Hitchhiker decoupling "profit" still needs legal regulation
□ Our reporter Zhou Xiaopeng
Resolutely implement the main responsibility of the Shunfengche platform, conduct operations in accordance with laws and regulations; resolutely resist illegal operations, refrain from making Shunfengche into cheap online car-hailing, and earnestly implement the work requirements of the competent department; initiate related actions for the optimization of some products...
In December 2020, in response to the reminder interview at the Inter-Ministry Joint Conference Office for Coordination and Supervision of New Transportation Business Forms, Dida, Haro and other Shunfengche platform companies responded quickly, and the relevant response measures were not provided in the name of Shunfengche Online ride-hailing services return the ride to the essence of the sharing economy.
Since Shunfeng has the advantages of environmental protection, energy saving, and affordable prices, many platform companies have entered the market in recent years.
However, since its birth, Shunfeng has been widely criticized for its illegal operations and safety risks.
The interview with related Shunfengche platform companies once again showed that, as a representative of the sharing economy, the direction of the healthy development of the Shunfengche market must be "True Shun Road" and "non-profit".
The role of the platform is not a simple intermediary service
In January 2018, Zhao and his wife took a Didi Shunfeng driven by Wei Mourong back to Yixian, Hebei. They had a traffic accident with a truck driven by Zhang on the road, resulting in Zhao Moutian's injuries and the death of his wife.
The traffic police department determined that Wei Rong was primarily responsible for this accident; Zhang was responsible for the secondary accident; Zhao and his wife were not responsible.
On the issue of compensation for the accident, Zhao Motian and his family took Wei Mourong, truck driver Zhang and car owner Pei, the insurance company that insured the two vehicles, Didi Chuxing Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Yunda Unlimited Technology Co., Ltd., and Beijing Xiaoju Technology Co., Ltd. sued the court.
Among them, Didi Travel is a registered company of the "Didi Shunfengche" platform software; Yunda Company is the operator of the "Didi Shunfengche" App platform, providing users with information services for the "Didi Shunfengche"; Xiaoju Company is a "Didi Shunfengche" "App platform designer.
A reporter from the Rule of Law Daily saw from the judgment of the second instance of the case that the defendant Yunda Company argued that the Shunfeng car is a private passenger car sharing, and the car owner and the car sharing demander can freely choose the rider based on the information displayed on the platform. Information services have reached a civil legal relationship for ride-sharing. The car owners and ride-sharing demanders share the cost of private mutual assistance. As the main operator of the Shunfeng car platform, the company provides intermediary services for ride-sharing information. There was no intervention in the behavior, and no management behavior, and should not be liable for compensation in the case.
The Yixian People’s Court held that according to the "Shunfeng Car Information Platform User Agreement" provided by Yunda Company, although Didi Platform does not assign vehicles to operate, it has a clear review and management obligation for the vehicles it has signed with. Passengers also carry out certain management.
What passengers trust is the vehicles signed by the Didi Chuxing platform, not any vehicles.
In the intermediary contract, the intermediary has no right to intervene in the contract between the client and the third party. The behavior of the Didi platform has exceeded the service scope of the intermediary. Therefore, it cannot be simply characterized as an intermediary service. The Didi Chuxing platform should bear certain Social responsibility and obligation.
The Yixian Court ruled in the first instance that Yunda Company shall bear 10% of the compensation liability accordingly; the plaintiff’s request for Xiaoju Company and Didi Travel Company to bear joint liability for compensation has no legal basis and shall not be supported.
In July 2020, Baoding City Intermediate People's Court made the second instance upholding the first instance judgment.
From this case, it can be seen that Shunfeng is different from online ride-hailing. Although passengers also reach a relationship with the owners of Shunfeng through related platforms, they share the travel costs with the owners, and the owners are not profitable.
At the same time, the Shunfengche platform operates and makes profits within its business scope. It controls transaction prices, order distribution models, percentages, subsidy distribution rules, etc., and provides safety guarantees. Therefore, its functions and functions in the legal relationship of Shunfengche The role far exceeds the functions and effects of ordinary online trading platforms and intermediaries.
It's not uncommon to see fake profits
Is a ride-hailing considered an online car-hailing?
Do I need to apply for an online car-hailing qualification certificate?
Many people have always had doubts about the perception of ride-hailing and online ride-hailing.
In response to this question, the Ministry of Transport once responded: Private passenger car sharing, also known as a ride-hailing, is a ride-sharing service provider who releases travel information in advance. People with the same travel route choose to take the ride-sharing service provider’s mini-bus and share the ride. Part of the travel cost or free mutual assistance shared travel mode.
There is a big difference between the legal private car sharing service and the operating passenger service of online car-hailing, and there is no need to apply for online car-hailing related permits.
