(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-09-11 07:24

The urban management officers should improve their management methods, says an editorial in Beijing Youth Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Zhu Changjun, a resident of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, was fined 20,000 yuan ($2,631) by urban management officers because he charged a passenger 6 yuan (79 cents) for a ride in his car.

Zhu admitted that he should not charge people for rides in a carpooling system, but he thought the fine was too heavy so he has sued the urban management officers.

People usually think it is all right to collect money from passengers in a carpooling system as long as car owners do not make a profit.

But the authorities believe a carpooling system that involves money should be regarded as an unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, which is against the law.

In many cities, the owners of cars, minibuses or motorcycles use their vehicles to make money without proper licenses. They disrupt market order, threaten public transportation safety and evade taxes. These violations should be punished.

Carpooling is a reasonable system gaining popularity in many cities. It reduces the pressure on public transportation, saves money for passengers and reduces environmental damage. The current law imposes harsh punishment for unlicensed operations of motor vehicles, but it does not stipulate carpooling.

Thus, it depends heavily upon the individual judgment of urban management officers. Sometimes it is difficult for the officers to tell whether someone is trying to make a profit from the passengers or not.

But this difficulty should not be excuse for abusing power. The officers should be more careful in making decisions in their work. It might cause public distrust if they keep imposing high fines on every driver offering a ride to strangers.

Besides improving the law on the unlicensed operation of motor vehicles, the authorities should also establish a database. Those who are repeatedly caught using their vehicles for profit should be punished, and not for carpooling.

(China Daily 09/11/2007 page10)