A total of 178 “clone” taxis have been destroyed by Guangzhou officials on Wednesday, as reported by the Guangzhou Daily.

This had been considered as the largest clampdown against “clone” taxis for this year.

According to the report, these vehicles had been found to carry fake license plates. Majority of the “clone” taxis were altered versions of older, out-of-use cars with similar exteriors as those of the legal cabs. These fake taxi drivers have been reported to choose passing through longer routes and take unnecessary turns to be able to extract more money from unsuspecting passengers.

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"These illegal cabs are hateful," shared a taxi driver who watched the demolition. "They not only grabbed our customers, they made them start to question our service," he added.

Due to the increasing complaints received by the city on the prevalent abuse caused by “clone” taxi drivers, officials have impounded and demolished 445 unregistered vehicles within this year.

Transportation officials in Guangzhou disclosed that supervision and surveillance will be reinforced on crucial points, such as in the railway station and the airport especially during peak times and over the weekend.

Here are some tips shared by the China Daily to assist passengers in identifying “clone” taxis: 1. Check the body of the vehicle. Look for the company name and number, which should be printed across it. In addition, a light should be found on top of the car.

2. Check the license plate of the taxi. Make sure that the printed numbers in the front and rear of the vehicle are the same. Moreover, check that the plate numbers are printed clearly.

3. Check for the authentic service certificate as legal cabs post a printed copy of the driver’s name and photo, the company name, and a hotline number.

4. Check that the taximeter is functioning properly. Registered taxis are required to have a working taxi meter and a lit vacancy disk displayed on the dashboard.

5. Be conscious of the driver’s behavior. Unregistered taxi drivers have the tendency to choose detours instead of traveling on main roads. They also overload passengers or offer lower prices to lure customers in their vehicles.

TagsGuangzhou, clone taxi, cab, Demolition