In the midst of China’s deteriorating economy and high unemployment rates, Baidu has launched driverless taxis named “Luobo Kuai Pao” at discounted prices to seize the market, intensifying the anxiety of millions of taxi drivers facing unemployment. Some mainland Chinese citizens have revealed that seizing the market with low prices is a common tactic used by the Chinese Communist Party.
Recently, news about Baidu’s driverless car service “Luobo Kuai Pao” has been trending on Weibo, offering discounts as competitive as public transport like buses and subways, attracting a large number of passengers.
In an online video, a man from Hubei province shouts on a driverless taxi, “Only 3.9 yuan for 10 kilometers, no need to buy a car anymore!”
According to mainland media reports, starting from May, “Luobo Kuai Pao” driverless taxis have been widely deployed, with around 1,000 vehicles just in Wuhan. “Taking driverless cars to travel around Wuhan” is now seen as a unique landscape of the city.
Passengers can book a ride online through a mobile app, and after the vehicle arrives, the doors automatically unlock when the passenger enters the last four digits of their phone number. Once seated in the back, passengers can tap “Start Trip” on the screen, and the car will automatically drive towards the destination.
“Luobo Kuai Pao” has also expanded to Guangzhou. According to Guangzhou Radio, passengers have reported that the official subsidies make the fares very cheap. For example, a ride from Xingyue bus station to Luogang Wanda costs only 4 yuan, totaling around 0.5 yuan per kilometer, even cheaper than driving a personal vehicle.
Several netizens in Guangdong have shared their ride experiences on social media, mentioning prices as low as 4.99 yuan for a 7.1 km trip, calling it a great deal.
Despite criticisms of its slow speed and occasional disruptions like suddenly stopping in the middle of the road and colliding with pedestrians, causing traffic jams, “Luobo Kuai Pao” has earned the nickname “silly radish” from the public.
Nevertheless, its low cost and 24-hour availability have led to a surge in orders. According to Baidu’s first-quarter financial report released in May, as of April 19, “Luobo Kuai Pao” had provided over 6 million travel service orders to the public. The number of autonomous driving orders reached approximately 826,000, a 25% increase compared to the previous period.
Currently, “Luobo Kuai Pao” is testing driverless travel services in Beijing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and other cities.
Against the backdrop of China’s ongoing economic decline and high unemployment rates, online ride-hailing and taxi driving have been seen as the only means of livelihood for many jobless individuals.
The number of online ride-hailing drivers has skyrocketed over the past two years. According to statistics from the Chinese online ride-hailing supervision information platform, the number of online ride-hailing driver permits issued nationwide has surged from 2.545 million in October 2020 to 5.406 million in April this year, marking a 112.4% increase.
The market dominance of “Luobo Kuai Pao” has exacerbated the unemployment concerns of related workers, who fear that the service has taken away their livelihoods.
Recently, taxi operators in Wuhan released an open letter stating that traditional taxis are on the verge of extinction, as the taxi business has already been squeezed due to the proliferation of online ride-hailing services, and now with the emergence of driverless taxis, many taxi operators are struggling to survive.
The open letter mentions, “Technology monopolizes resources, snatches away the livelihoods of ordinary people, making it difficult for many drivers to make ends meet, forcing them to exit the industry.”
The letter calls for “strict control of the number of online ride-hailing vehicles,” fair competition, and specific regulations for the driverless taxi services provided by “Luobo Kuai Pao,” emphasizing that they should not receive special privileges and should be limited to specific regions, preventing them from “taking orders all over the streets.”
Some taxi drivers have complained to the mainland media outlet “Cailianshe,” stating, “In areas with a high deployment of ‘Luobo Kuai Pao,’ we can hardly pick up any passengers!”
Several online ride-hailing and taxi drivers have mentioned that after the introduction of “Luobo Kuai Pao,” their daily order volume and revenue have decreased. The daily earnings from a 10-hour shift have dropped from 400 yuan to 300 yuan or even 200 yuan.
On July 14th, a mainland Chinese citizen Mr. Zhao told Da Ji Yuan, “This is a common tactic used by China (Communist Party). When it wants to enter an industry, it initially provides substantial subsidies to the sector. Once this company gains a significant competitive advantage, it squeezes out all other competitors, monopolizes the sector, and then increases prices.”
Another citizen, Ms. Liu, also shared her thoughts saying, “Nowadays, a large number of university graduates are unemployed. To survive, they work as delivery drivers, online ride-hailing drivers, or for Didi. However, after the launch of ‘Luobo Kuai Pao,’ many online ride-hailing drivers can no longer find jobs, effectively leaving them unemployed.”
She explained, “When online ride-hailing services first came out, they used a similar strategy to seize the market. At the beginning, the fares were as cheap as public buses, costing only one yuan or a few cents, sometimes even offering free rides. This situation lasted for quite some time, and eventually, they absorbed all the smaller taxi companies. Then, they gradually increased the prices to over three yuan, which was still acceptable since the normal taxi fare was around eight yuan.”
Liu continued, “Later, the online ride-hailing service raised the fare to over five yuan, which people could still accept because it was cheaper than eight yuan. Subsequently, the price increased to over six or seven yuan. Once they successfully monopolized the market, the price escalated to over eight or nine yuan.”
“At that point, when trying to hail a taxi on the street, we found it nearly impossible to catch a ride because the ride-hailing channel had been monopolized by Didi. Even though the price was higher, people had to accept it. Now, with the introduction of ‘Luobo Kuai Pao,’ it is certainly offering lower prices at first, as it needs this strategy to seize the market.”
Mr. Zhao expressed, “Now, with the worsening economic situation, nothing is going well, and finding a job is extremely difficult. I feel like the whole living and working environment has been destroyed by the Communist Party, making survival too challenging!”