Analysis on the Reform Policy of Taxi Industry
Tang, Master of Public Administration, School of Public Administration, Tsinghua University.
Overview: From the perspective of public policy analysis, this paper first analyzes the current situation of taxi industry in China, the realistic demands and conflicts of interests of various interest groups, then analyzes the existing problems and reasons from two aspects: government failure and market failure, finally finds out the solutions, and puts forward some suggestions for the reform of taxi industry under the impact of the Internet plus contract car rental model.
First, the status quo of taxi industry reform in China
For a long time, the reform of China's car rental industry has attracted much attention, but the progress is slow. The demand for public travel is high, but the supply is seriously insufficient, and the monopoly problem of taxi industry has been criticized. In the context of internet plus, the emergence of car rental mode (cars, etc. ) has formed a reverse mechanism for the reform of the taxi industry, and the government faces policy choices.
Status 1: Citizens complain, drivers are dissatisfied, and the industry monopolizes.
Citizen:
1, it is difficult to take a taxi. Citizens complain that taxis are often not available, especially during rush hours and rainy days. The demand for taxis is in short supply, so it usually takes 10-30 minutes to take a taxi, which is very inconvenient to travel. At present, there are 1 10000 taxis in Beijing, which cannot meet the peak travel demand.
It's expensive to take a taxi. Beijing taxi "starting price" 13 yuan, the basic unit price is 2. 3 kilometers away, every kilometer in 3 yuan. In addition, compared with self-driving cars, the cost is much higher. In some places, drivers often increase their fares.
3. Poor service. Passengers often encounter the driver's behavior of picking things up and refusing to carry them. On the one hand, passengers can't get a taxi, on the other hand, there are many empty cars. Some have unethical behaviors such as bullying foreigners and detours.
Driver:
1, the money is high. Taxi drivers in Beijing have to pay about 4,000 to 6,000 yuan a month to the company in addition to fuel and car repair fees.
2. Low income. China has 6.5438+0.09 million taxis and 2 million taxi drivers. The income of taxi drivers in Beijing has always been lower than the average social wage. The driver demanded to reduce the money and increase the starting price and the price per kilometer.
3. Black cars grab business. In some places where public transportation is underdeveloped, a large number of black cars have appeared. The number of "black cars" in Beijing has reached 654.38+million, and the income of some "black car" drivers even exceeds that of taxi drivers.
Taxi company:
1. Franchising is necessary. Taxi franchise is to control the total amount and avoid traffic congestion and environmental problems; Second, in order to ensure safety, passengers have a company as a safety guarantee, which is also convenient for the unified management of the transportation department.
2. Money should be paid. Taxi companies need to provide vehicles, insurance, etc. Pay management fees. Many taxi companies are state-owned subsidiaries, accept state management and assume more social responsibilities.
Government:
1, taxi control cannot be liberalized in the short term. Relevant traffic management departments have said that according to the Code for Planning and Design of Urban Road Traffic issued by the Ministry of Construction 1995, the number of urban taxis cannot be increased indefinitely because of the increase in passenger demand. The total number of taxis in new york, Tokyo and London is 1 0.5 million respectively, less than110,000, and citizens mainly commute by public transport. There are * * taxis 1 10000 in Beijing, each taxi travels about 400 kilometers every day, and the vacancy rate is 30% to 40%. If there is no limit to the number of taxis, it will aggravate urban congestion, increase pollution emissions and harm public interests.
2. Promote the reform of the taxi industry. During the 20 15 session, Minister of Communications Yang said in an interview with the media that the guiding opinions on taxi reform will be issued in the first half of this year, and the guiding opinions will clarify four principles, namely: the positioning of taxis is not public transportation; Taxis need to be controlled as a whole, neither too much nor too little; Taxi adopts price control; Drivers and operators can get reasonable remuneration.
Status quo 2: Internet car rental is on the rise, and the contradiction of reform is increasingly prominent.
Since 20 14 years, taxi software such as Didi taxi and express taxi has risen rapidly, realizing the coordination of social transportation resources and services. In particular, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and other large Internet companies seized the mobile portal, gave high subsidies to passengers and drivers, attracted tens of millions of users in a short time, and gained recognition from taxi drivers and citizens.
With the rise of taxi software, various softwares such as special car, carpooling and hitchhiking outside the taxi operation system came into being. Ordinary private cars can park passengers and get service fees and subsidies after being certified by certain procedures. Special car, free of all kinds of money and management fees, has obvious economic advantages. Although the qualification of this kind of service is not clear and the management is not perfect, it does mobilize social resources efficiently, alleviate the problem of expensive and difficult taxis, and adapt to the market demand to a certain extent.
