An apparent shortage of taxis keeps nearly 100 people waiting in line after their arrival at Beijing West Railway Station. It's an everyday scene at the station. [Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - On a wet summer evening, Cao Ying, who lives and works in Zhongguancun, spent 30 minutes walking several blocks before a taxi stopped for her.

The 25-year-old is often sent on errands by taxi by her company and says she usually has to wait 15 minutes at most.

"The capital's transport is not too bad but it becomes awful in bad weather and during the rush hour. I almost missed the train at Beijing West Railway Station during that rainy summer evening," she said.

Cao's experience is not untypical.

Another Beijing resident surnamed Zheng, who commutes between his home in the west of Beijing and his company near Renmin University of China in the north of the city Monday to Friday, said he usually has to wait more than 10 minutes for a taxi.

He added that he once waited as long as 40 minutes for a cab in the morning peak hour between 8 am and 9 am.

Their cases are not unique. In Beijing, people are complaining more about heavy traffic in the capital, over-crowded subways and crawling buses during the peak hours. Dinner table conversations revolve around the surge in the number of private cars and how hard it has become to find a taxi with its for-hire light on whose drivers are willing to stop.

Both of the above case studies have been refused journeys by cabbies who are reluctant to drive to the designated destination.

In a poll by Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-style Internet service, 77 percent of taxi drivers claimed their shift was ending as an excuse for not accepting custom.

Li Hongjin, a taxi driver in his 50s and on the job for more than seven years, said traffic gridlock during the peak hours was often the real reason.

"Many taxi drivers choose routes involving less busy roads so as not to waste time in traffic jams," he said, adding that any profit from the fare could be eaten up by the extra fuel consumed when stuck in a traffic jam.

Beijing News reported that many cabbies are reluctant to take passengers and prefer to stay idle during the rush hour.

Li earns some 12,000 yuan ($1,875) a month in gross revenue, but his net revenue is only about 3,000 to 4,000 yuan after taking into account his company dues and the cost of fuel.

"The fuel costs me some 4,000 yuan a month," he said. The taxi company deducts another 4,000 for each shift.

According to Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, the municipal transport authority, monthly dues charged by cab companies are at most 5,175 yuan for single-shift drivers and 8,280 yuan for double-shift drivers.

"Different companies charge different amounts of dues," cabbie Gao Lianshan said during a nightshift. He said larger taxi firms charge more than smaller ones to remain in business.

Gao has to pay dues of some 3,000 yuan to the company every month and fuel costs of 5,000 to 7,000 yuan a month.

In Beijing, after a slight decline from 7.85 yuan a liter in April, the price of No 93 gasoline for taxis now stands at 7.61 yuan a liter.

The International Energy Agency predicted recently that oil prices could hit $150 a barrel in coming years because the world oil supply depends on just a few suppliers in North Africa and the Middle East, and they have indicated a looming oil price hike.

Mao Yushi, an economist with Unirule Institute of Economics, said in an article on the Chinese website of the Financial Times that low taxi fares caused an imbalance between supply and demand.

In Beijing, passengers have to pay 10 yuan for travelling a distance of less than three kilometers as a basic fare. For a distance between three and 15 kilometers, they have to pay two yuan for every kilometer. For a distance of more than 15 kilometers, they are charged three yuan a kilometer. Between11 pm and 5 am, the basic fare is set at 11 yuan.

The price was raised to 2 yuan a kilometer from 1.6 yuan a kilometer in 2006 because of rising international oil prices.

Over the past five years, Beijing's taxi prices have remained static. In the same period, fuel costs have risen, many residents' incomes have gone up and congestion has increased dramatically.

Gao, who is in his 50s, said a rise in taxi fares is a double-edged sword: Some potential passengers might opt for other means of transportation.

Last month, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said taxi drivers should not refuse to take passengers using the excuse of shift relief.

Li Xiaosong, the commission's spokesperson, said passengers could file complaints to the cab companies by phone, email, fax or other means if they were turned down.

An employee with Beijing Beiqi Kowloon Taxi Co Ltd said the company would deal with complaints seriously but did not disclose how.

She said the company would not fine cabbies for refusing to take passengers.

Gao said that the driver would be fined as much as 1,800 yuan "for the most serious cases" by the transport authority if he or she was the subject of a formal complaint.

Beijing Shou Qi Group said last month that any taxi driver subject to more than three complaints would be dismissed.

Wang Keqin, who published a series of stories about the taxi industry from his work as an investigative reporter, is now the assistant editor-in-chief with the Economic Observer. He told China Daily that the government should lift the cap on taxi numbers.

"In Beijing, the registered number of taxis now stands at about 67,000, which has remained largely unchanged for several years," he said, adding that the supply fell short of demand as an increasing number of people choose to take taxis. This has led to an increase in the number of illegal cabs on the streets.

"There are too many private and government cars, rather than taxis, that have led to increased gridlock. If the restriction on cab numbers is lifted, people would prefer taking taxis rather than private cars because parking fees and fuel costs keep rising for individuals," Wang said.

According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, by the end of last year, the number of motor vehicles amounted to 4.81 million in Beijing, of which 3.744 million were private cars.

Wang, working on the principle that one taxi equates to eight private cars in terms of use, suggested the government should loosen restrictions on taxi numbers.

"Traffic jams during the rush hour will also be reduced," he added.

Wang's opinion was echoed by Wang Jianxun, an associate professor at China University of Political Science and Law, who was quoted as saying by Procuratorial Daily that lifting restrictions on the number of cabs would strike a balance between supply and demand in the long run, although it would soon create a surge in numbers.

However, the municipal transport authority ruled out the possibility.

Li Xiaosong, its spokesperson, said last month that deregulating taxi numbers in Beijing would worsen the city's traffic congestion.

Earlier this year, the municipal government unveiled a package of policies to ease gridlock, including restricting the purchase of private cars and constructing underground roads in congested areas.

Raising parking fees in busy areas and imposing congestion fees on cars on busy roads are also among options under consideration.

The municipal government also plans to extend its subway lines to 703 kilometers by the end of 2015 from the current 336 kilometers, at the same time creating parking lots at subway stations so commuters can park and ride.

Most of these parking lots are planned outside the Fourth Ring Road to reduce private cars from being brought further into the city, easing congestion in downtown areas.

Li also suggested improving call-up services for taxis and constructing dedicated taxi stops within the Fifth Ring Road to meet passenger demand.