Chinese Taxi Strike Enters Third Day Despite Subsidy Offer

VOA Breaking News
August 3, 2011 at 5:05 am

A taxi strike in China’s eastern tourist city of Hangzhou stretched into a third day Wednesday in spite of a local government offer to subsidize fares.

Drivers in the city south of Shanghai have been on strike since Monday demanding relief from rising fuel prices and high fees paid to taxi companies and for road maintenance. They also say they are losing money because of time lost in traffic jams.

The city has offered an immediate subsidy of one yuan — worth about 16 cents — for every trip, and an upward revision of fares to be introduced by October after public hearings.

But drivers say they want to see the higher fares implemented right away.

The strike is the latest sign of unrest across China sparked by rising prices and pressures resulting from rapid industrial development. Migrant workers have rioted in several cities and, in April, truck drivers shut down a port in Shanghai to protest rising fuel costs.