The city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province has announced the seizure of 77 unlicensed taxis and coaches in its special crackdown targeting illegal operations this past January, and that it has closed 33 places where these vehicles gather, according to Heilongjiang Daily. 

The deputy director of the city’s transportation dept, who says, “These vehicles were not registered with transportation authorities, and they are often in questionable condition.”

Cheng Qichao went on to say that using these unlicensed vehicles might pose a threat to the lives, property, or security of passengers and involve illegal behavior such as overcharging or dropping off passengers in an random place.

When asked about the move, one taxi driver named Sun said he was seeing fewer of these ‘black-cars’ near the passenger queue in the Nangang district and that his daily earnings were up thanks to the crackdown.

Authorities say that the city will be stricter with the ‘black-cars’ and other unlicensed vehicles to ensure fair market competition and that they are encouraging the people of Harbin to report any such vehicles and violations through their 24-hour hotline at +86-451-8228-0110.