Media question taxi reform: Why not cut membership fees?

In the taxi operation business, taxi drivers and passengers should have the most adequate say. We should be wary of alleviating conflicts in the taxi industry by raising prices or market management, which will only take care of taxi drivers but lose the interests of passengers.

According to Yangcheng Evening News, recent taxi driver strikes and suspensions have exposed many problems in the taxi industry, and the various parties are in a fierce battle over taxi reform. However, in the issue of taxi reform, passengers, as users and direct consumers of taxi services, do not seem to have a full say. Experts believe that as the ultimate bearers of the cost of reform, passengers should be given an important position in reform decisions, and their opinions should be fully expressed and adopted.

The taxi drivers' strike and suspension of operations have become a test of the management wisdom of relevant parties. Netizens are worried that managers may ignore the interests of consumers and hastily formulate some measures to ease superficial contradictions in order to end the direct negative impact of the incident as soon as possible. The taxi drivers' strike and suspension of operations are aimed at the unreasonable "membership fee" and the profit sharing of taxi operations by special car services. If these two problems cannot be solved, in order to meet the interests of taxi drivers, taxi reforms will be implemented and the relevant costs will be passed on to passengers. This practice, which loses the right of passengers to speak, is destined to be unsustainable.

From the passengers' perspective, when there is an imbalance between transportation services and travel needs and they cannot get a taxi when they want one, why should passengers have to suffer all this trouble and not be able to choose a private car service that is better than taxi service and more punctual?

Citizens have difficulty in traveling, and taxi drivers are on strike and suspending operations. They are also challenging taxi companies that have received too high a share of the fees. Reducing taxi share fees, reducing taxi drivers' working hours and workload, or completely breaking the current situation of taxi monopoly, taxi companies and online taxi-hailing will not interfere with each other, and taxi drivers can also feel relaxed and gain more profits. Faced with travel difficulties, cities are constantly increasing the number of taxis, but the more taxis they increase, the greater the pressure on taxi drivers and the greater the profits of taxi companies. The monopoly of taxi operation rights has fattened a few people and harmed a group of people. The taxi operation rights have made taxi drivers "Camel Xiangzi", and the companies that control the taxi operation rights sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor, always making profits and never losing money. This phenomenon is not in line with common sense.

In the taxi operation business, taxi drivers and passengers should have the most adequate voice. To ease the contradictions in the taxi industry by raising prices or market management, taxi drivers are taken care of, but passengers are lost. The final reform result is still not optimistic. Respecting the voice of passengers means considering the demands of passengers and ensuring that their interests are not ignored. When gasoline prices rise, the government can use policies to compensate taxi drivers and increase the burden on passengers; when taxi drivers go on strike and stop operating, they also treat passengers as lambs. Why can't the taxi membership fees be cut? Where is the conflict of interest? It should not be avoided and must be explained to the public.

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.