On March 17th and 18th, more than a hundred rideshare drivers in Baoding, Hebei Province, went on a collective strike to protest against the company’s exorbitant 30,000 yuan “reverse certificate fee”. As of now, the drivers’ demands have not been met.
Jin Wei (pseudonym), a driver who has been operating rideshare services for 5 years, revealed to a reporter that since 2018, Baoding City has required rideshare operators to hold a “Network Reservation Taxi Operation Permit”, with one permit per vehicle. By 2023, the number of rideshare vehicles in Baoding had reached 5,000, and in order to curb market saturation, the government stopped issuing operation permits. After operating a vehicle for 8 years, it must be replaced with a new one. The old vehicle’s operation permit must then be transferred to the new vehicle, obtainable from the transportation department for only 20 yuan. However, the rideshare company charges drivers 30,000 yuan for the “reverse certificate fee”, sparking dissatisfaction among the drivers.
According to reports, over a hundred drivers parked their cars on the roadside to protest at the rideshare company. Jin Wei stated that after two days of protest, no results were achieved. The local government claimed to provide a response on March 24th, but the drivers were not optimistic.
Jin Wei said, “Once this certificate is no longer issued, it becomes valuable. About 3,000 vehicles are expected to be replaced this time. The company is forcing us to pay 30,000 yuan because for a rideshare driver, that is a significant amount of money. After working hard for a year, they may not even be able to save 30,000 yuan.”
By next March, 5,000 rideshare vehicles will need to be gradually updated. If each vehicle is charged a 30,000 yuan fee, the total amount will reach 150 million yuan. Jin Wei stated, “This is a very large ‘cake’, and there should be other interest groups collaborating with rideshare companies to forcefully ‘harvest’ the drivers.”
With the decline in the mainland’s economy and a decrease in consumer spending, there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of people driving taxis. Jin Wei mentioned that while previously earning 500 yuan a day, they now only make two to three hundred yuan a day, resulting in a monthly income of only five to six thousand yuan.
Another driver expressed that rideshare drivers are being exploited by the company through various fees such as the 30,000 yuan “reverse certificate fee”, a monthly management fee of 1,200 yuan, insurance fees of over 10,000 yuan, as well as order fees, vehicle change fees, and more. Drivers are also required to purchase vehicles from the rideshare company, which costs over 50,000 yuan more than buying from a traditional dealership.
This driver mentioned that the sole demand of the drivers in this protest is to abolish the 30,000 yuan “reverse certificate fee” since it constitutes the largest portion of costs.
Jin Wei emphasized that rideshare drivers are generally in their thirties or forties, and driving is their only means of supporting their families. They will continue to fight for their rights and demand fair treatment.