There were long lines at Beijing's gas stations last night as cab drivers and other motorists rushed to fill up the tank before a 16% increase in fuel prices came into effect at midnight. The price hike, which was decided upon by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and announced by Xinhua at about 7pm last night, will see the price of the regular #93 fuel increase from the current RMB 5.34 to RMB 6.2 a liter. Energy prices will also go up as of July 1.

This is the first price rise since last October when prices rose 10% from RMB 4.9 to 5.34 a liter. What we're not sure of is how this will affect taxi prices in the capital. Last year's price hike was accompanied by an increase in the subsidy paid out to cabbies, rising to RMB 780 a month, but, as of this morning, no announcement has been made about changes to subsidies. The Beijing News quote a driver as saying that "without increased subsidies, it will become very difficult for Beijing's taxi drivers to endure the price rise." At the time of last year's price rise, People's Daily quoted the municipal development and reform commission as saying it does not plan to raise taxi fares before the gasoline price hits 6.1 yuan per liter – they've just hit 6.2.

Links and Sources
Xinhua: China to raise prices of refined oil, electricity
Xinhua: Oil prices tumble on China fuel prices increase
Reuters: TABLE-China retail fuel price changes since 2003
The Beijing News: 93号汽油涨至6.2元/升
IHT: China raises fuel prices amid shortages (Oct, 2007)
NetEase: 北京汽油今又涨价 93号5.34元/升 (Oct 2007)
People’s Daily: Beijing increases subsidy to taxi drivers following fuel price hike (Oct 2007)
Xinhua: 北京：93号汽油涨至6.2元/升 居民用电价格不变 (image)