英闻天下——40 Illegal Taxis Thriving in Cities

 　　Outside a subway terminal in west Beijing, dozens of illicit¹ cabbies are seen drumming up passengers almost every day. These illegal cabbies occupy the roadside outside the subway station, and it's very hard for buses to stop at the bus station. When asking about the price, you'll find it much higher than real taxis.

 

　　The similar situation can also be found in the Beijing South Railway Station. The prices can be ten times higher than that of legal taxis.

 

　　When the undercover reporter asks about the price of taking the black cab to a place, about 10.8 kilometers away from the railway station, the driver asks for 300 yuan. However, it only costs about 29 yuan to take a real taxi.

 

　　Why are there be so many illegal cabs running on the road in the city? One city management officer near the subway station in west Beijing explains.

 

　　"We do try to stop these illegal cabbies, and we do know they are illicit drivers. However, we could not get proof of their illegal operation, when we checked them, they would say they just stopped near the roadside. Only when they are driving the car and the passenger would like to testify can we get proof of their illegal behavior."

 

　　When black taxis scoop² up passengers, legal taxi drivers complain it's unfair, because legal taxi drivers slog throughout day only to see the illegal ones pocket the gains.

 

　　And the only way to compete with these illegal drivers is rough driving, some taxi drivers say. They have huge burden on their shoulders - paying his rent and the taxi company's charges, and higher living expenses.

 

　　They can survive only if they pick up as many passengers as possible, for which they often have to drive very fast. However, it endangers the lives of passengers as well as the drivers. Here is a taxi driver, who complains about the illegal cabs in Lanzhou, Gansu Province.

 

　　"Illegal taxis badly influence our legal taxi operation. Apart from seizing our business, these rogue³ cabs have a negative impact on traffic, as they often stop on the road to bargain with potential passengers."

 

　　In a bus station in Lanzhou, there are numerous illegal taxis scrambling⁴ for passengers. One passenger says these illegal cabs cause so much trouble.

 

　　"When I pass through this area in a taxi, I don't dare to get out of the car here, because when you just open the door of the car, these illegal cab drivers will take away your luggage in hopes of getting me into his car. And if the legal taxi drivers help me stop the rogue driver, there would probably be a fight."

 

　　Qi Jiansong, head of the local traffic administrative⁵ office says the reason behind the situation is that there is small number of legal taxis serving a growing population in the city.

 

　　"In Lanzhou there have been legal 6,500 taxis since 1996. And the number remains⁶ the same today. However, the population has been growing rapidly these years in Lanzhou, therefore, it gives illegal taxis opportunities to make money. Based on our statistics, the city has about 7,000 full-time⁷ rogue cabs, plus about 3,000 part-time illegal taxis. So Lanzhou has more than 10,000 illegal taxis in operation."

 

　　It's a similar situation in Beijing where the number of taxis has remained at 60,000 to 70,000 since 2004, while the population has been fast growing in the city. By the end of 2011, the population in Beijing has exceeded 21 million, that is to say, there is one taxi for 300 citizens.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan⁸.

1 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

2 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

3 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

4 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

8 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。