Drivers taking on more orders without increasing their income? Experts suggest that multiple regions should stop the practice of "fixed price" orders for ride hailing services, and establish a transparent and rational pricing mechanism. At the same time, it is necessary to optimize the professional treatment of drivers. Recently, many regions have suspended low-priced marketing behaviors such as "fixed price" for ride hailing services. Experts believe that this move can help the industry return to reasonable pricing and further solve the problem of drivers' increasing orders without increasing income. At the same time, facing the problem of reduced platform order volume, experts suggest building a transparent and rational pricing and long-term mechanism for protecting rights and interests, effectively safeguarding the rights and interests of ride hailing drivers and all parties involved. Recently, policies have been introduced in Shaanxi, Xi'an and other places to completely suspend low-priced marketing behaviors such as "fixed prices" for ride hailing services, and strictly prohibit any form of price fraud and malicious price suppression. Prior to this, many places such as Yingtan in Jiangxi, Kaifeng in Henan, and Qingyuan in Guangdong have also introduced similar policies, prohibiting platforms from forcing drivers to take orders through a "fixed price" model and regulating disorderly low price competition. Against the backdrop of multiple saturation warnings in the ride hailing market, what impact may suspending "fixed price" orders have? How to further optimize the pricing mechanism of ride hailing services and effectively protect the rights and interests of ride hailing drivers and all parties involved? The reporter conducted an interview on this matter. Multiple places have suspended the "fixed price" orders for ride hailing services. The so-called "fixed price" orders for ride hailing services refer to the fixed settlement price given by the system based on factors such as estimated mileage, duration, and real-time road conditions after passengers set their destination. Regardless of traffic congestion or changing routes, passengers will pay according to this price. This model is attractive to passengers, and with the stimulation of cheap prices and controllable expectations, the demand for ride hailing travel may increase, which also helps ride hailing platforms seize market share. But some drivers have expressed that under the "fixed price" model, there is an increase in orders received but no increase in income. At the end of August this year, a notice issued by the Xi'an Municipal Transportation Bureau on regulating the pricing behavior of ride hailing platforms was widely circulated on the internet, attracting high attention from the industry. Subsequently, multiple departments including the Xi'an Transportation Bureau confirmed the authenticity of the documents and stated that they are gradually promoting their implementation, urging all platform enterprises to strictly comply. The notice clearly states that starting from 00:00 on August 19th, the city will comprehensively suspend low price marketing behaviors such as "fixed price" and "special offer price", and strictly prohibit any form of price fraud and malicious price suppression. Previously, many places also suspended the "fixed price" orders for ride hailing services. The low price strategy was once a weapon for ride hailing platforms to seize the market, but it has also sparked controversy. The 'fixed price' orders are lower than the normal unit price, and drivers are not charged for the duration of the order. When it comes to the 'fixed price' orders, Mr. Han, a ride hailing driver from Zhengzhou, Henan, has a complicated mood. He only accepts them during leisure time, and cannot accept them during rush hour traffic jams, which is not cost-effective. Regarding the suspension of 'fixed price' orders in many places, Zheng Linyi, a specially appointed associate researcher at the School of Public Administration of Zhejiang University, said that this move has many benefits for drivers. The core demand of drivers is to "match income with effort", but the low price orders lead to "more work, less reward", which makes most drivers resistant to such orders. Therefore, they hope that the industry can return to reasonable pricing and truly solve the problem of "increasing orders without increasing revenue". Some passengers believe that the pricing mechanism can be further improved on this basis. Ms. Bai, who works for an Internet enterprise in Beijing, said that "Buy It Now" orders can reduce the risk of unit price rise caused by detours, and should balance the interests of passengers, drivers, platforms and other parties by rationalizing the unit price per kilometer and making the proportion of commission paid transparent. The 'price war' is unsustainable and may force the platform to transform. 'Fixed price' orders are essentially short-term 'price wars' that do not conform to market laws and are also unsustainable. ”Zheng Linyi's analysis suggests that some platforms seize market share through "fixed price" orders, but some of the costs are actually borne by drivers, which has led to an increase in the number of orders received by some drivers without an increase in income. Instead, the increase in order density has increased work intensity. Yang Xinmiao, Deputy Director of the Transportation Research Institute at Tsinghua University, believes that "fixed price" orders are essentially a choice for platforms to cope with market uncertainty. Currently, the growth space of the ride hailing market is not obvious, and some platforms participate in competition through "fixed price" orders, which is a strategy at the enterprise level. It is advisable to support measures to halt this type of order model. As drivers, what we are most concerned about is the average unit price per kilometer and the platform commission rate. ”Mr. Han revealed that recently, some platforms have been reducing "fixed price" orders while adjusting commission rates through end of month rebates. "For example, for commissions exceeding 25% of driver order income, the platform will refund them to the driver at the end of the month. This model has also increased the income of many drivers," Mr. Han said. After the cancellation of 'fixed price' orders, the platform's order volume may decrease, and the accompanying commission income will also decrease. ”Zheng Linyi further stated that this adjustment may force the platform to re-examine its existing profit model and formulate more reasonable and long-term development strategies. Building a transparent pricing and driver rights protection mechanism "Stopping 'fixed price' preferential orders is just the first step, the key is to establish a transparent and reasonable long-term pricing and commission mechanism. ”Zheng Linyi suggested that the commission rate of the platform should be linked to the services it provides, forming a clear list, such as the proportion of navigation technology services and insurance services, clarifying the charging standards for each service, ensuring that drivers and passengers can check the cost details, and maintaining the stability of the ratio over a period of time. The reporter learned that after many places suspended "fixed price" orders, there have been positive changes in the industry. Mr. Zhou, a ride hailing driver from Xi'an, Shaanxi, said that his income has slightly increased under the same working hours. Multiple interviewed drivers have reported that suspending "fixed price" orders means a slight increase in unit prices, but at the same time, efforts should be made to avoid disguised low price competition under the guise of "special offer orders". When it comes to the protection of the rights and interests of ride hailing drivers, Yang Xinmiao suggests that relevant regulatory work should shift from "two certificate management" to the construction of professional norms. It should no longer be satisfied with just regulating whether there is a certificate, but should continuously optimize the professional treatment of ride hailing drivers, such as establishing minimum wage guarantees, to further protect the rights and interests of relevant practitioners. Zheng Linyi suggested that platforms should encourage intelligent scheduling and carpooling optimization through model innovation, support customized services such as mid to high end car models and scenario based travel, and break out of homogeneous competition. At the same time, he also reminded practitioners to carefully check the terms of car rental, insurance, etc. before signing a contract with the platform, clarify the cost and commission rules, avoid infringement of rights and interests due to information asymmetry, and actively protect their legitimate rights and interests through legal channels. We hope that relevant departments can further regulate low price competition behavior, while controlling the number of drivers and vehicles to avoid disorderly expansion of the industry. ”Master Han believes that ride hailing drivers themselves need to actively pay attention to industry policies and price changes, actively collect industry information, summarize their experience in running orders, continuously improve their skills, and receive more orders with high-quality services. (New Society)