1.   Mr. Needham I know of no surreptitious exercise being carried out by my Department in regard to private taxi firms in Belfast.

2.   Eight buses have been hijacked and burned in the area since December in what many residents see as a dispute between the company and private taxi operators.

3.   He owned a market and a private taxi fleet, Abramov confirmed.

4.   Nevertheless, many shops and boutiques remained closed and some private taxi drivers made a show of support by leaving their vehicles.

5.   Police in this northern port city Wednesday welcomed plans by a private taxi company to drive drunks home in their cars.

6.   Private taxi van and bus operators said they were keeping their vehicles off the road to protest the gasoline price increases.

7.   Public transportation is weak in South Africa, forcing thousands of commuters to use private taxi vans.

8.   Several private taxi firms took passengers for free, and private radio Darik had live broadcasts from the rally, which was ignored by state-run media.

9.   Taxi rides are negotiable if taken in the streets but fixed rates are usually applicable with private taxi offices.

10.   They are demanding an end to violence in the private taxi industry that serves most black commuters, and seek government subsidies.