TWO taxi drivers were each fined 1,000 yuan (US$145) by the local transport authority for refusing to take passengers, sznews.com reported Tuesday.

However, they applied for administrative reconsideration and demanded that the penalties imposed on them be revoked, the report said.

“I can’t accept this penalty,” said one of the taxi drivers identified as Wang at the counter of the Administrative Reconsideration Office of Shenzhen Municipal Judicial Bureau in mid-March in Futian District.

“I’ve been driving a taxi for more than a decade and I’ve never refused to take passengers once,” he said.

Wang, in his 30s, said he hopes that the 1,000-yuan fine will be canceled. According to Wang, he was waiting for passengers at the Shenzhen airport Feb. 7 this year, when a young mother came over to his taxi with her child in one hand and her luggage in the other. He immediately helped the woman with her luggage.

The woman told Wang that they were going to Zhangmutou Township in neighboring Dongguan City. Wang was a bit worried at hearing this, as the destination was more than 70 kilometers from the airport and his electric vehicle only had 31 percent of a full charge.

Wang was afraid that they wouldn’t make it to the destination, so he refused the passenger.

The other taxi driver, surnamed Jiang, encountered a similar situation. One early morning in April, Jiang refused to take a passenger to Hengqin Checkpoint in Zhuhai City for the same reason.

According to Jiang, his taxi had 50 to 60 percent of a full charge at the time, which could run for 240 kilometers. A one-way trip to Hengqin Checkpoint was 157 kilometers, so the taxi didn’t have enough power for a round trip.

Both drivers argued that they didn’t deliberately refuse to take the passengers, but rather it was because there was insufficient power left in their electric taxies that they decided to let the passengers choose other vehicles.

According to statistics, from Jan. 1 to May 31, 2019, 234 cases of administrative penalties were imposed on taxi drivers in Shenzhen for refusing to take passengers, an increase of 283.6 percent compared with the same period last year.

Thirteen drivers refused to accept the penalties and applied for administrative reconsideration, up 333.33 percent over the same period last year.

(Zhang Yu)