The Ministry of Communications requires platform companies to reduce the high commission! What is the impact of ensuring that the target is basically achieved by the end of July

The Ministry of Transport requires platform enterprises to reduce excessive commissions and adjust the upper limit of membership fees.

On April 17, the Ministry of Transport issued the "2023 Work Plan for Promoting the Reduction of Excessively High Percentage for Platform Enterprises in New Transportation Formats" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"). In terms of goals and tasks, the plan states that major ride-hailing and road freight new format platform companies will be promoted to strengthen communication and consultation with employee representatives and industry associations to ensure the reasonable labor remuneration level of employees. Promote major ride-hailing and road freight new format platform companies (hereinafter referred to as "freight platform companies") to reduce the excessive commission ratio or membership fee ceiling of the platform, and publicly release it to the public.

In terms of schedule, the plan points out that by the end of April this year, each platform will mainly prepare for the deployment of relevant enterprises and formulate implementation plans. By the end of May, negotiate a reduction in the excessively high percentage or membership fee cap.

Specifically, the plan points out that the transportation authorities of each city urge all ride-hailing platform companies operating services locally to communicate and negotiate with employee representatives, industry associations, etc., to ensure the reasonable labor remuneration level of employees; All major ride-hailing platform companies have basically completed the work of reducing the upper limit of excessive commission percentage. The relevant provincial-level transportation authorities organize freight platform legal persons registered in their provinces to communicate and negotiate with truck drivers, industry associations, etc., to reduce the excessive percentage or membership fee ceiling, and ensure the reasonable income of truck drivers. In addition, they must take the initiative to announce to the public the company's commitment to reduce the excessive commission ratio or the upper limit of membership fees.

In addition, the plan pointed out that by the end of July this year, it will mainly promote major platform companies to ensure that the target tasks are basically completed. Before the end of September this year, summarize and evaluate the local work experience and effectiveness of protecting the rights and interests of employees in new transportation formats. Before the end of October, freight platform companies will summarize the work experience and results of protecting the rights and interests of truck drivers.

"The plan may affect the business performance of platform companies and force enterprise reform"

According to the "China Digital Freight Logistics Development Report" released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on March 30, the scale of the mainland road freight market in 2022 will be about 5 trillion yuan. Among them, the overall market size of digital freight is about 700 billion yuan, and the market penetration rate is about 15%.

The report points out that digital freight logistics is a new industrial form that promotes the digital transformation of freight logistics through the deep integration of digital technology and the freight logistics industry, including online freight platforms and matching trading platforms. At present, more than seventy percent of truck drivers have used the digital freight platform, and the digital freight platform has become an important carrier for the majority of truck drivers to contract the source of goods.

"The commission fee is too high and unreasonable, and I hope that the platform can further upgrade the business." On April 17, a number of freight drivers told The Paper that as cross-city freight drivers, they do not need to pay membership fees to use the software of a platform, but after each order, they will need to hand over a part of the commission, which is nominally displayed as "technical service fee".

One of the drivers said that the minimum commission of each platform is 40 or 50 yuan, and the maximum should not exceed 200 yuan, "Like us running long distances, about ten orders a month, the average technical service fee of one order is 100 yuan, which means that more than a thousand yuan a month a year has more than 10,000 yuan of money that needs to be handed over to the platform." ”

Another freight driver told The Paper, "For example, the freight of some orders from my peers to Xinjiang and Tibet is 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, and the commission of each order is about 180 yuan or 190 yuan." And like we run more than a thousand kilometers of short and medium-distance distance, the freight is 4,000 yuan per order, and the commission per order is also more than 100 yuan, this commission algorithm does not seem to consider the model, etc., in contrast, it is not cost-effective, and the issuance of this plan further protects the rights and interests of our drivers. ”

Logistics expert Zhao Xiaomin told The Paper that if the main business model of online ride-hailing platform or freight platform companies is based on each order commission or membership fee, then the proposal of this plan is bound to further affect and hit the company's operation. Under supervision, it will also force enterprises to achieve cost reduction and efficiency increase under due regulations, so that enterprises can reduce logistics or transportation costs while making a list.

