Shenzhen's pragmatic new policy on online ride-hailing services leaves room for new species to explore

Since the "Implementation Opinions of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government on Deepening Reforms and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Taxi Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions") was officially promulgated and implemented on December 28, it has aroused widespread discussion and close attention from all sectors of society.

Compared with the draft for comments released by Shenzhen, the official version of the rules has basically the same requirements for online car-hailing drivers, but has made some adjustments to the wheelbase and displacement requirements of vehicles. Compared with Beijing and Shanghai, Shenzhen's entry standards for online car-hailing drivers are much more relaxed, and are not limited to local residents, and those with residence permits are also eligible.

In response, Didi Chuxing said that compared with the draft for comments, Shenzhen's implementation rules have been revised in a more reasonable and relaxed direction based on the opinions of all parties. This innovative design takes into account the actual situation of the development of online car-hailing platforms and gives new things time to develop. Didi will continue to innovate, strengthen standardized management, and improve safety experience to provide Shenzhen citizens with better quality and more convenient travel services.

In addition, industry insiders believe that the innovative design of the three-year transition period introduced in the "Opinions" provides time and space for the exploration and development of new things, fully reflecting the innovative, inclusive and pragmatic urban characteristics of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

A three-year transition period is set to give online ride-hailing platforms a sufficient buffer period

Data shows that there are more than 600,000 online ride-hailing vehicles in Shenzhen. According to the interim measures, a three-year transition period is set for the transition policy for drivers and vehicles already engaged in online ride-hailing services in Shenzhen, while the original draft for comments was two years. This is relatively more reasonable and relaxed compared to first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

The three-year transition period provides sufficient time for online ride-hailing platforms to adjust the vehicles and drivers operating on their platforms in accordance with the provisions of the Opinions.

Drivers with residence permits can also operate online ride-hailing vehicles, and the number of such vehicles can be guaranteed.

Compared with the previous draft for comments, the entry requirements for online car-hailing drivers in the Opinion are basically unchanged. Drivers must have a local household registration or residence permit; have a driving experience of at least three years; have no record of traffic accidents, dangerous driving, drug use, or driving under the influence of alcohol.

Compared with the city’s household registration, the access condition of the residence permit largely guarantees the number of vehicles operating on the online car-hailing platform.

According to data previously provided by Didi, in Shanghai, where only drivers with local household registration can participate in online car-hailing operations, less than 10,000 of the more than 410,000 activated drivers have local household registration. The same is true in Beijing. Although Didi did not disclose Beijing's data, based on riding experience, the number of online car-hailing drivers who meet the Beijing household registration and Beijing license requirements is also very limited.

Adjust vehicle access standards and loosen displacement requirements

The Opinion has made corresponding adjustments to the entry conditions for online taxi vehicles in Shenzhen. The vehicle conditions for applying for the Online Taxi Transport Permit have been changed from the original "passenger vehicles with more than 5 seats and less than 7 seats registered in this city" to "passenger vehicles with less than 7 seats registered in this city". The registered vehicle owner is an enterprise or individual, and the vehicle is within the inspection validity period. The registration date stated on the vehicle driving license is less than 2 years from the date of application.

In terms of vehicle access conditions, the "Opinion" requires that fuel cars have a wheelbase of more than 2,700 mm, a displacement of more than 1,750 ml, and meet Shenzhen's motor vehicle pollutant emission standards; pure electric cars have a wheelbase of more than 2,650 mm; and hybrid cars have a wheelbase of more than 2,700 mm.

The previous draft for comments required that fuel vehicles have a wheelbase of more than 2,700 mm, a displacement of more than 1,950 ml, and meet Shenzhen's motor vehicle pollutant emission standards, or vehicles have a wheelbase of more than 2,700 mm, a displacement of more than 1,750 ml and an engine power of more than 110 kilowatts, and meet Shenzhen's motor vehicle pollutant emission standards; pure electric vehicles have a wheelbase of more than 2,650 mm and a range of more than 250 kilometers; plug-in (including extended-range) hybrid vehicles have a wheelbase of more than 2,650 mm and a range of more than 50 kilometers in pure electric drive mode.

