The implementation of the ＂local version＂ of the new car-hailing policy is not smooth, and the industry game is intensifying
The reporter recently learned from research in many places that since the official implementation of the new policy on online car-hailing for a period of time, some "local versions" of the new policy have encountered difficulties in landing, the implementation is not smooth, and the standardized development of the online car-hailing industry has slowed down.
Industry insiders called for the establishment of a fair competition market environment as soon as possible, while providing a good soil for emerging business models, taking into account the actual local situation and overall social benefits, properly handling the relationship between traditional taxis and online car-hailing, whether from the perspective of industry stability or urban development, government supervision should avoid "pressing the gourd to float".
"It seems that no one cares, so let’s continue to do it first"
The reporter interviewed and learned that since the implementation of the new online car-hailing policies in late May, the implementation of the "local version" of the new policies has not been smooth. The situation of online car-hailing platforms dispatching orders to non-compliant vehicles and drivers is still relatively common, and various management norms are still being advanced.
Beijing’s new policy on online car-hailing requires "Beijing people and Beijing cars", and the policy will be implemented from May 20. At present, five platforms including Didi, Yidao and Shouqi have obtained the qualification to operate in the Beijing area. However, some passengers reported that some online car-hailing platforms have not stopped sending orders to all non-Beijing drivers.
A driver who is engaged in online ride-hailing operations in Beijing told reporters that his car displacement and wheelbase did not meet the requirements, and he was a little scared when the new policy was first implemented. Later, it seemed that no one cared, and he could still take orders and pull work as usual.
The problem of illegal orders sent by the platform to vehicles and drivers that do not meet the regulations also exists in Tianjin. Take Didi Chuxing, which has a high market share, as an example. When interviewed by relevant departments in Tianjin, the company said that 90% of the non-compliant vehicles and personnel will be cleared by the end of May, and the remaining 10% will take about 60,000 12 months to clear.
The heads of regulatory departments in many places admitted that the current supervision of online car-hailing platforms, including the management of ride-hailing, only has formulations and requirements, without specific implementation and refinement, and many aspects are not operable.
The threshold is set too low, and the vehicle is idle for a long time
The reporter interviewed and found that the supply of taxis in some places has decreased, some drivers have begun to withdraw from the industry or switch to "special car" operation, and some taxi companies’ vehicles have even been idle for a long time.
Many Shenzhen taxi drivers said that their income has been declining, it is very difficult to recruit deputy drivers, and even a large number of cars have been withdrawn. A driver of the Hong Kong Dragon Taxi Company said that at present, the company does not buy five insurances and one fund for drivers, and they need to pay by themselves. In addition, 8,000 yuan per month, working more than 12 hours a day, the income is only about 7,000 yuan, so many people quit.
The reporter learned from the Ministry of Transport that due to the impact of new business models, the supply of traditional taxis continued to decrease, and the driver’s revenue dropped sharply. Some drivers were unable to make a living and gradually withdrew from the industry or converted to "special car" operations from 2016. Some vehicles of traditional taxi companies were forced to idle, resulting in a continuous reduction in capacity supply. Taking Shanghai as an example, the proportion of idle vehicles in taxi companies reached 5% -10%, and 30% of vehicles were switched from double shifts to single shifts. It is expected that the daily average transportation capacity will be reduced by more than 100,000 orders.
The analysis believes that some online car-hailing platforms initially attracted a large number of people to enter through subsidies and other means. As the profit-seeking nature of capital became apparent, the conditions for bonus subsidies became more and more stringent. A large number of online car-hailing drivers did not have the platform to pay social security for them, but also had to bear the cost of car purchase, maintenance, and insurance. The income after being drawn by the platform was already quite meager. Many drivers wanted to leave the industry, but they still had car loans to repay, which was already difficult to ride.
