Recently, a Shanghai woman named Bai shared on social media a photo of herself bumping into a young man riding a “food delivery motorcycle” with a “Shanghai A” license plate worth 500,000 RMB. The news has stirred up discussions among mainland netizens.
On August 18th, as reported by Upstream News, Bai mentioned that she saw this motorcycle at the intersection of Jinshajiang Road and Danba Road in Putuo District on the morning of the 16th. She noticed that it had a yellow license plate and was in good condition. When she saw that it was painted with the “Are You Hungry” platform logo, she found it quite contrasting and decided to snap a photo of it.
Bai explained, “The issuance of yellow license plates for motorcycles in Shanghai has been suspended, making them a rare commodity with no market. They used to sell for as high as 700,000 RMB, but recently the prices have dropped to over 500,000 RMB.”
The owner of this “Are You Hungry” platform-branded motorcycle, Mr. Zhu, is a programmer who purchased the motorcycle in 2021. He confirmed that he indeed spent over 500,000 RMB on the license plate and joked that “he’s delivering a very new type of food.”
He elaborated that he is just an ordinary office worker. Due to a change in his company’s office location, public transportation was not convenient for his commute. As he also had an interest in motorcycles, he bought one for commuting purposes.
He mentioned, “Buying a dedicated motorcycle tail box could cost several hundred yuan, but these food delivery boxes are much cheaper.” Considering the cost-effectiveness and practicality, he decided to equip his motorcycle with a tail box of the same brand as “Are You Hungry.”
To add some fun, after purchasing the box, Mr. Zhu subsequently bought matching body color films, helmets, riding clothes, and keychains.
He also revealed that he had worked as a food delivery rider for a few days, thus having some insights into the food delivery industry. In Shanghai, the motorcycles used by food delivery drivers are not standard issue by the companies, so he found having a motorcycle more flexible and capable of handling higher delivery volumes each day.
According to Shanghai authorities, motorcycles with a “Shanghai A” (yellow plate) license plate with an engine displacement of 50cc or above can travel throughout the city, except for restricted roads. Due to their rarity and market speculation, their prices have remained high.
Currently, some motorcycle trading websites in the area list the reference price of a “Shanghai A” (yellow plate) license plate at 528,000 RMB.
On August 18th, the topic of “Shanghai young man rides a 500,000 RMB yellow plate motorcycle to deliver food” trended on Baidu’s hot search, sparking heated discussions among mainland netizens:
“This is the richest food delivery guy I’ve ever seen.”
“This is too crazy. Spending 500,000 RMB just on a license plate could buy a luxury car!”
“No wonder they say 500,000 RMB can only buy a toilet in Shanghai. It’s not even the most extreme. Now you can only afford a license plate for a motorcycle, truly inhumane.”
“Poverty limits my imagination! Swapping for a low-profile appearance but displaying a high-profile license plate!”
“Seeing is believing. Nowadays, many highly educated individuals who are unemployed or businessmen who have gone bankrupt are turning to food delivery or driving for ride-hailing services.”
“I drive a 2023 Mercedes G63 in a fourth-tier city for Didi, yet I still can’t become an internet celebrity.”