Guangzhou's price bureau is researching a proposal submitted by local taxi companies to float taxi fares, the Guangzhou Daily quoted the city's transport authorities as saying Sunday.

Taxi drivers may be able to charge a floating "service fee" on a progressive scale based on the mileage to combat growing fuel costs.

The transport authorities ruled out the possibility of readjusting the fare meters of all 16,000 taxis to reflect the exact influence of the oil price.

The transport watchdog also urged taxi companies to give medicare coverage to all drivers to boost their morale.

Nearly 1,000 citizens and taxi drivers went to a transport authority consultation session Saturday when the issues were raised.

Many citizens were also concerned about the lack of parking space in housing estates. A man complained his son had nowhere to learn to ride a bicycle as the paths of his housing estate were almost entirely occupied by cars.
 
(Shenzhen Daily May 16, 2005)