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Recently, many passengers have reported that in the past few months, the fare of online car-hailing has increased a bit. The online car-hailing platform said that the basic fare has not been raised, and the subsidy has indeed been adjusted, but it is also to ensure the success rate of car-hailing, and the price is transparent and voluntary. Experts point out that under the pressure of funds, the low-price marketing strategy cannot be sustained. However, we should also pay close attention to whether there is any sign of monopoly in online car-hailing, and take countermeasures to protect the rights and interests of consumers.
Recently, many passengers have reported that Didi, Uber and other online ride-hailing fares have risen, but subsidies have become less and less, and morning peak fares must be doubled. What is the situation of price increases? What is the reason for the price increase? The reporter conducted an investigation.
Passenger: Shenzhen, Beijing has risen, but Shanghai does not feel obvious
At 8:40 a.m. on September 20, on Meishan Street, Futian District, Shenzhen, the reporter opened his mobile phone to call Didi Express. The app showed that the original fare of more than 20 yuan had increased by 1.2 times to nearly 50 yuan. If you don’t agree to double the fee, you can’t call a car.
The reporter agreed to double, but no driver took the order for a long time. Just as he was in a hurry, a taxi happened to pass by, so the reporter gave up calling for the express train and took a taxi instead. After half an hour, it only cost 33 yuan to arrive at the destination, which was more than 10 yuan cheaper than the express train.
"The price has gone up too fast." Ms. Chen lives in Xixiang Street, Baoan District, Shenzhen, and often uses Didi and Uber to commute alternately. "In March and April this year, Uber carpooling cost more than 30 yuan, and Didi carpooling cost more than 50 yuan. In July and August, Uber carpooling cost more than 80 yuan, and Didi carpooling cost more than 70 yuan. Now, Uber carpooling costs 91 yuan, and Didi carpooling is 93 yuan."
The increase in fares is closely related to the reduction in subsidies. "In the beginning, the amount of vouchers was large, and it was very common to have 60% off car vouchers. But now, it is usually more than 10% off," said Mr. Zhang, a Shenzhen resident. "Generally, you can only get a discount of two or three yuan, which is pitiful."
Passengers in Beijing are also facing price increases and reduced subsidies. Mr. Yang, a Beijing resident who works in Chaoyang District, often takes an Uber to return to his home in Tongzhou District during Friday night rush hour, a journey of about 16 kilometers. In June, taking People’s Uber cost about 35 yuan, but there was a 10 yuan coupon. Now there are no coupons for the same trip and time period, and the actual payment fee has increased.
Are all the extra fares paid by passengers given to online taxi drivers? In this regard, Master Lian, who has been a full-time Didi driver for more than a year, said: "Our income has decreased." He said that a year ago, the monthly income could exceed 10,000 yuan, but now it is only 5,000 or 6,000 yuan. "You have to run 25 orders a day to get an 80 yuan reward, not even one less order."
However, there are regional differences in the price of online car-hailing, and the price increase is not obvious in some cities.
In Shanghai, reporters have taken Didi Express or carpooling and People’s Uber many times in the past few days, and the distance is usually 5 kilometers to 10 kilometers. With subsidies, the fare is as low as two or three yuan, and as much as less than 30 yuan, and there is no obvious pressure to increase the price. If you take a taxi, Didi and Uber are still much cheaper.
The reporter also learned from Shanghai Uber that the price of People’s Uber has not increased recently, but has instead dropped, including a comprehensive reduction in basic fares.
Enterprise: The basic fare has not increased, and the subsidy is dynamically adjusted
Didi Chuxing said that the specific subsidy and reward standards in various places will be adjusted according to market conditions.
"Didi Express is in Shenzhen. Since April this year, the price has not changed. The pricing rule is still 1.8 yuan per kilometer and 0.5 yuan per minute." Li Mei, the public relations department of Didi Chuxing, said that the current pricing rules are detailed in the Didi mobile app. "The price is very transparent, and passengers have an estimated price before each order."
Uber China Shenzhen market manager Zhang Jiahao also made it clear that Uber has not raised the basic fare recently, and the price per kilometer and per minute is consistent with Didi.
As for subsidies, Li Mei responded that subsidies are a marketing activity that will be adjusted according to market conditions. "City travel itself is dynamic, so subsidies for drivers and passengers should also be dynamic. Future subsidies will be intelligently adjusted according to time, location, order conditions, and supply and demand, with the ultimate goal of improving the success rate of users’ ride-hailing," Li Mei said.
"In the last two weeks, we reduced passengers by 4 yuan, and this week we reduced them by 6 yuan, and the discount is even stronger." Zhang Jiahao said that Uber will issue coupons to all users through text messages, self-media and other channels.
For the doubling of morning peak fares, Li Mei explained that the system will match a reasonable price increase multiple for each order based on real-time supply and demand conditions. "Dynamic price adjustment may not only be used during peak periods, and in areas with tight transportation capacity, prices may also increase during off-peak hours. Dynamic price adjustment is not mandatory. If you don’t mind waiting, you can choose not to increase the price." Li Mei said.
