Ministry issues draft rules for car-hailing business
Updated: 2016-08-04 07:25
By LUO WANGSHU(China Daily)
|
||||||||
Airports, train stations will be off-limits to avoid direct competition with taxis
Drivers providing ride-hailing services must be licensed by the authority, a draft guideline said. Provided to China Daily |
Draft guidelines to standardize online car-hailing services in China were published on Monday, following a decision by the State Council to recognize the business, and the merger of the top two car-hailing companies in the country.
The draft, issued by the Ministry of Transportation, lays out standards for the car-hailing services. It also bans the services from entering at airports and railway stations. Drivers must wait at certain parking spots.
Under the guideline, drivers providing ride-hailing services must be licensed by the authority, and it suggests that cars be equipped with wireless internet for customers, phone chargers and tissues, none of which regular taxis are required to have.
The rationale for the airport and train station ban involves fairness, one official said. Taxis are required to line up at airports and railway stations to pick up passengers. If private cars are allowed to receive passengers without lining up, it would not be fair for taxi drivers or their passengers who had to wait, said Cheng Shidong, director of the Integrated Transportation Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.
If both types of services, the ride-hailing cars and taxis, are allowed to take clients at the same time, it will result in chaos, since they follow two different sets of rules, Cheng said.
"If passengers are rushing to ride-hailing services, a large space is required," he said.
Some private drivers were not concerned about the prohibition.
"I don't care about getting passengers at the airport or railway station. Personally, I prefer to avoid those places anyway," said Hong Jun, an Uber driver in Beijing. "It was easy to be caught by authorities at stations before we were legalized. One of my friends was fined 10,000 yuan ($1,500)."
But there were other problems as well:
"I was trying to get a passenger at the Beijing South Railway Station last week, and I spent about half an hour trying to find him in the parking lot," he said. "In the pickup area under the roof, GPS navigation didn't work. It was really a bad experience. I have tried not to be close to the railway station ever since."
The draft is out for public comment until the end of this month. It is expected to take effect on Nov 1.
The State Council legitimized the car-hailing services last Thursday through a new regulation.
The top two ride-hailing companies in China, Didi Chuxing and its rival Uber China, announced a merger on Monday.
- Nepal's newly elected PM takes oath
- Texas gun law worries incoming students
- China vows to deepen economic, trade cooperation with ASEAN
- Fire guts Emirates jet after hard landing; 1 firefighter dies
- Egypt's Nobel-laureate scientist dies of illness in US
- THAAD muscle flexing unmasks anxiety over declining hegemony
- Big names train for Rio 2016
- Photo exhibition narrates charm of old Beijing
- Traditional Tibetan handicrafts kept alive in SW China
- Chinese Vice Premier visits Olympic delegation
- World's fastest bullet train to start operating next month
- Jack Ma visits rural school, meets teachers
- Top 8 global market leaders from China
- After Typhoon Nida, torrential rain hits S. China
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
US launches airstrikes against IS targets in Libya's Sirte
Ministry slams US-Korean THAAD deployment
Two police officers shot at protest in Dallas
Abe's blame game reveals his policies failing to get results
Ending wildlife trafficking must be policy priority in Asia
Effects of supply-side reform take time to be seen
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to meet Kerry
Chinese stocks surge on back of MSCI rumors
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |