2015年CRI China Solicits Public Views to Better Regulate Taxi and Private Car Hailing Services

 

The Ministry¹ of Transport offered two drafts for public comment earlier this month. The aim was to promote the healthy development of the traditional taxi industry and better manage private car hailing services. 

The core issue of the rules on online car hailing service concerns the status of these vehicles. 

The draft makes it clear that the vehicles with seven or fewer seats for online booking services are categorized as taxis.

According to online car-hailing platforms, 75 percent of those providing the service are part timers. 

Ye Yun is the chief public relations officer and senior inspector² general of public affairs with Didi Kuaidi, China's major mobile-based car-booking company. 

He is expecting coordinated³ management from the government.

"We hope the government will manage the platforms and allow the platforms to supervise the specific vehicles. The platforms are responsible for managing both vehicles and drivers."

As for pricing, most people think online service platforms shouldn't reimburse⁴ customers, falling into line with traditional taxi services. 

And the promotional price they offer shouldn't be lower than the minimum fare offered by traditional services. 

Zhou Hanhua, researcher with the Institute of Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the design of the rules would actually allow more room for price setting.

"The rules said the power to follow government-guided prices or market prices should be delegated to local governments and should be fairly flexible."

When it comes to the issue of whether the number of taxis - both traditional and online - should be limited, more people felt that too many taxis on the road would only lead to congestion⁵ and unemployment. 

Others believed the number of taxis in cities should be subject to demand instead of government control. 

Ministry of Transport officials say the most important thing is to strike a balance between the traditional taxi service and emerging private car hailing services. 

For CRI, this is Luo Wen.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

3 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

5 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。