Illegal taxis, private and company cars would be denied access to the lanes outside the Arrival Hall at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China from next Wednesday, local newspaper reported.

The new regulation allows airport buses and taxis to park near the Arrival Hall but bans private cars from the area. Passengers will need to use the underground tunnel to reach the northern and southern parking lots past the bus and taxi lanes.

The Baiyun airport said 60,000 to 75,000 people went through the airport daily since it was put into use last August and passengers often complained about chaotic scenes outside the Arrival Hall. They said touts bothered passengers trying to get them into illegal taxis, some handed out ad leaflets and sold fast food.

The airport has set up a special task force to deal with the problem.

The airport will spend more than 8 million yuan (US$968,000) to install traffic signs for the convenience of passengers and monitors to catch violators. Toilets and convenience stores will also be added to the taxis’ waiting area.

Two law enforcement squads will be formed to clamp down on touts, vendors, and ad distributors.

A taxi driver was delighted about the crackdown on illegal taxis that harmed his business. Legal taxi drivers have to pay management fees while those illegal drivers do not so they can offer a more competitive price.

An illegal taxi driver surnamed Wu was not too concerned about the new rule. “As long as there are touts, we can survive,” he said.

The new rule, however, troubled some passengers who said it would be inconvenient to haul bulky luggage from the Arrival Hall to the parking lot, which took about 10 minutes.

(Shenzhen Daily July 14, 2005)