The poor get poorer as china 'improves'

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Nick-la
Wonder Wit

Joined: July 19, 2003
Posts: 3675
Location: Wasted on this site

Posted: Mar 26, 2005 - 11:49 AM
Post subject: The poor get poorer as china 'improves'

Where cabbies are cheery but skint

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Saturday March 26, 2005
The Guardian

On weeks like this, when the wind is not only bitingly cold but filled with grit from the Gobi desert, there is no more welcome sight in Beijing than one of the city's puffing, wheezing, smoky red taxis.
Never mind that there is so little leg room that even children can feel cramped in the back. No matter that the choking exhaust fumes sometimes seep inside the cab. Who cares that the plastic seats are often pockmarked with cigarette burns?

No, all that counts during the seemingly endless winter is that the cars are warm, cheap, numerous and - barring the occasional breakdown, prang or language mix-up - get you from A to B with a minimum of fuss.
By and large, the drivers are good company, too. Despite my appalling Chinese skills, they've gamely tried to make me feel at home with conversations about David Beckham's dodgy voice, Princess Diana's "murder" and Tony Blair sucking up to George Bush. On longer journeys, I've received marriage counselling advice, a short guide to local swearwords, and numerous tirades against the former president Jiang Zemin (always good listening practice for colourful expletives). When the language broke down altogether, one cheerful soul sang Jingle Bells with me - even though it was February at the time.

But the most popular subject is broached by the understandable but uncomfortable question, "How much do you earn?" Despite the relative wealth of any expat in China, the query does not seem to be motivated only by resentment, nor is it just a ploy to get a tip (they are not usually given or expected). Instead, it is an opening for the drivers to express their frustration at their own jobs.

And no wonder. Beijing has some of the most downtrodden taxi drivers on the planet. According to the China Daily, the average cabbie works 106 hours a week, and takes home only 1,817 renminbi (£120) a month.

Even as China's economy steams ahead, their earning potential is slowing down. Traffic volume has doubled in less than five years. On the average day, they are stuck in jams for at least three hours, when the meter clicks forward only 1 renminbi (7p) for every five minutes.

A limit on the number of licences and the absence of unions give Beijing's 200 taxi companies an unfair advantage over their employees. The city's 66,000 drivers must pay more than half of their fares to their bosses and another quarter on fuel and repairs. They are left with earnings of less than 5 renminbi an hour. To make ends meet, some work 24-hour shifts and then switch with alternate drivers so their cars are never off the road.

All of this is great for the customers, who pay as little as 1.2 renminbi per kilometre for the cheapest Xiali (a domestic manufacturer) car. And the disparity is set to grow this year, as Beijing upgrades its taxi fleet in time for the 2008 Olympics. [As always, putting a better face on things, but not helping the people who matter]

The spluttering red Xiali is being phased out. In its place are sleek Sonatas striped in combinations of gold, purple and green. They will be a third more expensive, but few passengers are likely to begrudge the extra fare. These Hyundai-made sedans are bigger, more comfortable and - built to European emission standards - better for the environment.

Their splash of non-communist colour has been touted by the domestic media as a sign that China is opening up and enjoying itself.

But, as often seems to be the case with the country's reforms, the cost has fallen hardest on the poorest workers. Many Xiali drivers say they will not be able to afford the more expensive licences of the new cars. For now, they chug on, but not for much longer.

Change comes quick in Beijing. By next winter, cold customers will be scanning the streets for purple, gold and green, as well as red.

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Edgewood
FooSlinger

Joined: Jan 28, 2004
Posts: 3906
Location: Colonial Shanghai

Posted: Mar 26, 2005 - 05:36 PM

Good post, sorry to digress, but:

Quote:

I've received marriage counselling advice, a short guide to local swearwords, and numerous tirades against the former president Jiang Zemin (always good listening practice for colourful expletives).

True. I had one driver launch into a full blown condemnation against the American invasion of Iraq. He was pissed off because he thought America should have invaded China instead, and arrested all the Party members.

No one was more surprised than me. I tipped him big time.

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