By Nathan Wakelin-King

Having trouble catching a cab? Though it is officially illegal for cabbies to refuse a fare solely based on the destination of the would-be passenger, being refused – especially at peak periods or busy places – is a common experience. It is almost as common as taxi drivers taking foreigners or travelling Chinese on a relatively expensive but totally un-scenic route to their destination. 

This may change. According to an article in today's Beijing Times, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transportation announced yesterday that it has set-up a 24 hour hotline where enraged would-be passengers can complain and take action against such transgressions. The hotline, which can be reached at 6835 1150 or 6835 1570, is for people who believe they have been wrongly treated on any public bus, taxi, tour bus or long distance coach. 

Each of the 15 companies responsible for the 67,000 or so cabs roaming Beijing's streets have a similar telephone service.

Drivers found guilty of unlawful refusal of a passenger will have their names added to a blacklist, and if this is the third time it has occurred, the company will terminate their contract.

This is similar to past efforts to eliminate taxi drivers who raolu （繞路, literally “going around the road”, ie., deliberately going a long way to make more money）Passengers are advised to keep receipts and send them in as evidence. In the case of being refused transport, citizens are encouraged to take sound or video recordings of the driver’s refusal and send them in.

This may well be a step for the better for passengers, though we at China Buzz wonder how exactly one would obtain such evidence, short of asking the driver to repeat his illicit refusal with a mobile phone shoved in his face.

The numbers for the individual taxi companies are as follows:

銀建：83611888
金建：83611888
金銀建：83611888
首汽：64065088
首汽友聯：64065088
北汽九龍：84565838
北方：61202027
漁陽聯合：87605585
萬泉緣：87605585
祥龍：51335051
北方創業：61206596
萬泉寺：63383123
三元：87971518
京聯：81514646