On the one hand, the platform has been interviewed many times, and on the other hand, low-priced goods will also be pulled——
Why do truck drivers earn more and less by running orders through online platforms?
Our reporter Chen Huatangshu
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Recently, four Internet road freight platform companies have been interviewed by relevant departments several times due to price competition, multiple charges, and illegal operations.
Truck drivers complained that the platform's pricing was unreasonable and that the cost of a trip was not enough; at the same time, they had to take orders through the platform to go on the road.
In this regard, experts suggest that the platform should complete the rectification as soon as possible, and the relevant government departments can issue a reasonable price guide and strengthen the supervision of the platform.
Low price competition, multiple charges, illegal operation... A few days ago, the Office of the Inter-ministerial Joint Conference on New Formats of Transportation Coordinated Supervision, once again reminded Manbang Group, Huolala, Didi Freight, and Kuaigou Taxi 4 Internet road freight platform companies style interview.
The interview pointed out that some platform companies still have problems that damage the legitimate rights and interests of truck drivers, and require timely rectification in place to maintain a fair and equitable market order, smooth the channels for truck drivers to complain and report, and make every effort to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of truck drivers.
Previously, on July 8, the Ministry of Transport had interviewed these four platforms for the third time in two years with the same question.
Behind the repeated interviews of online freight platforms, truck drivers face the reality of low freight rates, high platform fees, and opaque charges.
Why do truck drivers earn less and less?
How can the industry develop healthily?
Unreasonable pricing, one trip is not enough
"Few orders are accepted on the platform now. Not only does it not make money, but sometimes the freight rate for a single order is not enough." Master Wu, a truck driver in Anqing, Anhui, calculated an account for the reporter and ran a 500-kilometer trip. In the list, the freight price given by the platform is 1,500 yuan, and the cost of road and bridge tolls and fuel costs alone will cost nearly 1,500 yuan.
The reporter learned that, taking a freight platform as an example, the shipper enters the source information and determines the required vehicle model through the "shipper version APP", and can choose two modes: one-buy price or telephone negotiation in the link of inputting freight.
The electric negotiation is for the driver and the owner to contact and negotiate the price, and the transportation agreement is signed after the transaction is confirmed.
Under normal circumstances, the platform will recommend a buy-in price model and provide a freight reference price.
As for the pricing of the platform, many drivers believe that it is significantly lower than the market price.
A driver in Guangdong posted a short video questioning: For a trip of 247 kilometers, the freight for a 4.2-meter model is 1,027 yuan, and the freight for a 6.8-meter model is only 541 yuan. Is this pricing reasonable?
In addition, the freight also includes an intermediary fee ranging from 100 yuan to 300 yuan, and the platform extracts a part of the technical service fee.
The extraction rate of technical service fees makes drivers very puzzled.
In the group of riders of Mr. Chen, a driver from Hefei, Anhui, a trip cost 400 yuan, but the technical service fee was charged 32 yuan.
The reporter opened the page of another freight platform and showed that the platform provides high-quality services such as complete supply information, transaction matching, and exclusive customer service, so a certain fee is charged, and it is based on the current market environment, vehicle supply and demand, freight factors, transaction routes, and sources of goods. Information and other systems are automatically calculated.
However, some drivers reported that the same mileage and the same unloading point have high and low technical service fees.
Another source of strong dissatisfaction is that some platforms charge drivers "membership + commission" double charges.
The reporter learned that, taking Hefei area as an example, the membership fee of a platform is divided into three levels: 189 yuan, 349 yuan, and 519 yuan per month, and unlimited orders can be accepted. The higher the membership fee, the proportion of information fee charged for each order is also The lower is 11%, 8%, and 5%, respectively.
Non-member drivers can only accept two orders per day, and the information fee is charged at 15%.
"If you don't buy a membership, you can only wait for the low-priced orders left by others that you don't want to run." Master Wu said.
Low barriers to entry
Before becoming a truck driver, Master Chen was a plumber. He has been in the business for 13 years and has witnessed the reshaping and changes brought by the digital platform to the road freight market.
