Only three-wheeled motorbike taxis bought from a local village committee in Fengtai district are permitted to operate in the area, a move that has angered poor drivers.
As many as 40 new motorbike taxis hit the streets Tuesday in Songjiazhuang area, the southern terminal of subway Line 5, but the committee has set its sights at 200.
"The village committee and chengguan told us all to buy new vehicles a couple of days ago, but they cost 7,000 yuan each. This includes 4,000 yuan for the bike, 2,000 for a safety deposit and 1,000 for two months of tax," said a cart owner surnamed Peng. "I can barely earn 100 yuan a day and I need to spend half of that to live. As a result, it will take me at least six months to balance the cost of a new bike."
Another cart owner, surnamed Kang, said the situation was "unfair".
"We also have to pay a monthly management fee of 500 yuan to the chengguan and we never get a receipt," he said.
Beijing has a large number of three-wheeled motorbike taxis, carting passengers short distances to and from metro stations or into communities. Fees are typically much cheaper than a regular four-wheeled taxi.
A cart owner told METRO the village committee is also in charge of 360 carts that run in Dahongmen lane, from which they charge a monthly management fee of 480 yuan each. He speculated that they could bring in annual proceeds of up to 2 million yuan.
"If you don't pay this 'management fee', these guys, or gangsters, will give you a hard time. They will damage your cart and forbid you from going near the subway stations. They might even take away your carts and then you have to pay a fine of about 300 yuan. Sometimes, that can jump up to 1,000 yuan," said a cart owner named Jin Yanqing.
Jin said he doesn't run a motorbike taxi simply to earn a living in Beijing. "I genuinely want to help movement between neighborhoods. Taxis can be expensive and are sometimes not available," he said.
Residents in the area were also supportive of the cheaper alternative.
"I know I endanger my life when I take a cart, especially those illegal ones, but I need them. I can rarely get a taxi to take me to a subway station or supermarket," a resident of Songjiazhuang area, surnamed Zhang, told Beijing News.
The municipal transportation government declined to tell METRO the exact number of motorbike taxis in the city.
Three-wheeled motorbike taxis are often involved in accidents, with illegal "black" vehicles - those without license or approval - taking the major share of blame.
Five municipal departments started a joint effort in late April to drive all illegal motorbike taxis from the capital by the end of the year.
However, experts are looking at a different solution to the city's traffic chaos.
"Punishing motorbike taxi drivers only addresses the symptoms. A better direction is to improve localized public transportation," said Yang Hongshan, an associate professor with Renmin University of China, in an interview with CCTV.
"The property company could provide commuting vehicles to connect neighborhoods with public transport terminals. This should remove the need for motorbike taxis."
