China's largest city Shanghai has decided to subsidize taxi drivers facing sustained price hikes on the fuel market.

The municipal government decided at a meeting Monday that each taxi driver will get 412 yuan (US$51) a month in subsidy for the climbing gasoline price, while those who work in shifts to drive the same car will be subsidized 275 yuan (US$34) each.

Many Chinese taxi drivers work in pairs so that the same taxi hits the road day and night. The monthly payable to the taxi company is also shared between the two drivers.

Self-employed taxi drivers who do not have to report to any taxi firms will enjoy the same subsidy from the government, a spokesman with Shanghai municipal government told Xinhua Tuesday.

He said the fund will largely come from the Shanghai government, though taxi companies will also chip in.

The recent six-percent hike in China's fuel price on July 23 has imposed high pressure on taxi drivers and private car owners.

Taxi plays a vital role in Shanghai's road transport sector as its 43,000 taxies, shared among 100,000 drivers, carry 3 million passengers a day, or a quarter of the daily passenger traffic within the city.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2005)