Yesterday was the day when the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Booking Taxi Business Services" jointly issued by the Ministry of Communications and seven national ministries and commissions was officially implemented. However, the "Beijing Municipal Online Booking Taxi Business Service Management Implementation Rules (exposure draft) " and "Beijing Private Passenger Car Sharing Travel Guiding Opinions (exposure draft) " issued by the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission a month ago are still in the exposure draft stage, and formal regulations have not yet been issued. During this vacuum period, Didi platform, Didi drivers, and leasing companies are still operating as usual, and together look forward to the release of the official version.
Beijing has yet to issue formal rules
Yesterday was the specific implementation date of the new policy on online car-hailing between the state and Beijing. However, due to the "Beijing Municipal Online Booking Taxi Business Service Management Implementation Detailed Rules (exposure draft) " and "Beijing Private Passenger Car Sharing Travel Guiding Opinions (exposure draft) " previously issued by Beijing are still in the exposure draft stage, and the official version of the new policy has not been promulgated. Therefore, the online car-hailing market in Beijing has not ushered in a "sudden change". Whether it is an online car-hailing company or a driver, they are waiting on the sidelines in the "vacuum period", waiting for the official version to be issued.
At the end of July, the "Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Booking Taxi Business Services" jointly issued by the Ministry of Communications, MIIT, and the Ministry of Public Security were officially announced. The measures provide general guidance for the management of online car-hailing nationwide, but the specific policies of each province and city need to be formulated separately. The official document originally planned by the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission to be released by November 1 has been delayed and has not been released yet.
Didi continues to negotiate with relevant departments
Yidao and Shenzhou have upgraded the system according to the New Deal
Didi has been trying to communicate with the relevant government departments for more than 20 days. "During the consultation on the implementation rules of online car-hailing in various places in the past three weeks, we have actively communicated with the local authorities to report and sort out the specific opinions," Didi said.
In addition to Didi, other online car-hailing platforms have also been upgraded in accordance with the requirements of the New Deal. Yidao responded that Yidao is actively applying for qualifications in accordance with the requirements of the New Deal and scientifically optimizing its existing business. Shenzhou Special Car simply responded that Shenzhou Special Car has been connecting with relevant departments according to the requirements of the New Deal, and everything is going well.
Since the beginning of this month, local new policies on online car-hailing have been introduced in various places. The exposure draft of the new policy on online car-hailing in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other places can be described as strict. In addition to various standards stipulated by the state, drivers are also required to be registered in the city, drive vehicles with local licenses, and vehicle wheelbases are greater than 2700 mm. These requirements undoubtedly shut out many Didi and Uber drivers. According to Didi statistics, less than 1/5 of the vehicles currently engaged in online car-hailing meet the new wheelbase requirements. According to Shanghai statistics, among the more than 410,000 drivers that have been activated in Shanghai, less than 10,000 drivers have Shanghai local household registration, that is, less than 1/40. This figure may reflect the current situation of the proportion of registered drivers in first-tier cities.
Didi and Uber suddenly increase subsidies to stabilize drivers?
"In the past few days, the subsidy has been increased again. Not only will the morning and evening peak be given 30 yuan each, but the subsidy will be 50 yuan for running 18 orders. After calculating, the subsidy is more than 100 yuan a day, which can make me insist on running for a few more days." Yesterday, Master Liu, an Uber driver, told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily. He said that Didi and Uber have different subsidy policies every day. Some time ago, almost all the subsidies of Didi and Uber were cancelled, and a large number of drivers around him changed careers, resulting in long waiting times for passengers and a decline in experience. Perhaps in order to stabilize the existing drivers, the platform has increased the subsidy in recent days. A few days ago, it also provided a subsidy for "breakfast fee" in the morning peak, which is a reward of 7 yuan for one order. Although it has been cancelled these days, there are still subsidies of more than 100 yuan, which can make do with running.
