Drivers lose out on fee hike

Companies increase their charges for franchising and maintenance

Cabbies in Beijing are complaining that taxi companies have increased fees for drivers - just a month after transport authorities agreed to raise fares.

To address the cab shortage, the city government had promised that taxi drivers would benefit from the fare increase, which took effect on June 10.

After the pricing reform, each driver was to earn an extra 1,400 yuan ($228) a month, according to Beijing's development and reform commission.

However, at least three taxi companies had been punished by the transport commission for raising franchise fees for drivers, which are usually around 5,000 yuan.

The latest was Jiushang Co, which hit 13 drivers looking to renew their taxi rental agreements with a franchise fee that had been increased by 650 yuan.

Another two companies, Longqingxia Co and Tianyun Co, had raised the franchise fee for 78 of their drivers since the end of last year, authorities said.

According to the transport commission's management department, the three companies were required to rectify the problem and return the difference in fares to the drivers.

Other companies have indirectly charged their drivers more, using methods such as altered maintenance or subsidy policies.

Xiang Yuanzhong, a driver for Beijing Xinyue Co, said he was no longer allowed to receive his taxi fuel subsidies in cash. Since April, his company had deposited the subsidies into fuel cards, which means the bonus credits a driver used to earn every time he refueled his taxi now go into the company's pockets.

When Xiang needs to repair his car or have routine car maintenance, he has to go to an automobile maintenance shop owned by his company. He said the prices in those shops had also increased recently.

"My company explained they have no choice but to increase the prices because those shops are losing money," he said.

Xinyue Co refused to comment when contacted by China Daily.

Several drivers in other taxi companies said they had the same problem with maintenance and subsidies, pointing out that they had to maintain and refuel their cars in specific places appointed by their companies.

The transport management department said punishment will be handed out for each case as long as illegal fee-raising operations are reported.