Except for Didi, the prices of other online car-hailing companies seem to have changed little. The relevant person in charge of Yidao told reporters that from November last year to the end of June this year, Yidao has maintained a preferential activity of recharging 100 yuan and getting 100 yuan back, which is equivalent to users can take a taxi at half price.
Facts also prove that the competition is far from over. On September 22, Shenzhou Special Car, which has always adhered to its own vehicles and adopted the B2C model of heavy assets, announced that it launched the "U + open API" and promised never to take a cut. Shenzhou’s involvement in the C2C model and the practice of not taking a cut of driver income will make the direction of the market more uncertain.
Lu Zhengyao, chairperson and CEO of Shenzhou Youche, said that the "U + open API" is the same as the price charged by Shenzhou’s own vehicles, which is higher than the price of cruise cars and express cars. But Shenzhou has also launched a new round of promotion plan of "charging 100 to get 50 back", and the actual price after discount is similar to the price of cruise cars.
Enterprises generally believe that changes in market prices are closely related to the evolution of the future competition landscape. The relevant person in charge of Yidao said that the online car-hailing industry does not have the gene of monopoly, and anyone can use price leverage to enter the market at present.
Didi Chuxing also said that mobile travel is an emerging market with huge incremental space. At the same time, the industry competition is still very fierce, and new companies continue to join. For a long time, as one of the marketing activities, red envelope subsidies for passengers and driver rewards will continue to be distributed.
Expert: normal business conduct, but need to be vigilant against monopoly
What is the reason for this round of online car-hailing price increases represented by Didi and Uber? How should we view it?
In the opinion of Su Kui, a transportation research expert in Guangdong, there are many factors behind Didi’s price increase: First, after Didi merges with Uber China, effective competition will decrease, and the price is fundamentally determined by market competition. If there is no price competition pressure on the platform, the price will naturally be higher. Secondly, since Didi has a large number of users at both ends of the driver and passenger, it cannot increase the scale of subsidies by much, which means that the marginal effect of subsidies is very low, and it is a normal business decision to reduce or even cancel subsidies. Furthermore, the drivers of the special car platform have been a large number of full-time, and the cost of each transportation has little to do with the way of leasing. The price will eventually be closer to the traditional cruise taxi, reflecting the cost more. Finally, reducing subsidies is also related to the possible financial pressure on the platform in the future, or investors’ desire to make profits as soon as possible.
Experts say the price increase is largely due to a change in the previous low-price marketing strategy.
"As a means of promotion, companies can use low prices to acquire users, but it doesn’t mean that companies have to keep low prices all the time." Fu Weigang, a researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, cited the example of e-commerce as an example. "Everyone is used to the annual’Double 11 ‘carnival, but if there are consumers who think that e-commerce must maintain the same price as’Double 11’ for 365 days, it is a big mistake."
"In the past two years, ride-hailing companies have attracted a lot of users through various means such as discount coupons and vouchers. But it is unrealistic to think that this low price will last forever. Because in addition to discount coupons, they have their own price system." Fu Weigang said that low prices can be regarded as a marketing strategy, but should not be taken for granted. "After all, Didi and Uber are not obligated to subsidize consumers’ travel with losses forever."
Regarding the current competition landscape in the market, Su Kui judged that the threshold of the online car-hailing market seems to be relatively low, but it is actually relatively high, mainly due to the high capital threshold. Therefore, in the future, there may continue to be some regional platforms emerging in various places to compete and restrict the existing platforms. But at the national level, the online car-hailing market pattern will not change much in a considerable period of time.
So, will Didi’s merger with Uber China create a monopoly? Su Kui believes that due to the uniqueness of its service features (such as mobile phone hailing, electronic payment, etc.), the online car-hailing market is to a certain extent independent, but there is a certain substitution for traditional cruise taxis. "Whether it involves monopoly depends on two points: first, whether the cruise car can be improved and developed in the future, especially whether the policy can moderately loosen the restrictions on the cruise car, so as to form checks and balances on the platform; second, during peak periods or special weather, when supply and demand are unbalanced or when supply and demand information is asymmetric, due to insufficient effective competition, how to prevent the platform from abusing its market dominance."
Regarding the second point, Su Kui further stated that due to the particularly obvious tidal nature of the transportation market, abuse of market dominance is most likely to occur during peak periods and special weather. Relevant platform companies can promise the society that the dynamic price increase at peak times shall not exceed a certain multiple to protect consumer rights and interests.
Peng Chen, a member of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, has been paying attention to the topic of transportation. She suggested that the government should pay close attention to whether there are signs of monopolization in online car-hailing and use the Antimonopoly Act to supervise in a timely manner. In addition, for online car-hailing to charge double fares during peak periods, Peng Chen suggested that the tax on the premium part should be collected separately from the normal fare. "The early rush hour of online car-hailing has exacerbated the congestion on urban roads. The government can use this part of the tax to subsidize urban public transportation."
(Lv Shaogang, Liu Zhiqiang, Shen Wenmin, Chen Yuzhu) (Chen Feixue participated in the collection and writing)