1, automobile dispute
The emergence of Internet private cars has touched the interests of the original taxi companies and drivers. Recently, taxi stops occurred in Shenyang, Tianjin, Qingdao, Nanjing, Changchun, Jinan, Chengdu, Nanchang and other places, collectively accusing private cars of illegal operation and crowding out the market. Under pressure, the transportation departments in Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian and other places identified Uber, Didi, Kuai and other car drivers who lacked the qualification for passenger transportation as illegal operations and imposed administrative penalties. On June 8, 20 15, the driver of the "first case of special car" in Jinan, Shandong Province refused to accept the administrative punishment and decided to postpone it for three months. So far, no verdict has been pronounced.
The main reasons why taxis protest against private cars are: First, the income has a huge impact. Due to the impact of private cars, the income of taxi drivers in Beijing has decreased by an average of 30%. Second, the taxi license price plummeted. The soaring taxi license price has dropped sharply. At the end of last year, the taxi license plate in Tianjin was worth 1 1.5 million yuan, but now it can only be sold for about 700 thousand yuan, and some drivers have suffered huge losses. Third, it threatens the survival of taxi companies. Private cars have low operating costs and do not need to pay any money. Many taxi drivers have become private car drivers, and a large number of taxis are "vacant" in taxi companies in Shanghai and other places.
2. Compulsory taxi reform and Shanghai's new policy
In fact, the special car is only the fuse of industry monopoly. On May 2 1, Wang Shuiping, Deputy Director of the Transportation Service Department of the Ministry of Communications, responded at a special news conference: support Yiwu to actively and steadily promote the reform of taxi industry, and try to explore specific measures suitable for the reform and development of taxis in small and medium-sized cities first, so as to provide reference and demonstration for the reform of taxi industry in China.
Compulsory taxi reform. 20 15 In early May, Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province issued the Taxi Reform and Operation Plan, which included: 1 to cancel the paid use fee of the management right. The operating fee for 20 15 years will be reduced from 1 10,000 yuan per vehicle to 5,000 yuan per year, and will be completely cancelled from 20 16 years. 2. Gradually increase the number of taxis and taxi companies. Through public registration and lottery, five new taxi companies were established and 250 new taxi indicators were directly added. In addition, 200 vehicles were transferred from six old taxi companies for use by the new company. 3. Encourage the integration and innovation of mobile Internet and taxi industry. However, private cars must be legally operated vehicles, and private cars are strictly prohibited from entering the operation.
Shanghai special car new deal. On June 1 day, 2005, "Shanghai Taxi Information Service Platform" was officially put into operation. The platform is jointly participated by the Municipal Transportation Commission, four taxi companies and Didi Taxi, focusing on solving the problems of vehicle and driver identification, vehicle operation status identification, and improving vehicle operation safety. Through the mobile app, users will be able to use the car service, and Shanghai has become the first city officially recognized by government departments. The relevant departments recently reported the reform plan of special car supervision to the Ministry of Communications for approval.
Second, the taxi industry reform policy analysis
Judging from the above situation, in the face of the impact of internet car rental, the taxi industry reform has reached the point where it has to be changed. Government departments must make in-depth analysis, accurately locate, clearly define objectives and formulate scientific, reasonable and feasible policies and measures.
(A) problem analysis
The focus of the taxi industry reform lies in the way and scale of government regulation of the taxi market and how to face the new impact of private cars. From the perspective of public policy analysis, there are both market failures and government failures in the taxi market.
1, market failure
Only in an ideal state can the market mechanism allocate resources to the optimal state. Under the condition of traditional technology, the car rental market can't allocate resources to the optimal state because of information asymmetry and negative externalities, which provides a basis for the government to intervene in supervision. If there is no government supervision, there may be the following main problems:
The first is the problem of information asymmetry. Taxis are more mobile. Under the condition of traditional technology, passengers' risks to vehicle safety, driver qualification and service attitude are unknown, and their safety is at risk. The problem of "black car" is mainly due to the information asymmetry among the government, passengers and drivers, which leads to the inconvenience of government supervision and easily leads to safety accidents. At the same time, in the absence of government-guided prices, bargaining between drivers and passengers is inefficient.
The second is the problem of negative externalities. Under the condition of traditional technology, opening the taxi market is likely to form low-price competition, divert passengers from subways and buses, increase the number of taxis and occupy more road resources. Because there are many single passengers in taxis, the utilization rate of road resources will also decline. At the same time, many taxis use cruise mode to attract passengers, and the empty driving rate is high. A large number of taxis will aggravate environmental pollution.
