More than 10,000 taxi drivers have returned to work in the
central China city of Zhengzhou, ending a two-day strike after
government pledged to resolve the problems in the industry.
The number of cabs on the streets began to rise on Tuesday
afternoon and most drivers were back behind the wheel on Wednesday,
according to the city government of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province. Zhengzhou has about 13,000
taxis and almost 20,000 taxi drivers.
The drivers began to refuse to carry passengers around 8:00 AM
on Monday to show their lingering frustration over an ownership and
management rights dispute with taxi companies, the frequent fines
issued by taxi administration authorities and the "privileged
taxis" whose drivers are supported by officials.
Zhengzhou residents have expressed their transport frustrations
on the Internet.
One resident wrote on his blog that normally there were at least
five taxis waiting for passengers at the gate of his residential
area, but there were none on Monday.
He finally got in an empty taxi on the street although there was
a "not in service" sign in it. The driver answered two phone calls
on the way asking him to stop work for fear that his colleagues
might smash his car, the blogger wrote.
He said he had to take a bus after he finished work Monday
evening. Normally, he would take a taxi home.
The Zhengzhou city government said it added to 300 buses Monday
and 500 buses Tuesday on major routes and extended their work time
to alleviate the traffic pressure.
The government said it has pledged to solve the problems in the
taxi transportation industry as soon as possible to protect the
legal rights of drivers.
(Xinhua News Agency August 2, 2007)