Zhou said officials should be alert for consequential problems, police should keep traffic flowing, unlicensed cab drivers would be penalized, and an investigation would be conducted into the prices of compressed natural gas.

More than 100 people gathered on a business street at around 11:30 a.m., in the Jiangbei District, stopped cabs and pulled out the drivers.

"All cab drivers agreed to stop work, and we damaged the cabs of those who didn't keep their word," one of the crowd, who refused to give his name, told Xinhua, adding that most of the 100 people were cab drivers.

A cab driver, who only gave his surname as Huang, said he worked in the taxi service of the municipal public transport group.

He found some people smashing cabs in Shaping District as he drove on the street in the morning, and he returned to his company.

"A strike is not what I want, but my cab will be smashed if I drive," said Huang, adding that many of his colleagues had the same feeling.

Members of the public could find no cabs in service during the rush hour.

Municipal transport administration vice director Zhang Yujun said some drivers were willing to work, but they either found their cab windows smashed, or their passengers pulled from the vehicles.

Known as the "mountain city", Chongqing, unlike other Chinese cities, has very few bicycles, and cabs are the most frequently used mode of transport after buses.

The municipality has 16,000 licensed cabs, with almost 9,000 in main urban zones.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2008)