Beijing Taxi Drivers Research Articles

Safety of varenicline as an aid to smoking cessation in professional drivers and its impact on driving behaviors: An observational cohort study of taxi drivers in Beijing.

INTRODUCTIONVarenicline is an effective smoking cessation medicine. However, the possible adverse neuropsychiatric events reported by Food and Drug Administration for varenicline may cause safety problems for professional drivers. We aimed to investigate its safety and impacts on driving behaviors among taxi drivers in Beijing, China.METHODSAn observational cohort study was conducted in a smoking cessation clinic in Beijing, China, between September 2017 and April 2018. Smokers with varenicline for smoking cessation were included and categorized into taxi-driver smokers (n=103) and non-taxi-driver smokers (n=119). All participants received varenicline up to 12 weeks and five standardized counseling sessions. Treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were collected in all participants and their impacts on driving behaviors were assessed in taxi-driver smokers. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine potential risk factors for vareniclinerelated somnolence/fatigue.RESULTSThe incidence of most treatment-related AEs was similar between taxi-driver smokers and non-taxi-driver smokers, but treatment-related somnolence/ fatigue was more frequently reported in taxi-driver smokers (18.4% vs 6.7%; p=0.008). Most taxi-driver smokers (87.4%) reported that treatment-related AEs did not affect their driving behaviors, and no traffic accident was reported during treatment.CONCLUSIONSVarenicline appears to be a well-tolerated smoking cessation aid for Beijing taxi drivers and has less impact on driving behaviors. However, taxi-driver smokers were more likely to report somnolence/fatigue during varenicline treatment and physicians should pay more attention to this occupational population.

Modeling and mitigating fatigue-related accident risk of taxi drivers

Taxi drivers worldwide often have very long driving hours and experience frequent fatigue. These conditions are associated with a high prevalence of fatigue and accidents. However, the key factors that distinguish high/low fatigue-related accident risk (FRAR) taxi drivers are uncertain. By examining a series of potential factors related with fatigue or accident risk as discussed in previous research, the objective was to find out the most important factors that relate to taxi driver’s FRAR, and to investigate the association of these factors and taxi driver’s FRAR. Modeling methods were applied to questionnaire data collected from Beijing taxi drivers. A 269-sample dataset was analyzed to identify key factors related to FRAR and to fit FRAR prediction models. The model’s performance on high-risk driver prediction was then tested using another independently collected 100-sample dataset. High-risk taxi drivers had significantly longer driving hours per working day, lower rest ratios, less driving experience, and were more confident about their fatigue resistance. The FRAR model with only four major measurable predictors achieved a sensitivity of 91.9% and a specificity of 94.6% on predicting labeled data. Adjusting drive-rest habits and self-evaluation pertaining to these predictors is good for high-risk drivers to mitigate their accident risk. It was concluded that taxi drivers’ drive-rest habits, experience, and intention for fatigue driving are crucial, and to a large degree determine their FRAR, and the prediction model can satisfactorily identify high-risk taxi drivers.

Adoption of ride-sharing apps by Chinese taxi drivers and its implication for the equality and wellbeing in the sharing economy

The adoption of ride-sharing apps is critical to the survival of taxi drivers in the mobile-driven sharing economy. Based on survey data collected from 1195 licensed taxi drivers in Beijing, the authors present an integrated technology adoption model that combines technology and use factors (perceived usefulness and ease of use), social factors (word-of-mouth, peer adoption and subjective norms), system factors (socioeconomic and digital inequality), and audience factors (demographic characteristics and innovative personality traits). The results showed that adoption was innate, inherited, and socially driven. Adoption was positively associated with income, access to technologies, innovative personality trait, peer adoption, word-of-mouth, and perceived usefulness of the apps. The implications of the findings for inequality in the sharing economy are discussed.

An Analysis of Taxi Driver’s Route Choice Behavior Using the Trace Records

Understanding travelers’ route choice behavior is a key task in transportation studies. In this paper, we analyze the route choices of Beijing taxi drivers regarding four frequently mentioned cost-based route choice rules: pursuing shortest time, or distance, avoiding passing signalized intersections, or making left/right turnings. Test results show that route choices of drivers are not always optimal according to either of these rules. Instead, we argue that taxi drivers are bounded rational and usually choose a satisfactory route that belongs to one of the few routes that consume the shortest times. Test results show that more than 90% observed traces can be explained by this simple explanation.

