Walk home.

Taxi drivers in Beijing are forbidden from refusing to carry passengers. But what, exactly, does it mean to refuse to carry a passenger?

That question was asked in a court session yesterday, in which a cabbie tried to argue his way out of a 2000 fine.

Mr. Zhang, a 48-year-old taxi driver, picked up three passengers outside the Beijing train station last year. The passengers were headed toward Dongdan, not all that far away. After Zhang informed them that setting off on his side of the street would require a detour of 3km, the passengers exited the taxi, at which point Zhang was fined by a traffic cop. He sued, lost, and appealed.

At the appeals court yesterday, Zhang based his argument on the dictionary definition of "refuse," but the traffic agency took issue with his parsing:

"I looked it up in the dictionary: 'refuse' means 'no,' but at no time when the passengers were in the car did I say 'no.' And when the three passengers realized that it was more convenient to take a taxi on the north side of the street, they happily exited the vehicle. How can you call that refusal?" said Zhang.

Zhang said that the passengers were exercising their right to free choice, and that Beijing regulations prohibit taxi drivers from taking intentional detours.

"Although on the surface Zhang did not refuse, his actions in fact constituted refusal," said the representative of the Beijing Municipal Transportation Law Enforcement General Team. "Saying that it was the passengers' choice is a specious argument. He knew that they had just gotten off the train and that it was inconvenient for them to walk with so much luggage, yet he still convinced them to get out of the car."

The representative said...although there are taxis on the north side of the road, they are only there for quick drop-offs and pick-ups; taxis cannot wait for passengers.

"You can get cabs over there!" exclaimed Zhang. "There's actually a taxi stand there, too."

The Beijing Times reports that Zhang argued that he was carrying out Article 15 of the Beijing Taxi Management Ordinance: "Inform passengers of the true situation." A report from the China Court website quotes Zhang as invoking government buzzwords:

I just told the passengers that it'd be a long detour to go that way. I did it for "harmony"—is that refusal? I've been wrongly accused!

In an unrelated case, Wenzhou Evening News reported last week about a local taxi driver who was mugged by three passengers. He thought they looked suspicious and was about to drive off when they threatened to report him to the authorities for refusing to take passengers.

The newspaper asked for reader opinions on the situation:

Many city residents called and said that women, children, and the elderly should not be refused rides. Young people acting suspicious should be dealt with as the situation demands.

...Mr. Feng, head of the Taxi Volunteer Brigade...recommended that administrative departments issue a solution for "reasonable refusal": First, after 12 midnight, drivers may refuse to take passengers to city outskirts, distant areas, or on roads the passengers themselves are unfamiliar with; second, "passengers" who act suspiciously may be refused; third, drunks, the mentally ill, and other individuals unable to control themselves may be refused.

No decision was reached in Mr. Zhang's case yesterday. According to the government's representative, taxi drivers often use long detours and unfamiliarity with the area as excuses to refuse to take passengers to nearby destinations, so there's certainly reason to believe that he simply didn't want to lose his place in line to schlep three people and tons of luggage a few blocks down the road. On the other hand, is it now impossible for passengers to change their mind and get out of a taxi without creating problems for the driver?