"In the past, we used to find sources of goods through the 'small blackboard' in the logistics park, the parking lot, or the information department (freight broker, also known as 'scalper')."
Around 2010, vehicle and cargo matching platforms sprang up like mushrooms after a rain, reaching nearly 300 at the peak.
Zhou Xiao, who once presided over the National Social Science Fund project "Research on Technological Changes and the Reshaping of Truck Drivers' Work" and a teacher at the School of Labor Relations and Human Resource Management of China Institute of Labor Relations, believes that the online freight platform has improved the efficiency of goods transportation and shortened the time for drivers to search for sources of goods. , the time and cost of waiting for the distribution, but also caused many problems such as the bottom of the freight rate and the increase of transaction risks.
“The platform brings together a large number of drivers, and all drivers can see each shipment. As long as time allows, the owner can always find the driver with the lowest bid. The bargaining space and power of drivers are weakened. In order to maintain a comparable income, they must Pay more time and undertake more heavy labor." Zhou Xiao said.
In an online community where truck drivers gather, a driver questioned the platform for maliciously lowering prices and disrupting the market order.
For a trip from Chongqing to Jiangsu, the price originally negotiated with the owner was 8,500 yuan, but the owner found through the platform price search that he could find a driver for 6,000 yuan to run the order.
Why are people pulling low-priced goods?
Master Chen said that first, the supply of goods is becoming less and less, and the fixed supply of some drivers is gradually lost to the platform; second, the threshold for buying a car is low, resulting in more and less cars in the market.
Attractive conditions such as 0 yuan down payment, package supply, and "one-stop" service have attracted many card fans to buy cars.
"Only an ID card is needed to drive the car home. These blind drivers have to repay more than 10,000 yuan in loans every month. They can't do it without running. They can only increase their income by increasing the number of running." According to Master Chen, in recent years, Come, the proportion of this part of the driver is getting bigger and bigger.
Previously, a video blogger named "Big Brother" shared his operating expenses and income from 2018 to 2020.
In the past three years, the freight rate from Dongguan to Zhongshan has dropped by 20.5% month-on-month and 6.83% annually.
It has also caused some drivers to have or are leaving the trucking industry.
"Since 2018, my annual income has decreased by at least 30%, and I am considering changing careers, but I don't know what I can do." Master Chen said.
Almighty protection is not guaranteed, drivers look forward to safeguarding their rights and interests
"The freight must be chased, the short must be compensated, and the deposit must be guaranteed", the online freight platform used such an all-around guarantee slogan.
However, the reporter searched the Internet complaint platform and found that some drivers reported: "Arrived at the loading place, waited for more than 5 hours, but did not load the goods, and the platform did not pay for the emptying fee"; some drivers reported: "No freight is paid after the order is completed. , the platform just blocked the owner's account, and there was no following, and no shipping fee was recovered."
"The platform charges fees, but there are no guarantees and services that it should have, and the platform does not play a role in restraining and supervising both the owner and the driver." Master Chen told reporters that the platform does not strictly review the owner and source of goods, and sometimes There will be cases of fake orders, and the platform's customer service phone will always fail to get through, or it will be a robot customer service, and complaints often go unresolved.
Recently, the People's Court of Yuhuatai District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province heard a case of fraudulent use of a freight platform APP.
From March to June 2020, the defendant used the freight platform to publish false information, tricking freight drivers into taking orders and paying a shipping order deposit ranging from 300 to 1,000 yuan per order, and then defrauding 377 people across the country by delaying and blocking drivers. The driver is more than 180,000 yuan.
In Zhou Xiao’s view, the platform has the responsibility to ensure the normal trading order of the market. Through technical means, the entire waybill process can be traced on the platform, and supervision and accountability are carried out to smooth the channels for driver complaints and feedback, and reduce the cost of drivers’ rights protection.
In addition, resources and strengths from all parties should be sought to form a social synergy to jointly help and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of truck drivers.
"Relevant departments can organize industry insiders, experts, etc. to conduct research, calculate and issue a reasonable price guide, and at the same time strengthen the supervision of the platform, so that drivers can clearly and clearly understand the relevant billing rules and fee details." Zhou Xiao said.