Policies promote the development of new forms of travel and diversify the ride-hailing ecosystem

Reporter: Sun Lei Editor: Pei Jianru

"The development of new business formats has been greatly affected by technological changes, especially electrification, intelligence, and networking, resulting in online car-hailing, driverless taxis and other things. In this process, policy guidance has played a great role in promoting. A few days ago, at the "2024 Beautiful Travel MaaS Salon" hosted by National Business Daily, Ji Xuehong, director of the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of North China University of Technology, said in a report entitled "The Evolution and Development Trend of New Travel Formats under Policy Guidance".

As one of the most representative in the mobility industry, the growth of the ride-hailing market has been strongly supported by policies. For example, the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Taxi Booking Services (2016) proposes to develop online car-hailing in an orderly manner in accordance with the principles of high-quality services and differentiated operations. The promulgation of this interim management measure provides a policy basis for the legal operation of online car-hailing.

In addition, the continuous introduction and optimization of policies also provides clear guidance for the positive development of the ride-hailing industry. "For example, under the safety supervision and anti-monopoly, the pattern of the dominance of the online car-hailing market has been loosened, and the central and traffic management departments at all levels have strengthened the compliance development of online car-hailing, and now engaged in online car-hailing business activities, the online service platform needs to obtain the "Online Taxi Reservation Business License", the driver needs to obtain the "Online Taxi Reservation Driver's License", and the vehicle needs to obtain the "Online Taxi Reservation Transportation License". Ji Xuehong believes that relevant policies have promoted the development of new forms of travel.

The ride-hailing industry has a richer ecosystem

It is worth noting that, thanks to the active guidance of policies, the ecosystem of the ride-hailing industry is gradually showing richer and more diversified characteristics.

"During the period of 2010~2016, the industry was dominated by the C2C model, serving different users with individual vehicles. With the compliance operation and the requirement to apply for transportation certificates, many leasing companies have been established, and the business format has evolved into B2C-based. In recent years, with the emergence of aggregation platforms such as AutoNavi and Baidu, the industry has gradually moved towards the B2C+B2B2C model, and the industry ecology has become more diversified. Ji Xuehong said.

In this context, relevant policies standardize the management of aggregation models. In late April 2023, the Ministry of Transport and other five departments jointly issued the "Notice on Effectively Doing a Good Job in the Standardized Management of Online Ride-hailing Aggregation Platforms" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), pointing out that local departments such as transportation, telecommunications, public security, market supervision, and internet information should give full play to the role of the multi-departmental collaborative supervision mechanism for new forms of transportation at the local level, and study and explore laws and regulations to regulate the management of online car-hailing aggregation platforms in light of local conditions.

Ji Xuehong said that all parties in the industry have different views on the "Notice". "One of the points of contention is whether the aggregator bears carrier liability. Ji Xuehong explained, "At present, some policy documents in various places are more about identifying aggregation platforms as third parties, that is, e-commerce platforms, which should be managed by the e-commerce law." In the process of implementation, there are some operation methods or identified methods that are still being explored in practice. ”

In addition, the policy also supports the transformation and upgrading of the cruise taxi format. For example, the "Guiding Opinions on Deepening Reform and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Taxi Automobile Industry" (2016) proposes to seize the favorable opportunity of implementing the "Internet +" action, adhere to the problem orientation, and promote the transformation and upgrading of the cruise taxi industry.

The travel platform is also actively exploring the integration of patrol networks. For example, 95128, a ride-hailing platform dedicated to cruise cars, can be used to call a car by dialing phone numbers, WeChat applets, official accounts, and mobile apps, while Tick Travel can provide an information service platform for cruise taxis and Yangzhao through smart codes and taxi smart travel applets.

"Local governments and some travel platforms are also actively exploring the integration of cruise cars and online car-hailing, after all, although the positioning of online car-hailing and cruise cars in the past is different, but in the process of business development, the scenarios of groups or service users are overlapping, and in this process, the integration of the two formats has a relatively high possibility. Ji Xuehong thinks.

In Ji Xuehong's view, many places will be cruise car and online reservation taxi driver qualification examination to achieve "two tests in one", after passing the examination unified issuance of "taxi driver qualification certificate"; according to the business mode rather than the nature of the vehicle pricing "one car, two prices" method, the integration of service evaluation system, the driver service level quantification, service quality and driver income link, guide the driver to establish a sense of service. To a certain extent, these have promoted the integration of patrol networks.

Promote the implementation of unmanned driving technology

The ride-hailing industry has evolved under the influence of new technologies, and driverless taxis have become a key development direction.

In recent years, with the rapid development of autonomous driving technology in mainland China, national and local key autonomous driving policies have been introduced one after another, and all parties are also actively carrying out unmanned driving demonstration and promotion, which has also laid a good foundation for the large-scale commercial application of driverless taxis (Robotaxi).

In July 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) revised and issued the Guidelines for the Construction of the National Internet of Vehicles Industry Standard System (Intelligent Connected Vehicles) (2023 Edition), proposing to establish an intelligent networked vehicle standard system that adapts to the national conditions of the mainland and is in line with international standards in stages. In December 2023, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) issued the Guidelines for Transportation Safety Services for Autonomous Vehicles (Trial) to guide the new development stage of normalized operation services for autonomous vehicles.