"The proposal has basically no impact on the business." On April 17, a relevant insider of a listed logistics company told The Paper that "the proposal of the above plan may have a certain impact on platform companies mainly engaged in digital freight." Our platform does not profit from commissions, this business volume is very small, the company has always attached importance to the protection of drivers' rights and interests, and will continue to build a win-win road logistics platform under the guidance of relevant policies. ”

It is worth noting that on April 7, the Office of the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference on the Collaborative Supervision of New Transportation Formats interviewed Lalala and reminded Manbang Group, Didi Chuxing, Cao Cao Travel, etc. The interview pointed out the outstanding problems existing in Lalala, and required all platform companies to deeply reflect, draw inferences from one case to another, conduct in-depth investigations, and seriously rectify and reform. First, effective measures should be taken in a timely manner to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all parties and ensure the safe and stable development of the industry; Second, we should continue to implement the requirements of the "Sunshine Action", further study and reduce the platform's excessive commission ratio or membership fees, put an end to malicious price competition, and ensure the reasonable labor remuneration level of employees; Third, we must strictly perform statutory duties, operate in compliance with the law, strengthen qualification review, and ensure the authenticity and reliability of the source of goods; Fourth, it is necessary to improve the complaint and reporting handling mechanism, and promptly solve the demands and problems reported by the majority of drivers.

What is the impact of this work plan and the above interviews and reminders on enterprises? How will companies respond to rectification? In this regard, Lalala, Manbang Group, Didi Chuxing, Cao Cao Chuxing and other companies did not comment.

Zhao Xiaomin also told The Paper that over the past year, representative enterprises such as ride-hailing platforms and freight platforms have been repeatedly interviewed by industry regulatory authorities on issues including the protection of multi-party rights and interests in the field, road safety issues, and complaint mechanisms, but no substantial changes have been made. Starting from the entire industry, I hope to see more comprehensive regulatory measures come out, in addition to supervising the reduction of corporate commissions, membership fees and other schemes, there can be more detailed rules, such as what standards need to be met, what penalties will be faced if they are not completely corrected, etc.

"The questions asked are very simple and simple, and companies still need to reflect on themselves and make changes to their business models." Zhao Xiaomin said that especially in some listed companies in the industry and companies that are about to be listed, in terms of information disclosure, transparency and business model, enterprises need to come from the province and reform to consider what is the greatest value of existence.

"Standardization and coordination still require multi-stakeholder participation"

"Whether it is a ride-hailing platform or a new format platform for road freight, it is a new format of digital economy in the field of transportation. Setting a percentage or collecting membership fees is a means of its own profit, and it is also the result of the platform and the game between drivers and cargo owners. However, due to the 'winner-take-all' situation, platforms with dominant positions have the incentive to increase the percentage of commissions and membership fees, which is difficult to solve by relying on the platform's own governance. Zhou Zhicheng, secretary general of the China Internet of Things Road Freight Branch, said in an interview with The Paper on April 17.

Zhou Zhicheng said that the plan puts forward specific requirements to reduce the platform's excessive commission ratio or membership fee cap, but it may be difficult to form a long-term mechanism by relying on local transportation authorities to supervise and organize consultation between platforms, drivers and cargo owners, and there are problems of distortion or rebound.

Zhou Zhicheng further said that overall, affected by the sluggish demand in the industry this year, freight rates in the second half of the first quarter of this year continued to be sluggish, although it was the traditional off-season, but this year's oversupply market pattern is more obvious, resulting in the phenomenon of "too light off-season", and prices have fallen endlessly, seriously affecting the stability of driver income and employment. In order to avoid vicious price competition, it is necessary to strengthen platform autonomy and industry co-governance, and form normative requirements such as conventions and norms, which require the participation of stakeholders to establish a new mechanism for promoting the "trinity" of platforms, governments and associations.

Specifically, Zhou Zhicheng said that first, it is necessary to give play to the role of government supervision, improve the regulation of new business supervision as soon as possible, clarify the responsibilities and obligations of different stakeholders, and do a good job in dynamic supervision and overall coordination. The second is to increase the platform's self-rules, and the platform should standardize and constrain the business behavior of platform stakeholders by reasonably formulating platform operation regulations, prudently formulate business rules related to stakeholders, and create a good ecological environment. Third, it is necessary to promote the co-governance of social organizations, give full play to the third-party forces of society such as industry organizations, and strengthen industry self-discipline and standards and norms through industry standards, industry codes, and other methods.