We are all accustomed to star rankings for hotels, but have you ever come across a five-star taxi driver? This is the ‘service’ innovation being introduced in the municipality of Tianjin, according to Xinhua. The top lights of taxis will be converted to not only illuminate when the cabbie is free but also to indicate the driver’s ‘credit score’ – based on an annual assessment. The top lights will show one of four different rankings: five-star, three-star, one-star or no stars. Xinhua reports that credit will be “deducted” each time the driver violates assessment standards, which include compliance with laws and regulations, service levels and training. The new policy may lead Tianjin’s cabbies to up their game in terms of pleasing their passengers. And it’s hard to imagine who would hail a ‘no star’ taxi unless they were truly desperate to get somewhere.
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