Some people classify taxis as a form of public transportation in the discussion of taxi management reform. In fact, taxis are private transportation but an important supplement for public transportation. If this premise is not accepted, the reform discussion will be led astray, says an article of the 21st Century Business Herald.

Excerpts:

Taxis are a public cause serving the public's interests. Although they enjoy subsidies from the government, taxis are by no means a form of public transport such as a bus. A taxi does not carry so many passengers as a bus, and private customers pay themselves for an exclusive transport service. Also, taxis are different from buses in terms of management systems. It is private companies that manage taxi businesses with some government subsidies.

To solve the difficulty of taking a taxi in big cities like Beijing, the government should create a fair market environment and boost competition among the taxi companies to weed out the incapable ones and improve the service quality of the whole industry.