Shanghai equipped local taxis with small bags two years ago in a bid to encourage drivers to expectorate with a little discretion rather than spit at will on the streets. As Shanghai's hosting of the World Expo draws ever-closer, the city is pursuing further measures to clean up its image. Director of Shanghai's Municipal Spiritual Civilization Office Ma Chunlei elaborated on the issue when he sat down for a chat with China Daily reporter Wang Zhenghua.

Q: About two years ago, the city's public health watchdog vowed to ensure that within a year all of Shanghai's 45,000 registered taxis would carry "spitting sacks" for drivers and passengers to use. How successful has the policy been?

A: My feeling is that the spitting sacks are not widely used. This follows a general decline in the quality of service offered by our taxis in recent years as drivers' incomes have plateaued. Ten years ago, a taxi driver could make 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month, much higher than the average wage here. But now the job is losing its magnetism because of stagnating incomes.

This makes it more difficult to enhance management of this sector. Although the level of service in Shanghai remains higher than other cities in China, we have warned the sector needs to improve and requires an overhaul before the 2010 Expo. A series of measures will be launched to this end because taxis also play an ambassadorial role in representing Shanghai's image to tourists.

Q: Can you provide examples of what measures will be adopted?

A: Many people have complained some taxis refuse to take passengers despite having their "vacant" lights switched on. We need to look into this further. In some cases, the taxi has been reserved by other customers while in other cases the taxi is returning to its company, so we have to bear in mind these extenuating circumstances. The roof lights have now been redesigned to clarify the taxi's status quo in this regard. We are also working to clean up the clutter of advertisements inside the cabs.

Q: What are the most undesirable habits of Shanghai residents?

A: Littering, jaywalking, parking in the wrong place and disturbing pets in residential communities. Because of Shanghai's fast-paced lifestyle, many people prefer having breakfast on their way to work. It's common to see people drinking a bottle of soybean milk and eating some steamed buns on the street, then littering the packaging. Jaywalkers are also common, especially at quieter junctions. We also receive a lot of complaints about pet owners who do not clean up their dogs' mess, or who allow them to bark loudly at night.

Q: How will the city government address these issues?

A: To tackle the problem of littering, we will devote more facilities to this problem, enhance our management of it and better educate the public. More garbage cans will be put in place and research is under way to find the best way of distributing them. We will pour more resources into cleaning up the streets and launch educational campaigns to improve the public's awareness of this issue.

Regarding jaywalking, Shanghai is striving to create 500 "model junctions" where people will behave in a civilized manner and act as an example to others. However, we can only do so much. At the end of the day, we rely on the compliance and initiative of our city residents to kick these bad habits.