Taxi drivers in several provinces in China go on strike, revealing the difficult industry situation.

The Chinese mainland’s economy downturn has put the taxi industry in a slump, making it difficult for many taxi drivers to make ends meet. Coupled with the impact of illegal taxis, ride-hailing services, and high franchise fees, thousands of taxi drivers in several provinces have recently initiated strike actions. Several drivers have disclosed the current situation of the industry to reporters.

Franchise fees are the fees that taxi drivers pay to the taxi company, serving as both the main operating cost for the former and the main source of income for the latter.

In Huarong County, Yueyang City, Hunan Province, taxi driver Li Wei (pseudonym) told reporters from Epoch Times that the taxi industry is currently in a downturn. “In the current difficult environment, with costs remaining high, we can’t sustain ourselves. We can’t even cover our living expenses now, so why should we pay you?” he said.

According to him, the daily income is just over 200 yuan, while the monthly franchise fee for a car is over 4,000 yuan, not to mention other costs such as fuel, leaving them with insufficient money to support their families.

Taxi driver Fang Ming (pseudonym) in Yueyang City said that the monthly franchise fee for a car in Yueyang City has reached 4,750 yuan, with some charging 4,900 yuan. Their daily income has dropped from five to six hundred yuan per day to just over 200 yuan. He complained about the high franchise fees in Changsha City, which are over 3,000 yuan per month, asking why their fees in a fourth or fifth-tier city are so high.

Fang Ming stated that over 1,700 taxis in Yueyang City have been on strike for the past two days, demanding that the government reduce franchise fees and regulate ride-hailing services to provide a living space for taxi drivers. The local government promised to reduce the franchise fees by 500 yuan per month, but the drivers disagreed, demanding a reduction of 1,000 yuan instead.

He mentioned that a few years ago, they went on strike twice, and back then, franchise fees were reduced from about 6,000 yuan per month to nearly 5,000 yuan. Hence, they are still asking the government to further cut franchise fees by 1,000 yuan.

Competition and conflicts between taxis and illegal taxis, three-wheeled vehicles, and other unlicensed vehicles in mainland China are commonplace. However, in Yushu City, Jilin Province, a new phenomenon has emerged where buses pick up students inside schools, leading to thousands of taxi drivers going on strike.

In mid-March this year, the local bus group dispatched 65 buses on Friday afternoons and Sunday evenings to transport 920 students from Experimental High School, First High School, Xinli High School, and Changyu High School between school and home, providing a one-stop shuttle service from school gate to home.

Taxi driver Zhao Liang (pseudonym) in Yushu City told reporters that since the epidemic, there have been noticeably fewer people on the streets, and the peak time for taxis to pick up passengers is when students finish school. Previously, three-wheeled vehicles and private cars competed for student passengers, but now over ten passenger cars directly enter the school campus to pick up students, leaving taxi drivers with no business during the most profitable hours.

“I work from 7 am to 10 pm, and after deducting all kinds of expenses, I can only save a little over 100 yuan a day. Since the epidemic started, it’s been getting worse day by day. In the current difficult economy, we rely on making some money during the peak times when students go to and from school. They are taking away our business. It’s hard enough to sustain our livelihoods, and now this one source of income is also being taken away,” Zhao Liang said.

However, the recent strikes by taxi drivers have not yielded any results, with the government ignoring their demands.

Additionally, starting in September 2022, Yushu City began to replace taxis with new energy battery-swappable taxis. These cars use a battery swap system with new energy charging stations, where the swapping process is completed in less than a minute, and the full battery can last around 300 kilometers in summer and over 100 kilometers in winter.

Zhao Liang revealed that there are currently over 300 new energy taxis in the city, but with only two battery-swapping stations, they cannot meet the demand for battery swaps from over 300 cars; especially in winter, when batteries deplete faster. Running in the morning, replacing batteries in the afternoon can take four to five hours, making it impossible to earn money in a day.

The Communist authorities issued a notice in 2022 regarding the adjustment of subsidies for rural public transport and taxi fuel prices, providing direct subsidies to taxi operators based on the standards of 3,620.76 yuan per car in 2021 and 3,565.04 yuan per car in 2022.

Zhao Liang stated that he only received a partial fuel subsidy in 2022, with no subsidies being distributed after 2023. According to information he obtained, the fuel subsidy for 2023 was embezzled by the local government, and despite their efforts to seek justice, they were unsuccessful.

Taxi driver Sun Yan (pseudonym) in Lindian County, Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province, stated that the 3,700 yuan fuel subsidy in Lindian County has not been disbursed since 2022.

Sun Yan mentioned that although Lindian County does not have ride-hailing services, the local taxi industry is dominated by a sedan company, leaving taxi drivers in a difficult situation.

Lindian County is a small county town with an area of only 3,500 square kilometers, where the starting fare for taxis is only 3 yuan, and there are over a thousand taxis. Sun Yan expressed, “With the current economic downturn and fewer people taking taxis, each taxi is supporting a family’s livelihood. It’s impossible to sustain ourselves now. Selling the car and leaving the industry leaves us with no alternative job. We are in a dilemma and can only tough it out.”