Guangzhou will introduce trial run of hire cars with a 2,950 car fleet to alleviate chronic taxi shortage and offer an alternative model to curbside hailing, according to the Guangzhou City Transport Commission.
Guangzhou currently has 21,989 taxis and recorded 774 million trips annually in 2013, or 2.21 million trips daily.
According to the Transport Commission, the trial run will be operated by the winner of the tender for this service and will co-op companies with active online marketing to participate in the service. The operating company will procure all vehicles, which will be unmarked externally but must have standard car hire signs displayed inside.
These hired cars are not permitted to accept curbside fares and must be booked by phone or online reservations. Although transport authorities will not interfere with legitimate operations it will take the role of establishing the platforms and monitoring the service to avoid unlawful practices.
The transport authorities also vowed to prosecute, in accordance with the law, all “private taxis”, independent personal and public vehicles offering hire service via mobile phone, internet or telephone.
They reiterated that the regulation for car hire service in Guangzhou stipulates that the service must be operated by the company, with drivers as employees and not subjected to operational liabilities. Any development models that do not contravene the laws or regulations and are beneficial to the industry will be carefully considered by the authorities.(Translation by David）