Based on the above two reasons, there will be market failure in the taxi market without government supervision, which will harm the public interest.
2. Government failure
In order to solve the problem of taxi market failure, countries generally adopt the market access permit system to regulate the number of taxis. However, in the actual operation process, the following main problems have appeared:
First, the supply of taxis is insufficient. The travel of urban citizens has obvious peak and valley stages. Due to the government's quantity control, passengers often face the problem of difficulty in taking taxis during commuting hours, and the number of taxis obviously cannot match the needs of passengers. Many passengers have to wait for a long time, which reduces the efficiency of social operation.
The second is the distortion of price cost. Taxi franchise has caused a monopoly in the taxi market. Taxi companies are often subsidiaries of relatively strong state-owned enterprises or private enterprises, and use their monopoly position to collect high "money". The pressure of drivers to earn money is in unfair contrast with the low risk and high profit of taxi companies. At the same time, objectively, passengers have to bear higher taxi costs.
The third is the lack of market incentives. Due to the long-term monopoly and government pricing, the competition in the taxi industry is often not obvious. What taxi companies are most concerned about is not how to improve the service quality, but how to protect their profits and monopoly position. Taxi companies are often backward in the operation mode that is conducive to improving the overall traffic operation efficiency under the Internet conditions, and even resist the way they form competitive cars.
The above three aspects are the government failure of taxi market under the current market control, which actually restricts the overall operating efficiency of society.
3, the solution to the problem (Internet about car rental mode)
From the above analysis, under the condition of limited technical conditions and management means, it is inevitable to solve the taxi market failure by controlling the total amount with the permit system, and there is also the problem of government failure.
With the popularity of internet plus and the emergence of special cars, the market situation has changed. Theoretically and currently in practice, the mode of internet car rental (car rental, etc. Expanding market supply on the basis of) can better solve the problem of taxi market failure, reduce the defects of government failure, and improve the utilization rate of social resources and overall operational efficiency as a whole. This is determined by the characteristics of internet car rental:
First, it can effectively solve the problem of information asymmetry. Through smart phones, car rental software and the Internet, passengers and drivers can fully understand each other's identity, status, evaluation, location and needs in real time, providing relatively fair and objective information for market transactions. In the case of implementing identity authentication, passengers can make consumption choices and get security. Government departments can use a unified monitoring platform to obtain relevant information in real time and conduct market supervision.
The second is to significantly improve the utilization rate of social resources. Rent a car online and mobilize qualified social vehicles to undertake transportation tasks. By increasing static waiting vehicles and large-scale hitchhiking, the service supply is increased, the waiting time of passengers and the empty driving rate of vehicles are reduced, the number of cyclists is increased, and the overall operating efficiency and resource utilization efficiency of society are improved.
The third is to reasonably determine the price of transportation services. While increasing the supply, Internet car rental is conducive to breaking the monopoly of the original taxi industry, reducing unreasonable "money" and monopoly profits, reducing passenger travel costs, and forming a reasonable transportation service price under the market mechanism.
The fourth is to promote orderly competition in the market. Opening the car rental market through the Internet, allowing companies that meet the opening conditions to enter the market for free competition, is conducive to the survival of the fittest for operators, improving the level of transportation services and allowing consumers to enjoy more benefits.
4, negative impact and resistance analysis
The development of internet car rental mode may face the following key problems, which need further research and demonstration and field pilot:
Whether (1) significantly increases traffic congestion and environmental problems. Many experts have suggested that 1 taxi's road resource occupation and emissions are equivalent to those of 10 ordinary cars. Open network car rental will increase traffic congestion and environmental problems. In fact, this is a complicated problem. Social vehicles participating in transportation services, breaking monopoly and lowering prices will indeed increase consumption. However, it cannot be simply said that the increase in vehicles participating in the operation and the increase in consumption will lead to congestion.