Battery capacity design for electric vehicles considering the diversity of daily vehicles miles traveled

In this paper, we study battery capacity design for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The core of such design problems is to find a good tradeoff between minimizing the capacity to reduce financial costs of drivers and increasing the capacity to satisfy daily travel demands. The major difficulty of such design problems lies in modeling the diversity of daily travel demands. Based on massive trip records of taxi drivers in Beijing, we find that the daily vehicle miles traveled (DVMT) of a driver (e.g., a taxi driver) may change significantly in different days. This investigation triggers us to propose a mixture distribution model to describe the diversity in DVMT for various driver in different days, rather than the widely employed single distribution model. To demonstrate the merit of this new model, we consider value-at-risk and mean-variance battery capacity design problems for BEV, with respect to conventional single and new mixture distribution models of DVMT. Testing results indicate that the mixture distribution model better leads to better solutions to satisfy various drivers.

A Survey of Taxi Drivers’ Aberrant Driving Behavior in Beijing

Taxis are an important component in Beijing's urban integrated transport system. They provide passengers with convenient, comfortable, and efficient service. However, aberrant driving behaviors occur frequently among Beijing taxi drivers, leading to frequent violations and passenger complaints. This study explores Beijing taxi drivers’ aberrant driving behaviors and the factors influencing them. Questionnaires were designed to obtain different views of taxi drivers’ aberrant driving behaviors from taxi drivers, traffic police, and passengers, and to sample problems in the Beijing taxi industry. Responses from 52 professional taxi drivers, 40 traffic police officers, and more than 500 taxi passengers were obtained. The results show that taxi drivers generally under-report their own aberrant driving behaviors, whereas passengers and police appear to have a very negative impression of taxi drivers’ driving behaviors. Environmental influences such as economic pressure, ownership of taxi management, and the nature of the complaint system were found to contribute to taxi drivers’ aberrant driving behaviors. Some suggestions to increase the efficiency and safety of the taxi system in Beijing were proposed, such as improving drivers’ working and economic conditions, developing a better passenger loading system, establishing more effective license and termination policies for drivers, and improving the complaint system.

Subjective Well-Being of Beijing Taxi Drivers

This study investigates subjective well-being among a sample of Beijing taxi drivers in the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games using the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). The specific aims of this study are (a) investigate the psychometric properties of the PWI in this unique population; (b) ascertain whether Beijing taxi drivers are satisfied with their lives; and (c) examine whether the responses to the PWI from participants falls within the narrow range predicted by the ‘Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis’. The PWI demonstrated good psychometric properties and was consistent with previous studies for Western and non-Western samples. The data revealed a moderate level of subjective well-being (PWI score = 61.1). While Beijing taxi drivers work long hours for low wages, the PWI was nonetheless within the normative range predicted for Chinese societies by the ‘Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis’. The results suggest that the homeostatic mechanism is fairly resilient, even when the individual leads relatively a hard life based on objective indicators. Specifically, for Beijing taxi drivers, it appears that external, buffers such as personal relationships and feeling part of the community, act to assist the homeostatic system.

Seatbelt use amongst taxi drivers in Beijing, China

Associated with explosive growth in motorization, China has the world's highest road toll with more than 100 000 deaths and 400 000 injuries annually. In response, the Chinese Government introduced the first road traffic safety law in 2003, which included mandatory use of seatbelts by drivers and front seat passengers. Noting frequent non-compliance to this seatbelt regulation by Beijing taxi drivers, the authors studied seatbelt use patterns as onboard observers in a convenience sample of 235 taxi trips. Findings indicated a low seatbelt-wearing rate among taxi drivers of 7.7%, an overt non-wearing rate of 57%, covert non-wearing of 35.3% and total non-compliance of 92.3%. As in high-income countries, adoption of proven safety strategies, including wearing safety restraints, could contribute to reducing the Chinese road toll, particularly as vehicle occupant numbers and the availability of restraints increases. Further investigation of reasons for non-compliance and pretence of wearing seatbelts is required to inform future seatbelt-wearing promotions, including attitudinal studies of taxi drivers. Seatbelt wearing rates should continue to be monitored.