In a report dated May 31, 2024, the worsening of China’s economy has led to a downturn in various industries, resulting in a large number of people becoming unemployed. Delivery services, express delivery, and ride-hailing services are industries with almost no threshold, becoming the preferred money-making options for middle-aged unemployed individuals, known as the “three treasures of middle-aged unemployment” in mainland China. However, due to reasons such as oversupply of personnel, these industries are becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. Recently, there has been discussion on Chinese social media platforms about the looming risk of disappearance in the ride-hailing industry, further increasing the financial pressure on the unemployed.
Ride-hailing being among the three treasures of middle-aged unemployment has its reasons. Apart from being able to drive, no professional skills are required, with just a private car allowing one to accept orders and earn money. Many middle-aged individuals find it difficult to secure new jobs after becoming unemployed, therefore they register as drivers on platforms like Didi and Gaode to eke out a living by driving passengers around every day.
However, with the increasing number of people entering the ride-hailing business, coupled with a downgrade in consumer spending in China, many people prefer to walk a few extra steps to take a bus or subway rather than hail a ride, leading to oversupply in the ride-hailing industry. The daily orders assigned to each driver are decreasing. Some platforms struggle to reach even 1,000 orders per day, with many drivers in certain areas barely completing 20 trips daily, where the fare per trip is merely a few dozen yuan, resulting in a meager daily income of just over 200 yuan.
Since the beginning of this year, several regions in China have issued warnings about the risks in the ride-hailing industry, cautioning drivers to be wary of continuing in this line of work due to the oversaturation of drivers and platforms. Local governments in places like Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Chongqing have recently issued “industry risk warnings” regarding ride-hailing services.
On April 12, Suzhou in Jiangsu issued a risk notification stating that the city had a total of 71,944 licensed ride-hailing vehicles, with an average daily order volume of only 15 in the first quarter, resulting in a daily average income of 350 yuan per vehicle, of which the urban area was only 335 yuan.
On April 16, Chongqing published a risk notice indicating that in the first quarter, a vehicle could only receive an average of 13.6 orders per day, with a daily revenue of around 321 yuan before deducting platform fees and order information service charges.
Recently, many people in mainland China have been discussing the increasing use of driverless taxis in several cities. Policies for commercializing driverless vehicles have been introduced in Chongqing and Wuhan. Once driverless technologies become widespread, ride-hailing and taxi drivers will be the first to face unemployment, similar to how taxis replaced manual tricycles in the past. Ride-hailing and taxi drivers will once again be on the brink of losing their jobs.
A ride-hailing driver in Beijing named “Ashan” recently mentioned in a video that ride-hailing is oversaturated, leaving drivers with no orders and dismal earnings after a day of work. Several ride-hailing drivers he spoke to also shared similar experiences of not getting any business.
“Ashan” learned that the reason for their lack of orders is that they are being usurped by orders made to driverless cars. Driverless vehicles offer cheaper fares due to incentives, making it difficult for traditional drivers to compete. This situation left him with a feeling of helplessness as he saw his livelihood slipping away.
On May 30, a female private car driver in Beijing from the post-80s generation, known as “Queen,” expressed in a video that after driving for ride-hailing services for three years, she switched to private car services several months ago. However, she faced the same challenge of minimal orders, with private car services having even fewer orders compared to normal ride-hailing services, except for specific weather conditions. In conclusion, none of the options seemed profitable.
The public believes that the other two treasures for middle-aged unemployment—delivering food and courier services—are facing similar issues of oversupply and insufficient orders like the ride-hailing industry, making it incredibly challenging for those relying on these industries for income. The “three treasures of middle-aged unemployment” in mainland China are all facing serious challenges ahead.