Abstract:
“I rented a car for online ride-hailing and actually got a taxi.” Recently, an online ride-hailing driver, Mr. Zhang (pseudonym), reported to “Xinmin Bangnongfang” that when he went online for ride-hailing in Shanghai, what he rented from the car rental company was actually a parade taxi (hereinafter referred to as a “taxi”) with the ceiling light and meter removed and the color of the body changed. In the end, he was fined 2,000 yuan by the transportation management department due to “inconsistency between the passenger and vehicle licenses.” The car rental fee was paid, but the fine had to be borne by himself. The driver simply called him "taking medicine." The reporter's investigation found that this kind of phenomenon is not an isolated case. The illegal flow of taxis into the rental market has become a prominent problem that disrupts the order of the online ride-hailing industry and infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of drivers.
Remove the ceiling light and change the color "Taxi" with a daily rental price of 175 yuan
According to Mr. Zhang, he is an online taxi driver who comes to Shanghai from other places and holds a valid "Online Reservation Taxi Driver's License". At the end of May, he joined Shanghai Shenghui Car Rental Co., Ltd., a "driver service company" through a recruitment platform, hoping to make a living driving an online ride-hailing service in Shanghai. Since he did not have a Shanghai-branded vehicle, he had to rent a car from Shanghai Hanyao Car Rental Co., Ltd., paying a daily rent of 175 yuan.
Daily rental bill
“They told me that the car is an operating vehicle and is compliant, so I can run with peace of mind.” Mr. Zhang said that this is what the person in charge of Shanghai Shenghui Car Rental Co., Ltd. told him when renting a car. However, according to the vehicle driving license photo provided by Mr. Zhang, the car was registered under the name of "Shanghai Jiangnanxing Taxi Service Co., Ltd." and the vehicle's use was registered as "passenger taxi." Although Mr. Zhang did not realize the seriousness of the problem at the time, the driving license has proved that this is a taxi, not a compliant online car-hailing service.
For more than two months, Mr. Zhang drove this car for online ride-hailing without incident. Until one day in August, the transportation management department issued a 2,000 yuan fine to him due to complaints from passengers and "inconsistency between the passenger and vehicle licenses." Only then did he realize that his "online taxi" was actually a "taxi" with the overhead lights and meter removed and the color of the vehicle changed. According to regulations, online car-hailing must have both the "Online Booking Taxi Driver's License" and the "Online Booking Taxi Transport Certificate" before it can go on the road and take orders. The taxi he rented actually held a "Road Transport Certificate" and did not comply with the regulations for online car-hailing operations. The reporter then entered the vehicle's license plate into the road transport administration "One-on-one" applet, which also showed that the vehicle had not obtained an online ride-hailing transport certificate.
The driving license of the vehicle involved (photo provided by Mr. Zhang)
"Vest trucks" are not compliant and drivers drive at their own risk
Why is a taxi rented by an online taxi driver? Behind this is a chain of illegally transferred interests. Mr. Zhang recalled that according to regulations, a blue QR code should be posted for online ride-hailing, but when he mentioned this to the company, the company “always responded: ‘We are not scheduled’.” Now that I think about it, "He himself is not compliant, so where did he get the compliance code?"
The blue QR code that Mr. Zhang mentioned is the compliance mark for online ride-hailing that Shanghai will implement from late April 2026. It implements the "one code for one car, scans the code, and leaves traces throughout the process" model. It is called the "electronic ID card" for online ride-hailing. After a compliance code is posted on the vehicle, passengers can scan the code to compare whether the vehicle information and driver information are consistent with the vehicle they are riding in, so as to avoid being hit by a "black car" or a "vest car". The car Mr. Zhang rented did not have an "Online Booking Taxi Transport Certificate" and of course did not have a compliance mark. Only then was he reported by a passenger and received a hefty fine.
This phenomenon is not unique. Almost at the same time as Mr. Zhang, there were as many as four or five drivers who were fined for renting taxis and running online ride-hailing services for "inconsistent licenses and licenses." Mr. Zhang said that many taxi companies give their cars to car rental companies. Ride-hailing drivers who drive these non-compliant vehicles will keep driving if they are lucky. If they are unlucky, they will pay a fine if they are reported. The car rental company collects the rent, and the taxi company revitalizes the idle vehicles. Only the online ride-hailing driver bears the risk of violation and the consequences of fines, becoming the de facto "scapegoat."
Netizens shared their encounters with suspected taxis "stealing" online car-hailing orders
The reporter then called Shanghai Jiangnanxing Taxi Service Co., Ltd. Yesterday, the other party responded that the vehicle was indeed owned by the company. The staff of Shanghai Shenghui Car Rental Co., Ltd. denied this, saying that their company did not have so-called "modified taxis."
There are blind spots in supervision, strengthen management and standardize operations
The reporter inquired about the "Shanghai Taxi Management Regulations" and found that Chapter 3, Article 17 clearly stipulates: Operators should strengthen the management of passenger service vehicles and shall not allow passenger service vehicles to be driven by persons without operating licenses. The behavior of taxi companies handing over idle vehicles that are used for "passenger transport" to car rental companies and then subletting them to online ride-hailing drivers is obviously an illegal practice of "skimming the ball".
From a legal perspective, this illegal chain involves three parties: the taxi company illegally hands over rental passenger vehicles to unqualified personnel for operation, which is the source; the car rental company conceals the true nature of the vehicle and rents it out in the name of "compliant online car-hailing", which is the intermediary; and the online car-hailing driver uses non-compliant vehicles without knowing or semi-knowingly, which is the end responsibility. However, regulatory penalties often only fall on drivers, while accountability for upstream taxi companies and car rental companies is relatively weak. This also leads to low costs for violations and repeated violations.
Behind this chaos is the industry background of the integrated development of cruising taxis and online ride-hailing.
According to the reporter’s understanding, some domestic cities are currently piloting the “integration of patrol networks” by promoting “two certificates in one” for driver qualifications, “double certificates for one vehicle” for vehicles, implementing “two prices for one vehicle” that parallels the pricing of cruise taxis and online ride-hailing platforms, and guiding taxi companies to cooperate with online ride-hailing platforms. These explorations aim to revitalize existing taxi resources, improve operational efficiency, and better meet citizens’ travel needs.
However, Shanghai still implements classified licensing and separate operations for cruise taxis and online ride-hailing services. Online ride-hailing platforms are prohibited from distributing express, special discount and other online ride-hailing type orders to cruise taxis, nor are they allowed to confuse the dispatch pools of the two types of cars. However, in actual operation, the platform is dispatching orders, the driver is accepting orders, and both parties are "testing" each other. How to better manage the original cruising taxi platforms so that they can not only assume the functions of urban public transportation, but also improve operational efficiency and "live in the sunshine" through compliance channels is undoubtedly a major issue facing the competent authorities.
The illegal flow of taxis into the rental market not only infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of online ride-hailing drivers, but also disrupts the normal market order and creates hidden dangers for passengers' travel safety. In this regard, based on the interviews, the reporter put forward the following suggestions: Strengthen source supervision and dynamically monitor the actual use of taxis; consolidate platform responsibilities, and online ride-hailing platforms should strengthen the qualification review of vehicles to prevent "vest cars" from slipping through; standardize the rental market, and car rental companies should protect drivers' right to know; explore "inspection network integration" and study feasible solutions for taxis to be compliantly connected to online ride-hailing platforms, so that existing taxi resources can be operated in a standardized manner in the sun, which not only improves corporate efficiency but also meets the diverse travel needs of citizens. In this regard, "Xinmin Helping Nongfu" will continue to pay attention.
Comments