Wang Yu: Why Does Low-Cost Online Car-hailing Become a Difficult and Expensive Traffic Method?

Release time:2017-03-03Author: Wang Yu

 High subsidies are the catalyst for cultivating the market, and free is not the norm in the sharing economy. The sharing economy represented by the online car-hailing market can achieve a win-win situation for many parties, and monopolistic platforms play an active and irreplaceable role in it. A healthy and efficient platform can enable consumers to obtain better services at low prices and continue to increase the income of drivers, and it can, moreover, obtain high profits. This is a sustainable development model based on technological and commercial innovations which promote productivity. In order to ensure that the platform becomes an active promoter and builder of cultivating a healthy and orderly market in the sharing economy, the government should conduct effective supervision: firstly, reform the franchise system of taxis and gradually reduce the monopoly on the supply side in the travel market; secondly, lower market entry barriers, and encourage social vehicles to enter the online car-hailing platform while strengthening supervision; thirdly, strengthen the supervision of online car-hailing platforms, and improve consumers' menu and bargaining power in online car-hailing services; fourthly, promote and guide the conversion of online car-hailing platform to public travel platform, give full play to the advantages of the platform in information integration and processing, as well as strengthen the social service function.