Should we "cut it all" and prohibit entry?, Sharing after saturation warning for ride hailing services | Transport certificate | Ride hailing services
Recently, the transportation bureaus in Changsha, Sanya and other places issued a notice to suspend the acceptance of new online ride hailing transportation certificates. Previously, multiple cities such as Suining, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Wenzhou, and Jinan have also issued saturation warnings for ride hailing services, warning that the daily average number of ride hailing services received in the local area is less than 10, reminding practitioners to be cautious when entering.
The surge in the number of people engaged in ride hailing services is not new. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 in 2020, the online car hailing industry once became the main position to attract flexible employees because of its low entry threshold and relatively free working hours. Correspondingly, the number of ride hailing drivers has been increasing. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transport in January 2022, the number of driver identification documents for ride hailing services nationwide was 3.988 million, but by April this year, this number had increased to 5.406 million. At the same time, the monthly growth rate of ride hailing services is still increasing. From January to April this year, a total of 316000 new driver's licenses for ride hailing services were issued nationwide, of which 177000 were newly added in April.
In the face of such a set of data, it is indeed necessary for transportation departments in various regions to issue saturation warnings in a timely manner. However, implementing a "one size fits all" ban on ride hailing services based on this may not be appropriate and deserves comprehensive consideration.
At present, the surge in the number of ride hailing services in various regions is related to the lack of management of operating vehicles by ride hailing platforms. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Transport, online ride hailing platforms require a combination of platform, person, and vehicle licenses. That is, online ride hailing platforms require a "Network Reservation Taxi Business License", drivers require a "Network Reservation Taxi Driver License", and vehicles require a "Network Reservation Taxi Transport License". But in reality, some ride hailing platforms, in order to increase the number of drivers, privately relax the application review, and turn a blind eye to the requirements for driver operation certificates, vehicle models, etc. Many drivers go on the road without obtaining "person ID" and "vehicle ID". A large number of illegal online car hailing is on the road, which aggravates the situation of "more monks than porridge". What is more unreasonable is that once these illegal vehicles are checked on the road, the staff often only fine the owners, rarely pursue responsibility to the platform, and will not affect the actual operation of the platform.
Therefore, in the current ride hailing market, problems such as low price competition between platforms and big data cheating have repeatedly occurred. Faced with such chaos, if new cars and newcomers are strictly prohibited from entering the market, it means that the operating share of ride hailing services is locked in advance, completely excluding those who come later. This may seem to protect existing practitioners of ride hailing services and help alleviate their current situation of not having enough to eat, but will it lead to the ride hailing industry becoming a stagnant pool? Imagine, if there are no new entrants to the competition in an industry, could existing practitioners rely on self-discipline to solve existing problems?
Therefore, compared to calling a halt to individual ride hailing operators, some cities should strengthen the supervision of the ride hailing industry, conduct service quality evaluations on ride hailing platforms, and use data on ride hailing service quality and driver passenger conflicts as the basis for dynamically managing the market share of ride hailing. In this regard, there are also successful precedents.
Previously, shared bicycles in various regions also faced management chaos due to excessive investment by operating companies. As a new phenomenon, the early adopters of shared bicycles are grabbing land and lacking corresponding management for issues such as vehicle parking violations and encroachment on public space. Many cities have introduced regulations on "total quantity control and quota management", which not only consider user needs but also stimulate shared bicycle placement enterprises to comprehensively consider urban governance issues. In response to the surge in the number of ride hailing services, various regions may also try "total quantity control and quota management". For ride hailing services that violate regulations and fail to provide adequate services, the platform will be held jointly responsible, and the market quotas of each ride hailing platform will be adjusted regularly based on various data, forcing the platform to change its development model of "quantity oriented, light management".
It is worth mentioning that in the current employment context, many individuals choose to drive ride hailing services, which is a comprehensive employment decision based on various practical factors. Relevant departments should recognize their needs, delegate decision-making power to them, and further regulate the ride hailing industry by taking advantage of the influx of practitioners. Through "survival of the fittest", the overall service level of the industry can be improved, truly protecting the legitimate rights and interests of ride hailing drivers and passengers.
