Taxis queue to provide free service for explosion-affected residents outside a temporary shelter in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Aug. 16, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua]

Authorities in Zhejiang's capital, Hangzhou, are taking steps to keep taxi drivers on the road.

With taxi-hailing apps becoming increasingly popular, cab drivers in Hangzhou say they're finding themselves less-busy than they used to be.

"In the past, there used to be several passengers waiting along the side of the road. But now we have to drive several kilometers without finding a passenger. The situation is even worse at night."

New stats suggest a local taxi driver in Hangzhou is carrying 5 fewer passengers a day compared to last year.

This is cutting their daily incomes by around 100-yuan.

There are currently about 10-thousand taxis in service in Hangzhou.

However, it's been suggested as many as half of the veteran taxi drivers have quit in recent years because of the declining profits.

Franchise fees are also another major concern among drivers.

Taxi drivers in Hangzhou have to pay around 8-thousand yuan a month to be registered with one of the taxi firms in the city.

To deal with this, municipal authorities in Hangzhou have brought in new legislation this week to cut the taxes on the management fees.

It should mean drivers will have to pay around 400 yuan less every month.

The money already collected this year are due to be refunded.

Around 100-million yuan will be going back to the local drivers in Hangzhou.

Under the new changes, several state-owned taxi companies are also going to be established in the city.

Zhang Xiaodong, deputy director of the city's Traffic Management Bureau, says they believe the state-run taxi firms will help level-out the playing field.

"It should help reduce operational costs for taxi companies, as well as increase drivers' incomes and iron out problems stemming from disputes over taxi ownership and management rights."

The emergence of taxi-hailing apps has created a new level of competition among taxi drivers, leading to fewer profits.

This has led to protests in several cities in China.