It should be noted that internet car rental will significantly improve the utilization rate of road traffic. First, online car rental involves a large number of social vehicles. At present, many drivers are not full-time drivers, but take a ride or even carpool during business hours. Many people usually don't run on the road, but entertain guests at home, work units or fixed places, and provide transportation services at specific times to achieve profitability. This is a more traditional full-time and cruise mode, which improves the efficiency of vehicle transportation. Market competition and reducing operating costs have brought about changes in operating methods. Second, the travel efficiency of full-time drivers will be improved. Through the software service platform, the idle driving rate can be reduced. Under the competitive pressure of increasing peer-to-peer services and falling prices, drivers will consciously reduce operating costs, reduce cruise passengers, enhance intelligent order taking and reduce road occupancy; Third, citizens' demand for self-driving travel has a certain rigid proportion. Today, with the popularity of family cars, citizens may choose to drive themselves even if they don't take a taxi. In the case that the total market demand will not be infinitely enlarged because of lower prices and more convenient rides, the market will automatically adjust the supply. Compared with the huge self-driving base, restricting taxis and operating vehicles is obviously not the key to solving the congestion problem, but should be the unified management of private cars and other vehicles. Fourth, the overall benefit of internet car rental is obvious. Internet car rental will divert the whole traffic pressure and realize the positive benefits of the whole society, which is not only the benefit of road traffic, but also does not conflict with encouraging public transportation such as subway and bus, and the market will balance the needs of different types of transportation. To sum up, in the case that a large number of private cars have existed and caused road congestion during peak hours, internet car rental will improve transportation efficiency and will not significantly increase traffic congestion. Road traffic itself is for travel, so we should not put the cart before the horse and oppose efficient modes of transportation. Conversely, we should also encourage online car rental and reduce private car travel.
As for the environmental problems caused by vehicles, we think that the impact of this mode on the environment is not obvious. In the case that the total base of various types of vehicles is relatively large, the idling rate of running vehicles is reduced and the efficiency of bicycle transportation is improved, it can be ignored compared with its positive role. The problem of automobile exhaust is mainly affected by the total number of vehicles, the improvement of emission standards, traffic control and other modes of transportation. With the promotion of electric vehicles and the improvement of exhaust gas control technology, the external negative impact of vehicles on the environment will be less and less, and it should not be a restrictive factor for the popularization of internet car rental.
(2) Whether the quantity control can be completely released. This paper analyzes whether the liberalization of quantity control will aggravate traffic congestion and environmental pollution. In fact, only when the quantity control is completely liberalized and a large number of social vehicles participate, can the market mechanism really play its role. When the market operating price is lowered, drivers will consciously reduce operating costs, reduce aimless cruises to attract passengers and reduce road occupancy. At this time, the operating vehicles with low utilization rate of road and vehicle resources will be eliminated from the market. Therefore, considering the high price of the original license plate, we should gradually liberalize the quantity control and finally realize the market self-regulation.
(3) Whether price control is needed. Government pricing is conducive to reducing transaction disputes, but it is not conducive to differentiated services and market competition of different models and companies. After the liberalization of quantity control, in order to reduce disputes and facilitate differentiated services, the government can simply classify and implement the highest pricing guidance, and the operating companies can set their own prices within the highest guidance price. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the procedures for price adjustment and implement a filing system. In order to prevent drivers from raising their own prices, they should disclose the prices on vehicles and internet software at any time, so that passengers can know and make choices in real time.
(4) The conflict of existing interest pattern. The first is the conflict with the taxi company. Once the internet car rental market is liberalized, it will pose a direct threat to the monopoly interests of taxi companies. Even if taxi companies embrace the internet, it is difficult to reach the original profit level. The second is the impact on taxi drivers. The income of existing taxi drivers will face the impact of special cars in the short term, which will affect some drivers to switch to special cars. After the market is liberalized, its income level will be formed according to the labor market price. Because of the existence of Internet evaluation mechanism, the survival of the fittest and income difference will be realized. The third is the influence on government power. Originally, the traffic management department gradually lost the approval right of taxi access, which brought more industry supervision pressure, and government departments may have the inertia of reform. The fourth is the inadaptability to some passengers. Internet car rental has certain technical requirements for passengers, which is not good for passengers who do not have relevant skills and conditions. The original parking system is still effective, and the market will adapt itself according to the demand. The government can also consider setting up public parking facilities at specific distribution points such as buses.
To sum up, compared with the traditional taxi franchise model, the Internet car rental model based on increasing market supply can better overcome the taxi market failure and government failure and meet the public travel needs. When the negative externality is controllable and not obvious, it can realize the market-oriented allocation and effective utilization of social resources and increase the overall welfare of society. At the same time, in the face of the conflict of the existing interest pattern, it is necessary to introduce scientific and reasonable policies and measures, gradually liberalize the car rental market, guide the transformation of the existing taxi market, and minimize the contradictions and resistance in the reform process.
Third, the solution to the problem.
the policy goal
Starting from several target elements such as efficiency, fairness, safety and freedom, the policy objectives of the Internet car rental model and the current taxi license franchise model are compared as follows:
the policy goal
Internet car rental mode
Taxi License Franchise Mode
1, efficiency
Rent a car through the internet, fully mobilize social vehicles to participate in the operation, and ensure daily and peak travel needs; Promote information sharing and interaction, reduce the idle rate of vehicles and reduce the average waiting time of passengers; Encourage hitchhiking and carpooling to increase the capacity of bicycles, improve the efficiency of road transportation, and meet the travel needs of passengers to the maximum extent.
