Shanghai municipal authorities on Friday issued licences to the whippet taxis operated by the Kiangnan Industrial Company, a Japanese firm, a Japanese Embassy spokesman announced yesterday.
The baby cabs, however will have their zone of operations restricted to north of Soochow Creek, will be unable to cruise in quest of patrons, nor will they be allowed to use taxi-metres to compute their fares.
Only three passengers will be allowed in each cab.
The licences, similar to the hire car plates, have black numerals on a white ground. They are valid for only three months, Cited as an indication of the gradual restoration of the Council's authority to north of the creek areas by the spokesman was the requirement that bars and taverns in Hongkew and Yangtszepoo should again have to apply for Council licences.
Several Japanese establishments of this type had been operating under temporary licences issued by the Japanese consular authorities, but had failed to secure Council approval This situation was now being remedied, the spokesman said.
The reallotment of stalls at Hongkew: Market was also under way by the Public Health Department of the Council. Space would be assigned to both Japanese arid Chinese merchants, the spokesman said.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.