TAXI authorities will go undercover to crack down on cabbies who overcharge riders or refuse customers who ask to take a short trip.

Officials, working with local police, will mainly patrol a series of areas that have been the source of a large number of complaints.

Those areas include the Longyang Road Maglev Station, Super Brand Mall, and the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in Pudong, as well as Xintiandi and the Hongqiao International Airport in Puxi.

Authorities said they have received numerous complaints about cab drivers, mainly about overcharging customers or turning down short trips.

"The drivers wait in open areas with large crowds that lack a convenient supporting public traffic network, such as the Super Brand Mall or around the airports. They would rather spend time waiting to pick up a long-distance ride, so they refuse short trips, which is illegal," said Wu Runyuan, a traffic police official.

Some cabbies have been accused of using fake meters to overcharge customers. A cabbie surnamed Song was detained by the police for investigation, after an Austrian man reported he was charged 800 yuan (US$100) for a ride from the Longyang Road Maglev Station in Pudong to Fengxian District. The ride should have cost around 150 yuan.

Police allege Song installed a special meter in his taxi.

"Some drivers had two sets of meters. They usually replace the normal one with a special meter when preparing to pick up the victims," said Wu.

Drivers caught tampering with meters can lose their business license.

 http://www1.shanghaidaily.com/art/