Ensure citizens' basic road travel needs, encourage citizens to take public transportation such as subways and buses during peak hours, and reduce road traffic congestion; Conduct proper competition within franchise companies to improve operational efficiency.
2. Fairness
Open the market, companies and individuals who meet the qualification requirements can participate in the market operation and achieve equal competition, and their income is affected by the quality of service; Passengers are required to have the use of supporting software.
Relative monopoly, only companies that have obtained taxi license franchise can operate; Taxi companies have low risks and high returns, and taxi drivers have high "money" and great pressure, so individual vehicles cannot participate in the operation; The information technology requirements for passengers are low.
3. Safety
The information of passengers, vehicles and drivers can be shared and interacted in real time, and the information is open and transparent, reducing uncertainty. The government can access the car rental platform for real-time supervision to ensure passenger safety; Minimize the environmental impact of operating vehicles.
Ensure vehicle safety and driver's driving level through franchise management and transportation department management system, with taxi company providing guarantee; Under the control of quantity, it will not increase the load of taxis on the road and the total amount of environmental pollution.
4. Freedom
Through real-time information, citizens have greater freedom in choosing car rental services; You can choose to continue to use the traditional stop-and-go taxi mode.
The citizens mainly use taxi stopping or telephone reservation, but it is difficult to choose vehicles and drivers in advance.
(2) Policy plan
1, the general principle.
-Respect for needs. Adhere to the market demand-oriented, to solve the travel difficulties of the masses and meet the transportation needs of different groups as the starting point, and do not put the cart before the horse.
-encourage innovation. Grasp the development trend of the times, encourage the integration and innovation of mobile internet and transportation industry, and improve the efficiency and service level of transportation services.
-Market operation. Adhere to the general direction of market-oriented reform, gradually establish a fair competitive market environment, and optimize the basic role of the market in the allocation of transportation resources.
-Standardize management. Reduce administrative examination and approval, strengthen service supervision, innovate the supervision mode and system of transportation services under the condition of Internet, and ensure market safety.
-Positive and stable. Coordinate the present and the long term to avoid the intensification of contradictions. Try first, guide by classification, guide the industry transformation through the market, gradually transition, and realize the reform expectation in stages.
2. Key measures
(1) Cancel the paid use fee of management right. Cancel the government's system of charging paid use fees for taxi management rights and registering or filing according to procedures.
(2) Gradually liberalize quantity control. Clear the time node, release the control of the number of operating companies and vehicles in stages, and implement market-oriented adjustment. Allow private cars to enter the operating vehicle market through self-driving and leasing, and clarify the methods and standards of taxation and charging. For specific operating vehicles, they are gradually brought into the scope of traffic control together with private cars.
(three) the implementation of government guidance. Cancel the government pricing mechanism and implement the highest government guidance price in different categories. Business entities set their own prices according to regulations, reflecting service differences. Mandatory price publicity, public, the implementation of price change filing system.
(4) Strengthen qualification certification. Strengthen the system of vehicle operation qualification certification and vehicle safety inspection. And strengthen the operator qualification certification system. To provide guarantee for different vehicle bodies to enter the operation market. Improve the environmental protection access standards for operating vehicles.
(5) Strengthen market monitoring. Establish a unified data sharing and operation monitoring platform, formulate data interface standards, and monitor market security in real time. Improve the passenger information security and confidentiality system.
(6) Improve safeguard measures. Formulate management measures for car rental (special car, etc.). ), and clarify the relevant insurance, taxation, fees and other supporting regulations and punishment systems. Support the transformation of existing taxi companies to the Internet. Increase public rental housing facilities to facilitate citizens' travel.
3. Implementation steps
(1) Clear the direction. The competent department of industry will take the lead and participate in various demonstrations, put forward reform plans, and report them to the relevant reform departments of the central government for approval. By better coordinating the interests of different parties at the central level, we will intensify reforms, give the society clear reform expectations, and leave time for the industry to prepare for transformation.
(2) Try first. Carry out pilot reform of taxi industry in different regions and cities, and support the Internet car rental model. In the pilot process, we should sum up the problems found in time, introduce measures and improve the system.
(3) Fully rolled out. According to the experience of trying first, we will further revise the reform plan of taxi industry, introduce overload control measures, implement classified guidance for different cities and regions, announce the reform plan as soon as possible and implement it nationwide.