Guangzhou announced huge fee cuts for taxi drivers Thursday. However, the cuts are not expected to bring down taxi fares.

The maximum monthly fee for a taxi has been reduced from 3,148 yuan (US$384) to 1,689 yuan, down 46 percent.

The incomes of taxi drivers have been sliding in recent years due to fuel price rises and competition from other transport such as private cars and subways. A taxi driver working more than 10 hours a day now earns only 1,500 to 2,000 yuan a month.

A taxi driver surnamed Yu said the fee cuts might help improve the drivers' service. Fewer taxi drivers would try to make extra money by cheating customers after the fee cuts, said Yu.

Public transport authorities also expect the fee cuts to balance the profit margins between legal and illegal taxies. "The fee cuts may reduce the number of illegal taxies," said a source with the provincial transport commission.

However, the pricing authorities had no intention to lower the taxi fare, said a government source.

Meanwhile, Guangdong would increase fares for long-distance coaches by about 10 percent from next month, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

The price for long-distance coaches running on expressways would be increased from 0.24 yuan per kilometer per person to 0.28 yuan per kilometer per person.

However, bus companies might stick to the original fares because of fierce competition, say insiders.

(Shenzhen Daily November 28, 2003)