Taxi costs must be calculated properly as a hearing into their running will be held shortly, says an article in Beijing News (excerpts below).

A hearing into taxi operations will be open for the public, media and experts to attend. Rightly so. It is of great public concern.

Hearings, more often than not, have not lived up to their potential. This is due, at least sometimes, to a lack of relevant details that need to be discussed.

Beijing's taxi companies say they make a minimum profit once costs and salaries have been deducted. Others disagree. The hearing should be able to shed light on this.

A similar hearing was held in 2006 but that ended without any clear-cut initiative or progress. This hearing must have a more satisfactory outcome.