Hundreds of taxi drivers staged strikes in two places on Tuesday in Zhejiang Province, protesting against rising petrol prices and stagnant wages, just a few days after over 1,500 cab drivers in the provincial capital city of Hangzhou took to the street for the same reason.

According to the protesting drivers, over 200 of the 900 cabs in the city of Jiaxin in northern Zhejiang were on strike Tuesday. Dozens of drivers parked their cabs near the city government.

The strike in Jiaxin ended Tuesday afternoon after drivers reached an agreement with local government to file an application for a public hearing on taxi fares.

In the province's south, over 100 taxi drivers also struck Tuesday in Cangnan County of the city of Wenzhou, with dozens of them parking nearby the county government.

The drivers are demanding higher wages as the cost of living and fuel prices have soared in the past few years, but their incomes have barely risen.

Representatives of the striking drivers in Cangnan are still in talks with authorities to work out a solution, drivers said.

About 1,500 disgruntled taxi drivers in Hangzhou took to the street last week, complaining about skyrocketing food, gasoline and housing prices, and the unchanged taxi fares.

The strike ended three days later on Thursday after drivers received temporary subsidies and a promise from the government to hike fares.

Authorities in Hangzhou said Tuesday that a public hearing on a fare hike will be held in September.

Altogether 24 people, including government officials, scholars, taxi drivers and 10 members of the general public, are being asked to offer objective opinions at the hearing.

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