Ride-hailing drivers "running" on the road (Internet Practitioner Tour (3))

Arrive at the airport late at night, book a car on the APP first; There are many moving items, book a car online to help... Nowadays, online ride-hailing has become an ubiquitous part of people's daily lives. As the economy accelerates and the demand for ride-hailing increases, drivers have struggled on the road.

"Happiness is done"

"You wait for me, I'll park the car and talk to you." At 2 p.m., when interviewed by reporters, Yu Wenbing, an express train driver in Changde, Hunan Province, had just finished his morning work and was ready to go home to rest. The car leaves at 7 a.m. and picks up at 8 p.m., of which 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. is Yu Wenbing's rest time. "In addition to eating and other time, working less than 10 hours a day, just in the morning and evening three rush hours, quite good!"

Yu Wenbing, 47 years old this year, originally ran a hotel, but in 2020, his business was affected by the epidemic, so he transferred the hotel and switched to becoming a ride-hailing driver. Many friends are puzzled: "Why don't the hotel open, go to the online car?" Yu Wenbing said cheerfully: "This job is more stable and free." ”

Stability, derived from the objective needs of the public to use cars, through the matching of the platform, drivers do not have to worry about where to take orders. Freedom is due to the flexibility of ride-hailing drivers. Yu Wenbing said that usually he leaves the car like a work, but if there is anything at home, he can adjust his working hours independently, "I still give myself a day off every week, climbing the mountain, gathering for dinner, leisure, and combining work and rest." ”

For more than two years, Yu Wenbing has firmly engaged in this profession with a good income. He revealed that now the monthly turnover exceeds 1,<> yuan, deducting the cost, making six or seven thousand yuan a month is not a problem. "In the city of Changde, it is considered a high income!" Seeing that Yu Wenbing is doing a good job, some of his friends have also joined the army of ride-hailing drivers.

According to statistics from the online ride-hailing regulatory information exchange system, as of February 2 this year, a total of 28 ride-hailing platform companies across the country have obtained online ride-hailing platform operating licenses, and a total of 303.517 million ride-hailing driver licenses and 7.219 million vehicle transportation licenses have been issued in various places, and a total of 1 million orders have been received in February.

"Happiness is done." Yu Wenbing always believes that if you do a good job in service, your user reputation will slowly increase. "Thanks to this era, it is more convenient for everyone to take a taxi, and we have a good job. As long as you are willing to work hard, you will gain something new every day. ”

"There are many opportunities, hard work can make you rich"

Gui Baolin, a 39-year-old from Hubei Province, is also on the road every day, but he transports goods. In 2021, Gui Baolin became a freight driver for the internet freight platform Lalala, accompanied by a medium-sized van 244 cm long, 135 cm wide and 120 cm high.

"In the past, I worked in the company, and I often called a car to deliver goods, and I learned some about the market with the drivers and masters." Gui Baolin said that with the Internet platform, drivers are much more efficient and have a more stable income than "lying on the roadside", so he came to Shenzhen and registered as a freight driver on the platform.

Electronics, building materials, fruits and vegetables, flowers, exhibition materials... Gui Baolin shipped a wide variety of items. He leaves the car at 10 a.m. every day and collects it at 12 p.m. "Unlike passenger transport, we usually have more orders during normal working hours, because people will send and receive various items at this time, but we can take a break from loading and unloading and waiting for orders." Gui Baolin likes to take orders at night, when the traffic is often smoother, and the orders are mainly for transporting vegetables, daily necessities, construction site items, etc.

"This year, I obviously feel that there are more cars on the road, and there are more traffic jams." This month, Gui Baolin runs an average of eight or nine orders a day, and the daily mileage reaches 200 kilometers. When he is busy, he is happy and fulfilling. "You see, there are a lot of offline events such as exhibitions now, and I just completed a bill to ship exhibition materials."

From roadside "work" to mobile phone "order", not only the working environment of the driver master has become better, the customer car is also convenient, after the mobile phone order, there is a quick response, but also can make an appointment in advance, many small and medium-sized enterprises with freight needs do not have to set up a fleet of vehicles at their own expense. According to statistics, as of December 2022, Lalala's business scope has covered 12 cities, with 360,68 monthly active drivers and 950.<> million monthly active users.

With the help of internet platforms, more and more people are achieving flexible employment. Gui Baolin is proud that his job not only supports himself, but also provides convenience for people and contributes to economic development. "Doing my job, just like the city of Shenzhen gives people, there are many opportunities, hard work can make you rich."

"It's a great job"

As a worker with flexible employment and new forms of employment, how can we better protect labor rights and interests? This is the topic of greatest concern to the community of ride-hailing drivers and the general public. Hold sincere discussions to listen to drivers' voices, improve subsidies and pricing mechanisms, and launch exclusive commercial medical security projects... In recent years, the industry has continuously introduced relevant measures.

Guilin said that every month he receives driver's exclusive personal injury insurance and cargo damage insurance on the platform. On the first floor of the Science and Technology Building of the International E-commerce Industrial Park in Futian District, Shenzhen, Lalala has built a driver's home covering an area of 1000,<> square meters, which integrates functions such as driver's license replacement, violation inquiry, social security online application, free medical consultation, stress relief, study and rest, etc. Among them, free physical examination, haircut, massage, etc. are the most popular with drivers.

There are also more possibilities for the development path of ride-hailing drivers. Zheng Chen has been a ride-hailing driver since 2016, he has worked hard to familiarize himself with the rules of the platform, figure out the experience and skills of receiving orders, and his turnover income has been good. Two years later, Zheng Chen grew into a fast fleet captain, sharing his experience with more drivers and improving his management skills. After half a year of hard work, Zheng Chen led the team to win the award of the internal organized competition. In June 2019, Zheng Chen joined Didi Tianjin and became a driver service manager.

Stories like this inspire many of their peers. Li Bin, a post-80s Hangzhou ride-hailing driver, is full of energy, he said: "This job is very rushing, as long as you run on the road, your heart is steady!" ”

(People's Daily Overseas Edition, Ye Zi)