At the same time, the Ministry of Transport also emphasized that the ride-hailing vehicle must meet relevant requirements: first, it should release travel information in advance based on the owner’s own travel needs; second, people with the same travel route should choose a shared car; third, not profit. The purpose is to share part of the travel cost or free mutual assistance; fourth, there should be a certain limit on the number of rides per car per day.
In fact, as early as 2016, the "Guiding Opinions on Deepening Reform and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Taxi Industry" issued by the General Office of the State Council made it clear that the development of Shunfeng car business should achieve the two cores of "true road" and "non-profit".
However, in actual operations, these two core requirements have not been strictly implemented.
"The app clearly showed the specific route, but the driver said that he would pick up the person and leave soon, and he took a long time to pick him up. From the conversation between this person and the driver, you can tell that they don’t know each other and he wants to go. The place and my destination are not in the same way." Ms. Liu, who lives in Ci County, Handan City, Hebei Province, told reporters about an unpleasant ride on a ride.
Due to work needs, Ms. Liu often travels between her residence in Cixian County and Handan East Railway Station. In order to save costs, she is accustomed to taking a ride.
"I talked to these drivers and learned that they are not really ride-hailing vehicles at all. Some have ride-hailing cars and online ride-hailing cars hanging on their mobile phones. Whichever one has work, is actually a'black car' running and operating. "Ms. Liu told reporters.
On some platforms, it is not uncommon for "black cars" to register with "shells" and engage in online car-hailing operations in violation of regulations.
Before the Inter-Ministry Joint Conference Office of the Coordination and Supervision of New Transportation Business Types talked about related Shunfeng car platforms, many platforms opened up functions such as "nearby orders" and "nearby passengers", which enabled the number of car owners who originally took the route along the established route to solicit passengers midway. Lines and orders.
Therefore, many passengers found that they were not necessarily on the way when they took the ride, and there were also arbitrary charges and bargaining.
Market development calls for the formulation of policies and regulations
After being interviewed, several Shunfeng platform companies responded.
Tide Travel issued a statement stating that it will resolutely resist illegal operations and refrain from making ridesharing into cheap online ride-hailing. It has revised the "nearby order" function to a "temporary route" function that more accurately reflects the essential characteristics of ridesharing.
Haro Travel also stated that it has already initiated some product optimization related actions.
"For a true rider, the effect of canceling functions such as'nearby orders' is not significant. For rider owners, the goal is to reduce costs instead of making money. The relevant measures are aimed at those under the guise of riders. Car-hailing is a real operating vehicle." A registered owner of a ride-hailing car told reporters that ride-hailing was originally a sharing model that was beneficial to both passengers and car owners. It is precisely because of the lax management of the relevant platform that some people Take advantage of the loopholes.
"Previously, there have been restrictions on downwind vehicles, such as restricting odd numbers, but some platforms have never been seriously implemented." The above-mentioned downwind vehicle owners frankly said, "If the number of orders per car per day is strictly limited to 2 to 4 Single, and then regulate the ride-hailing price of Shunfeng, for example, it must be 50% lower than the price of operating vehicles, then it is impossible to profit from the online car-hailing business on the Shunfeng platform."
"Only by establishing a sound industry standard and normative system can the Shunfeng car market be healthy and orderly." Shen Lijun, Dean of the City Zhixing Research Institute, believes that the current Shunfeng car industry has begun to return to the stage of rational development, but if the relevant laws and regulations are not perfect, then supervision Law enforcement will be impossible to follow, the definition and implementation of platform responsibilities will also be difficult to achieve, and compliance operations and safety guarantees will be impossible to talk about.
The "Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Taxi Reservation Service Management" that came into effect on November 1, 2016 stipulates that private car sharing, also known as carpooling or ride-hailing, shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant regulations of the city people's government.
Therefore, industry insiders said that the regulation of ride-hailing is one city, one policy, and the local people's government should issue corresponding local regulations or local regulatory documents.
"In order to promote the healthy development of Shunfengche and standardize its operations, first, it is necessary to strengthen public opinion and form a social consensus. Relevant government departments should incorporate incentives for the healthy development of Shunfengche into future beautiful projects for overall planning; second, speed up the formulation and introduction of private small Policies and regulations on passenger car sharing; third, we should promptly implement the State Council’s encouragement policy to more specific measures.” At the 2nd China Shunfeng Health Development Law Forum held in August 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission China Urbanization Promotion Said Wang Pingsheng, vice chairman of the meeting.
As an emerging business, there is no doubt about the huge social value of Shunfeng.
Some ride-hailing has become a phenomenon of online car-hailing in disguise. With the improvement of relevant laws, regulations and policies, it is impossible for platform companies to carry out “regulatory arbitrage” for a long time. The continuous development and improvement of the market will also lead to more diversified governance measures and advance Hitchhiker develops better.