said he works 11-12 hours a day and makes 500 yuan (US$79); but fuel costs 200 yuan (US$32) and he has to submit 200 yuan to the company. With rising gas prices and inflation, he can barely support his family on the remaining 100 yuan (US$16).

In the past year taxi driver strikes have become increasingly common in China. In August alone, strikes occurred in Hangzhou and Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, and Cang County in Hebei Province.

Xu Guangjian, Vice Dean of the Institute of Public Finance at the School of Public Administration in Renmin University, said, “The reason behind the strike is that local governments have deliberately delayed taxi fare adjustments to rein in inflation; but inflation has caused a decrease in taxi drivers’ net profits.”

Xu suggests that taxi fares should keep up with inflation and should be adjusted as required.

You Chenli, a researcher at the privately funded think thank Transition Institute in Beijing, has been following taxi strikes for a while. He told Sound of Hope (SOH) Radio that the government controls the number of taxi vehicles, but taxi drivers must pay high rental fees to taxi companies, which puts taxi drivers and passengers at a disadvantage, and facilitates monopolization by existing taxi companies.

He also said that it is very difficult to decrease rental fees because the power of interest groups is very strong. However, he pointed out rate increases are not always the answer because demand drops when taxi fares increase, which further reduces the taxi driver’s income.

You suggested that if the authorities didn’t control the number of taxis and if more individuals were allowed to own their own taxis, the problem could be mitigated