The driver from Shandong, who drives a Hebei license plate vehicle, said that several of his driver groups are discussing the implementation of the new policy on November 1, but there is no official version of the regulations released in Beijing, and the platform has not issued any notice, so everyone continues to run. Master Liu said that at present, he drives about 12 hours a day, removing the travel restriction for 4 days a month, and is on the road almost every day. In this way, he can earn six or seven thousand yuan a month excluding fuel costs. "When I first joined, I could earn 1,000 yuan a day. After a month, it was 20,000 or 30,000 yuan. I didn’t hesitate to run from the car repair shop to drive. Now it is two or three hundred a day. I really want to go back."
Nie Shifu, a Beijing-based Uber driver who drives a Buick LaCrosse, told the Beijing Youth Daily: "Don’t look at me as a Beijing native, but my car is not up to the standards of the New Deal." He said that not only is his car not wheelbase enough, but it is also older than two years, so if you follow the new policy exposure draft, you will need to change to a better car. He said that "the reward has increased again these days, and there is still some motivation to pull, and every day is to collect orders to get rewards." According to him, when Didi and Uber first merged, the reward was particularly low, resulting in fewer drivers on the road, and each time you need to pick up passengers three or four kilometers away. Not only do passengers wait for a long time, but their own costs have also increased.
Rental company: 1/3 of drivers have returned their cars
In addition to the platform and drivers, the rental companies that cooperate with Didi also have a share of the online car-hailing market. After the introduction of the new policy exposure draft, the business of the rental company has also been greatly affected. It is understood that each Didi owner will be automatically assigned a rental company in the background by Didi after joining Didi. After that, each order of the owner needs to pay 1.77% of the labor management fee to the affiliated company. Regarding the role of the rental company, Didi customer service introduced: "If the owner has any problems, you can find the rental company to solve it. Including express and special car business consultation, handling, policy inquiries, car withholding matters, etc." In addition, the rental company also owns some vehicles for external rental, for drivers to run express and special cars.
"After the Beijing city’s online car-hailing exposure draft was released, about one-third of the company’s drivers have returned their cars," the head of a car rental company in Beijing told the Beijing Youth Daily. "Some of them are renounced after the expiration date, and some of them are renounced before the vehicle expires. These drivers need to bear a liquidated damages of as little as one or two thousand yuan and as much as one month’s rent (about 4,000 yuan)."
The person in charge also revealed that the exposure draft has indeed had a significant impact on the company. "The rent of vehicles has now been reduced. Before, the rent of express trains was 4,500 yuan per month, and the rent of special cars was 7,000 yuan. Now the average rent has been reduced by 1,000 yuan." On the lease period of vehicles, the company’s has the voice over has also decreased. "We used to rent the whole, starting from one year, but now you have to rent it for one year and no one rents it, so now we can rent it at least by the day, usually one month."
He said that the official new policy has not been issued yet, so all business is normal. Regarding the new policy, he said that "there must be a way before the car reaches the mountain." He said that before the legalization of the identity of online car-hailing, Didi and Uber were all black cars. If they were caught by law enforcement agencies, they would be fined 10,000 yuan per car, and this part of the fine would eventually be borne by Didi. "If the current regulations are strictly enforced, then Didi may face difficulties. So it is impossible for the company to directly untie you and not let you do it. They are likely to bear this part of the fine. After all, Didi has raised tens of billions, and it can still afford it." He believes.
The person in charge of another rental company said that the company does not maintain cars now, but directly rents cars from higher-level companies, and only earns part of the price difference. "We are now mainly an affiliated company of Didi Company, managing thousands of cars. The company’s long-term rental vehicles are more than 100. If you want to rent a car now, you need to retrieve it from the higher-level company."
The person in charge said that the company is waiting for the introduction of the new policy, and before then all business will continue as usual. "Now everyone in this industry is earning hard money," he said. "The average driver earns six or seven thousand a month, at most 10,000, but they have to work non-stop for a month, and they have to work more than 12 hours a day. There are too few people in Beijing who do this." He added, "If after the new policy is introduced, some drivers really can’t do it, then we will refund the driver as soon as possible. After all, it is the reason for the policy."
By our reporter, Wen Jing