THE area outside of Shenzhen International Airport is plagued by private car drivers acting as illegal taxis and reportedly employing strong-arm tactics to get money, an investigative report by the Shenzhen Evening News said Thursday.

    The problem is made worse because official taxis will sometimes turn passengers away if the distance they want to travel isn’t far enough.

    A netizen claimed on a microblog he was asked many times by private car drivers if he wanted a ride after arriving at the airport around 10 p.m. June 13.

    As there was no direct Metro service, the passenger walked to the taxi area for a ride. After he got in a green cab, a private car driver grabbed his luggage and put it in his car, attempting to steal the passenger’s business. When the green cab driver tried to take back the luggage, he was stopped by five men, who apparently were working with the private car driver. The passenger later gave 100 yuan (US$15) to the private car driver to settle the dispute.

    Passengers arriving in Shenzhen late at night often take taxis, but private car drivers often approach new arrivals on the way to the official taxi area.

    For a trip from the airport to the Bao’an Sports Center, which costs about 40 yuan, cabbies generally double the price to 80 yuan. Cabbies often don’t want to pick up short-trip passengers to Nanshan or Bao’an because they can’t earn as much money as driving to more distant locations.

    A News reporter did two undercover investigations June 16 and 19.

    A driver who claimed to be a Didi driver offered a ride to the reporter to the Bao’an Sports Center on the condition he did not use the Didi app.

    At the taxi area of the airport, the reporter was rejected by a red cab driver when he said he wanted to go to Taoyuan Metro Station near Shenzhen University. The driver said he didn’t know the way and told the reporter to take the next cab. The reporter was also rejected by the second cab driver.

    Hearing that the reporter wanted to go to Taoyuan Metro Station, a private car driver offered to drive him for 100 yuan.

    The private driver explained the location is very close and official taxis won’t take him because the official taxis have already waited three to four hours in line to pick up passengers. The reporter was told official taxis want to drive to Futian or Luohu.

    The reporter later agreed to meet the driver at the parking lot for a ride. But when they arrived at the parking lot, the driver asked the reporter to get into a car with room for seven people.

    The reporter was told that another driver, surnamed Zeng, would take the reporter to the destination.

    “It is really safe. If you’re still worried, you can take a photo of me and the car plate,” said the driver. “There is a surveillance camera which already filmed us. Can I run away if anything happens?”

    The driver then was paid by Zeng, who did not reveal how much, but said that they set the amount in advance. Three other passengers got in the car later.

    According to the report, there are more private car drivers waiting in the parking lot than at the official taxi area. The reporter also saw that there were other drivers waiting at a bus station on the way to the parking lot.

    (Han Ximin)