Taxis wait for fares on Jiefangbei Street in Chongqing yesterday as about 4,000 cabbies returned to work following their violent protest on Monday. Police were deployed to monitor the situation in busy parts of the city.

Almost half of the taxi drivers who took part in an angry protest in Chongqing on Monday returned to work yesterday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Nearly 4,000 cabs are now back in operation following the announcement of a series of measures designed to deal with drivers' grievances, a spokesperson for the local government said.

One of the measures is that the 440 yuan ($64) fee drivers have to pay their management companies each day will be reduced by up to 70 yuan, the Xinhua report said, without giving a timescale.

Also, Zhou Bo, vice-publicity director of the CPC Chongqing Committee was quoted as saying the government will do more to stop unlicensed cabs from operating in the city.

Furthermore, the supply of compressed natural gas used by taxis will be increased by 100,000 cu m per day to meet demand, Xinhua said.

Despite the government's promises, many taxi drivers are still unhappy and have decided to remain on strike.

Fifty-year-old Liu Xuequan told China Daily: "We also get fined too often and too much.

"Even if I just forget to clean my seats, I will be fined at least 500 yuan."

On Oct 27, the Chongqing government introduced a series of traffic regulations designed to improve the city's image. Any drivers caught violating them face stiff penalties.

"Some drivers are fined five or six times a day and the amount of money they have to pay is huge," Liu said.

"That was the real trigger for the strike."

Liu has been driving cabs in the city for the past 15 years but he said it is getting more and more difficult to make a living.

"The current pricing system was brought in 1997 and it has never changed," he said.

"With the effect of inflation, competition from unlicensed taxis and the fines, we're having a really hard time these days."

Chongqing taxis charge a basic 5 yuan plus 1.2 yuan for every kilometer traveled. In Beijing the charge is 10 yuan plus 2 yuan per kilometer.

(China Daily November 5, 2008)