Although still relatively low, the price of taking a cab in the Chinese capital is slowly creeping up. On Thursday, a public hearing was held by Beijing municipal authorities that approved raising the base rate. It's an effort to address the difficulties of hailing a cab and drivers' complaints over low income.

It's official. No more ten yuan for the initial 3 kilometre ride.

Beijing approves taxi fare hike.

According to the Beijing's economic planning body, the base fee for taking a taxi is set to go up from 10 yuan to 13 yuan to cover the initial 3 kilometres.

The news has been most welcomed by Beijing's cab drivers who can barely break-even during rush hours.

Mr. Zhang, Beijing taxi driver, said, "Everything is more expensive than before, with high fuel prices being the main cost of my daily operation. Traffic jams are especially heavy during rush hours. So the waiting time plus the extra fuel burnt is just not worth it. We barely break even. So we tend not to pick up passengers or stay indoors during that time."

Compared with other large cities in the world, Beijing's taxi fees are low. For a decade, the minimum charge has stood at 10 yuan while fuel prices have more than doubled.

The hike means that cab drivers can earn up to 6,000 yuan per month.

"It's rather obvious that the benefits for the taxi drivers will increase in terms of profit from the taxi fare hike and GPS booking or phone apps bidding ," Li Xiaosong, spokesperson of Beijing transport commission said.

But a survey conducted by the Beijing Research Company, Horizon Research and Horizonkey, shows that, over 30 percent of the 220 Beijing residents interviewed would cut back on taxi use in response to the upcoming fare rise.

The taxi fare reform plan is based on a survey of over 3000 (3,074) taxi passengers and hundreds of interviews with drivers, companies and lawyers. Experts say this hearing is not only aimed at bringing more regulation into the taxi industry, but also shows the transparency and fairness when it comes to making a public decision within the society.

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