Several dozen taxi drivers participated in a protest at the Transport Bureau (DSAT), requesting the authority to unlock their taxi meters, which were suspended as some drivers failed to pay service fees.
About 70 taxi drivers gathered at the DSAT building over the weekend, which prompted the security branch to deploy numerous officers and vehicles for security purposes.
The current type of taxi meter approved by the government, and thus used in all taxis, is the object of complaints from drivers about its purported user-unfriendliness and the mandatory service fees.
According to the report by local Chinese media outlet Cheng Pou, a taxi driver claimed that more than 100 taxi meters have been suspended, resulting in the drivers not being able to work.
Another driver told the same media outlet that 600 meters have been suspended, affecting more than 1,000 drivers. They complained about not being able to earn income.
Despite the fact that a local court of law has ruled in favor of the service provider of the taxi meters in regards to the service fees, the drivers slammed the fees for being “unreasonable.”
The taxi drivers, in the meantime, also disputed the legality of the service fees. They said that, as per their understanding, the service provider has no legal grounds to levy the charge.
DSAT was also accused of not addressing the requests from the drivers, who urged the authority’s intervention in the matter, so that they may restart work and earn an income. AL
