Taxi fares in Dalian City, northeastern China's Liaoning Province, rose by 11 percent yesterday, following Beijing and Shanghai which also raised their taxi fares recently, Xinhua news agency said.

The fare will rise to 2 yuan (25 US cents) per kilometer from 1.80 yuan.

The base fee, which covers the first 3 km, remains 8 yuan.

During the period from 11pm to 5am, the charge will be 2.6 yuan per kilometer, as the night fare is 30 percent more than the daytime fee.

The base night fare will stay at 10.40 yuan for the first 3 km.

The increasing fuel cost is squeezing cabbies' earnings. Shanghai raised its taxi fares by more than 6 percent, and Beijing increased its fees by 25 percent earlier this month.

Dalian will also establish a fuel-related mechanism that allows taxi fares to float with the fluctuating fuel prices.

If the retail price of No. 90 gasoline, widely used by taxi drivers, exceeds 5 yuan per liter, taxi companies can impose a fuel surcharge on riders.

(Shanghai Daily May 26, 2006)