"Some cities have set very low threshold standards, and as a result, the industry is now struggling to operate, and both cruise cars and online car-hailing businesses are not working," said Xu Kangming, chief expert on deepening taxi reform. Analysts believe that supporting innovation does not mean that you can do whatever you want. Government regulations will inevitably bring about the contraction of the boundaries of shared services. There is no doubt that it will affect the growth of business volume. When the growth rate of business volume is not as good as capital expectations, the contradiction between the two will become prominent. Online car-hailing has earned money for the efficiency improvement after the sharing of idle assets, and it has also earned money for compliance in traditional supply. When the supervision is treated equally, can the dividends of "brutal growth" before be maintained?
According to the reporter’s investigation, since the new policy on online car-hailing was officially implemented from the transition period, some online car-hailing platform companies have adopted a collision policy in some cities out of their own interests and capital operation needs.
Data access dispute industry game intensifies
On the issue of providing real-time data to regulators, there are differences and disputes within the online car-hailing industry, and the game between online car-hailing platforms and local governments has intensified.
A relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Transport said that some local governments did not want to directly receive data from the online car-hailing platform at first, but because some large online car-hailing platforms have not provided real-time data to the Ministry of Transport, the design of diverting data from the Ministry of Transport in various places has failed. Local governments cannot help but grasp this data, so they use access data as a precondition for issuing licenses. More than 100 new business enterprises have also been "implicated", causing damage to the entire industry. Now the game between the platform and the government has intensified, and they are all losers.
"Is it necessary to provide real-time data to the regulatory authorities? Who is responsible for the leakage of our user information by the government department?" Li Jianhua, chief development officer of Didi Chuxing, said that the platform is also conducting data docking at the local level, but the interface standards are different, and there are technical bottlenecks. In addition, there is a lack of basis for data docking in various places, and the government is suspected of seizing corporate data by leveraging compliance requirements. For enterprises, it is also repetitive construction, the cost is huge, and objectively it cannot meet the needs of various places.
Wei Dong, CEO of Shouqi Car, believes that since online car-hailing services are managed through the mobile end of the Internet, data supervision is more accurate and efficient than on-site inspections, and the supervision means are also more Internet-based, so that the policy can be effectively implemented. "We are the first batch of data to be connected to the Ministry of Transport and the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission, and all localities are also connected. We think this data is necessary for industry management. Since Enterprise Services is data-based, industry management should also be data-based, so as to better understand the city’s rental capacity and carry out more effective layout and planning."
The multi-level playing field needs to be repaired urgently
From the situation of many surveys, the taxi market is currently in a period of repair after the melee. In addition to some online ride-hailing platforms testing and waiting for the bottom line of the policy, cruise taxi companies are also in the repair stage.
According to a rough estimate, Beijing’s cruise taxi drivers have lost 30% in the past two years, and now 15% -20% have not recovered.
At present, there is relatively little on-site law enforcement against illegal operations in Beijing, and there may be government departments worried about the impact of the cliff-like decline. But the resulting unfair market environment: because there are too many illegal "online ride-hailing", the number of legal cruise taxis is not enough, and the transportation capacity cannot be restored, further leading to the inability of taxi companies to expand. "A fair market environment has not been created, and the cost of law-abiding enterprises is too high."
Industry insiders suggest that the government should act as a balancer or stabilizer between online ride-hailing and cruise taxis. Whether it is from the perspective of transportation stability or social stability, neither party should be in a monopoly position, nor should either party "die". Try to avoid major turmoil, so that both parties have a stable and stable development environment.
Wei Dong, CEO of Shouqi Car-hailing, said that all platforms do the same thing. Since the statement will be in compliance, all enterprises should really achieve compliance and self-restraint, so as to "grow up". Online car-hailing is an appointment rental, which has customized and humanized characteristics compared with cruise cars. It is an upgraded concept. With the introduction of the new policy, the entire industry, including Didi, Yidao, Shenzhou, etc. are shrinking, and the market is returning to rationality.
Xu Kangming believes that from the perspective of urban governance, taxis serve as a supplement to public transportation, and the government should first develop and optimize urban public transportation to meet the needs of the masses. It is also necessary to provide positive guidance to public opinion on the issue of taxi-hailing difficulties. It is not necessary to reduce the overall social benefits because of the interests of a certain industry. Government policies need to balance various relationships.