A TEAM of officers tasked with patrolling the entrances to 27 of the city's top hotels to keep an eye out for taxi drivers who try to cheat foreign passengers has reported 46 drivers since going on duty earlier this year.

In early April, the Shanghai Traffic Law Enforcement Team assigned 57 assistants to patrol outside 27 four- and five-star hotels to supervise cabbies.

One of their main tasks it to watch for drivers who overcharge passengers, mainly foreigners.

In the few months they have been on the job, team members have reported 46 cases of bad business behavior, mainly overcharging or refusing passengers who only want to take a short trip.

A team member surnamed Pan helped an Indian couple on May 28 when he was patrolling outside the Bailemen Hotel in downtown Jing'an District.

Pan reported to the traffic law enforcement team after he saw the Indians paid 530 yuan to the cabbie, who worked for the Jinjiang taxi fleet.

Authorities soon tracked down the cab and found the trip from the Longyang Road Metro Station to the Bailemen Hotel should have only cost 53 yuan.

The taxi driver allegedly blocked the decimal on the fare meter with a scrap of adhesive tape.

The Indian couple received a 530 yuan refund and an apology from Jinjiang's management.

Authorities wouldn't say what punishment was imposed on the cheating cabbie, but regulations state that he should be banned from working in the industry for five years.

The team said yesterday the number of confirmed cases of cabbies overcharging or turning down fares has dropped by 15.9 percent in the first five months of this year compared with the same period last year.

They didn't say just how many taxi drivers have been found guilty of such violations, however.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2007/200706/20070614/article_319541.htm