At the local level, 51 cities have issued pilot demonstration policies for autonomous driving, among which Shenzhen, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Hangzhou and other places have formulated local legislation related to autonomous driving, and continue to accelerate the expansion of application scenarios. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and other places have carried out pilot demonstrations of driverless vehicles on open roads, for example, Beijing is actively promoting the demonstration zone 3.0 on the basis of expanding new application scenarios such as Daxing Airport, and Wuhan has supported nearly 500 driverless vehicles in 12 administrative regions to normalize pilot services.

Under the policy increase, various enterprises are also cooperating to deploy and promote the implementation of unmanned driving technology. For example, the travel platform Carrot Express has opened manned test and operation services in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Wuhan, Changsha, Chengdu, Hefei, Yangquan and Wuzhen; Pony.ai, an autonomous driving company, has also deployed unmanned autonomous driving fleets in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other places, and launched unmanned commercial charging services in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen; at the car company level, Tesla announced that it will release a driverless taxi on August 8.

It is worth noting that autonomous driving companies that provide autonomous driving algorithm models, automakers that provide L3 and L4 autonomous driving system installation, and mobility platforms that provide services and operations for consumers are accelerating the commercialization of driverless taxis. At present, in the eyes of industry insiders, the unmanned driving industry has entered the eve of commercialization, and it is also a critical period for large-scale landing.

"The commercialization of driverless taxis is an inevitable direction, but it also needs to be continuously explored. Ji Xuehong believes that the commercialization of driverless taxis can be roughly divided into three key stages, including the pilot stage of road testing and operation, the mass production stage of models, and the large-scale operation stage, each of which needs to be supported by relevant policies.

However, Ji Xuehong also said that there is also some debate in the industry about the commercialization of driverless taxis (L4 level). "There are some optimistic views that the commercialization of driverless taxis can be achieved in the next 2~3 years, and another view is that some of the long-tail effects of autonomous driving are difficult to solve. Ji Xuehong said that based on the current industrial development trend, by 2030, the penetration rate of driverless taxis (L4 level) may be around 20%.

Shared electric two-wheelers are in high demand

In Ji Xuehong's view, the development of shared electric two-wheelers has also been affected by policies. In 2017, the Ministry of Transport and other 10 departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Encouraging and Regulating the Development of Internet Rental Bicycles", clarifying the overall direction of "encouraging and regulating the development of shared bicycles" and proposing to "discourage the development of Internet rental electric bicycles".

"There are five reasons why the Ministry of Transport 'does not encourage development': vehicles generally exceed the standard, are prone to traffic accidents, fire safety hazards are prominent, vehicle operation safety risks are high, and battery pollution problems are serious. Ji Xuehong added, "With the development of the past few years, problems such as excessive vehicles have basically been solved. ”

It is worth noting that in recent years, local governments have issued relevant laws and policies to regulate and guide the development of shared two-wheeled vehicles. For example, in April 2023, Yunnan Province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Encouraging and Regulating the Development of Internet Rental Bicycles", which is the first implementation opinion in Yunnan Province to "encourage" the development of Internet electric bicycles.

In this context, the development of shared electric two-wheelers is relatively rapid. According to the data, as of January 2023, there are about 140 operating companies in the industry. Among them, Meituan, Qingju and Haro account for more than 60% of the total market share, showing a "three-legged" market structure.

"The market size of shared electric two-wheelers is stable and the demand is strong. At the same time, shared electric two-wheeled vehicles have quantifiable basic data for emission reduction, which has become an important scenario for carbon inclusion and promotes the construction of a carbon inclusive system. Ji Xuehong thinks.

In addition, Ji Xuehong also suggested that the development of shared electric two-wheelers should be scientifically evaluated to further encourage and regulate this format. It is suggested that government departments should set up a shared motorcycle co-management platform, and the operating enterprises and third-party operation and maintenance companies should sign an entrustment of non-discriminatory management services to improve the parking order of shared motorcycles, scientifically assess the development impact of shared electric bicycles, and clarify the development positioning, build evaluation indicators, carbon measurement and calculation standards, carbon reduction tasks and regulatory incentive mechanisms throughout the life cycle, and formulate a shared motorcycle maintenance and recycling mechanism. Ji Xuehong said.

In the view of many industry insiders, the development of the entire travel industry needs to be escorted by policies, and scientific policies can help solve the challenges caused by incomplete market mechanisms, such as industry monopoly and safety bottom line problems.

Ji Xuehong said: "The development of commercial formats has its own laws, which need to be driven by technology and user value, and policies cannot marketize immature business models, and vice versa." ”

"Science policy needs to be holistic, especially from the perspective of the broadest possible population. In the travel industry, the starting point of policy services is the needs of hundreds of millions of travel users and tens of millions of drivers. Ji Xuehong said, "The introduction of policies should be both timely and forward-looking. Therefore, on the basis of maintaining stability, the policy should also be adjusted and revised according to the development of the industry, and the enforceability and regional differentiation should also be considered. ”

National Business Daily