Tens of thousands of taxi drivers in multiple cities go on strike on the same day

On Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, 15,000 taxi drivers went on strike in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. The cabs gathered in all city districts. Striking cab drivers said fees paid to government entities are too high, there are too many taxis, and that thousands of illegal taxis steal business.

On the same day, more than 10,000 cabbies went on strike in Jinan City, the capital of Shandong Province. They protested that lease fees for the cabs are too high.

In Changchun City, the capital of Jilin Province, cab drivers went on strike until 3 a.m. until dispersed by police. A netizen wrote, “Changchun at present has approximately 16,000 taxis. The reasons for striking are the large number of illegal cabs, the rise in “special reserved cars,” the starting fare has not increased in more than 20 years—it’s stayed at ¥5, and the cab companies provide no insurance for their drivers. Of course, drivers believe that the rental rate is too high, there’s very little left over after paying the day’s cab rental, they want to break the cab companies’ monopoly.”

Cab drivers also protested in Luonan County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province, in Taihe County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province, and in Si County, Suzhou City, Anhui Province.

http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/01/201501130540.shtml