In comparison, the official version of the rules has no changes to the wheelbase regulations for fuel vehicles and pure electric vehicles. The displacement requirements for fuel vehicles have been lowered, and there are no range requirements for pure electric cars. Although the wheelbase requirements for hybrid cars have been increased, the range requirements have been cancelled.

All walks of life praise Shenzhen's new online car-hailing policy, giving new species room for exploration

In recent years, Shenzhen's Internet development has been rapid, far exceeding that of Shanghai and Guangzhou and approaching that of Beijing.

According to Shenzhen News Network, Internet practitioners generally believe that an important reason for choosing to start a business in Shenzhen is that the local government's policies are very supportive of the IT industry, the degree of marketization is high, the government has little intervention in enterprises, and international exchanges are relatively easy.

Today, Shenzhen's population has already exceeded 10 million, entering the ranks of cities with a population of 10 million. Compared with other first-tier cities with a population of 10 million, Shenzhen's traffic conditions are obviously much better.

The Jingbao reported that after the Shenzhen online car-hailing local management rules were released for comments, all sectors of Shenzhen, from ordinary citizens, experts and scholars to deputies to the National People's Congress and members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, launched a full discussion. During the discussion, the relevant government departments in Shenzhen also responded positively, making a useful attempt for the democratic participation in the special zone.

In addition, in response to the legislation on online car-hailing management in Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Municipal Legal Affairs Office held a special WeChat hearing, with 92 hearing representatives, including 6 online car-hailing company representatives, 6 Shenzhen cruising taxi company representatives, and 80 citizen representatives. The Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Commission responded to the opinions and suggestions of the hearing representatives one by one on the spot. Among them, Shenzhen gave two years in the draft for soliciting opinions on the transition policy for "drivers and vehicles already engaged in online car-hailing services in Shenzhen." This time limit triggered extensive discussion among the participants.

Citizen representative Zhang Minhua believes that this depends on the pace of improvement of key issues.

"For example, the age and displacement mentioned above, if they can be effectively improved, it will not take two years. Otherwise, there is no point in setting a buffer period." He added that if everyone was cut, most of them would probably return to being illegal taxi drivers.

In response to this, the Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Commission responded on the spot that the draft for comments stipulates the transition period mainly because some existing stock models do not meet the policy requirements, and a transition period is needed to facilitate the renewal of existing online ride-hailing vehicles. If the transition period is too short, it will not be conducive to the smooth transition of transportation capacity; if the transition period is too long, it will not meet the policy orientation of the dislocated development of online ride-hailing vehicles and cruising vehicles, and will also lead to unfair competition between existing online ride-hailing vehicles and new online ride-hailing vehicles.

The Shenzhen Municipal Legal Affairs Office's initiative to widely solicit opinions and suggestions from all sectors of society reflects Shenzhen's innovative qualities and the city's inclusive nature, especially for the development of local high-tech industries such as the Internet and mobile Internet, and has a good benchmark and demonstration effect.

According to Southern Net, industry insiders believe that the innovative design of the three-year transition period introduced in the Opinions provides time and space for the exploration and development of new things.

This time, Shenzhen has proposed a more reasonable and practical transitional solution for online ride-hailing, which represents the "sharing economy" in the transportation field. In fact, it also hopes that the development of online ride-hailing in Shenzhen can further reduce the occupation of vehicle resources and road resources, provide a more forward-looking solution for Shenzhen's future transportation, and provide more environmental protection support for the city's future development.

Transportation experts pointed out that Shenzhen's online car-hailing implementation rules have left time and space for the exploration of new things in the development of the "Internet +" transportation industry. This is consistent with Shenzhen's practice of supporting Internet innovation and is in line with Shenzhen's consistent inclusive, innovative and pragmatic urban characteristics.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.