Uber in China

'People's Uber' via The Independent; this is promote a new, recently rolled out a not-for-profit 'People's
Uber' app in Beijing in which riders only pay for driver's cost

Uber is thriving in China, especially in a big city like Chengdu. While I myself have yet to use it, a number of conversations with taxi drivers, locals, and most recently even a member of the taxi company administration has given me a lot of insight on this. Apologies for not having completed my longer Anlong post yet--but I wanted to take the chance to share about this while it was still fresh on my mind.

The first time I heard of Uber in China was sitting in a taxi on our way to a meeting. It's typical to make small talk with the taxi driver on the way there, which is what Dong, a CURA staff member, was doing. While it's obvious driving a taxi is by no means lucrative, I didn't know much of the financial details. In Chengdu, each day costs the driver 400 RMB in fees to the taxi company plus about 200 RMB for fuel. 600 RMB, or about $100, just to break even. Uber has only been in Chengdu since January this year, but almost all conversations with taxi drivers mention Uber without fail, and how it's been increasingly difficult to make money. Of course, there may be exaggeration to some extent, but it's safe to say Uber's definitely made a dent in the taxi business. Other than being cheaper, Uber has a number of other benefits--air conditioning, a nicer driver, even convenience. Instead of standing at a street corner trying to flag down a taxi, the Uber driver finds you. All of the above can also be said of Uber in America. A chance encounter with a taxi company admin showed me where the differences lay.

We were trying to get to a nearby hotel to meet with some students touring through China for dinner, but had a hard time flagging down a taxi. After 10+ minutes, we were almost ready to risk our lives and take a 'Modi,' aka a motorcycle taxi. Just then, we spotted an available taxi cab, and hopped in. Almost right away, we realized something was off when he whipped out his smartphone to look up directions when I told him our destination. Taxi drivers know the city like the back of their hands; they never need directions. He told us that it was his first day driving, and that we were his first customers. Just our luck. Our 6 minute trip became 15 minutes when he passed the hotel, looped back, only to accidentally drop us off on the wrong side of the road. The silver lining was it gave us more time to talk to him. He said he'd been ordered by his higher up to drive a 4 hour shift after work to investigate the impact of Uber on the taxi business. Aside from him, he said almost all the other male office workers had been sent out to do the same. I thought it was interesting that the company had thought to do this; just yesterday a real taxi driver had equated the taxi company to a historical landlord in that both collect what is due to them without caring for the well-being of their subjects. During the drive, he shared some statistics, while there are only about 10,000 taxis in Chengdu, there are about 60,000 Uber drivers. More than simply directly competing for business with taxi drivers, the sheer number of Uber drivers have noticeably increased the traffic burden and congestion throughout the city, which further affects the business of the taxi drivers. He mentioned the company was discussing introducing a format similar to Uber that allowed users to call tax drivers to them (While we're on the subject of apps, China also has a Grubhub equivalent, 饿了吗). I asked him the status of that, but he wasn't sure. He did recognize that by the time such features are developed, it may already be too late if Uber continues to develop as it has been. Already, a number of drivers have quit the company after fulfilling their 5 year contracts. I asked if the government would try to restrict or regulate Uber. He just laughed. Essentially, the central government with it's recently announced 'Internet Plus' plans means a golden ticket for cyberspace development and e-commerce, which includes Uber. As a result, local governments haven't really been able to lay a finger on Uber. However, regulation still seems to be inevitable given that taxi companies are a source of income for the government via taxes. It is also worth mentioning that Uber isn't alone, both in terms of competition for customers and potential government regulation. Didi and Kuadi are two other Chinese apps that feature ride-sharing, private care service and taxi-hailing. Interestingly though, most people mention Uber's name first and foremost.

Yesterday, I spoke with another taxi driver, who is also an Uber driver on the side. He isn't the only one among the taxi drivers. On his days off (he alternates between days off and 24 hour shifts), he'll drive for Uber, through which he and his co-workers earn money more quickly and with less effort. However, he's also aware of the uncertainty looming over Uber's future. Four months away from completing his five year contract, he said if Uber was still looking good, then he'd switch to Uber full time. Otherwise, he'd stick with driving a taxi. (A good article for further reference beyond my own experiences)

Overall, my time in China has been eye-opening on all accounts, but especially in terms of the conversations I've had while I'm here. I've learned about environmental efforts, public health, research in China, water quality, community-supported agriculture. I've also learned a lot about the culture here, tidbits of the past and insight on the present and future. I'll save it for a future post.

Amazing trip to Anlong!

I lierally cannot contain my excitement from visiting Anlong Village, and am currently trying to channel it into my journal before I forget. I saw so many things, both good and bad--it was interesting to see how even a village could so clearly reflect some of the issues in China: the 'bubble economy', the unequal balance between sustainability and profitability, etc. Nevertheless, I loved the chance we had to spend a day with some of the warmest people around, as well as get to know my fellow volunteers and CURA members better. It was also a little bittersweet, as it was our last days with Ming, who's off to start his new job leading students on trips through Asia exploring similar issues. Aside from the food, which was phenomenal (all homegrown), it was cool to see sustainable agriculture taking root. I definitely noticed differences between farming in China vs, in America, thanks to my ASB experience this year at the Last Organic Outpost, an urban farm in Houston's Fifth Ward. Details to be filled in later, along with plenty of pictures (food, farms, people). Just a start.

Envelope #1

Prompt: "What specific social issue will you be addressing during your Fellowship? Absent any in-country exposure, what is your understanding of the scope of this problem?"

A bit belated--I saved the excitement of looking at the envelope prompts until I was on my way to China! But, out of sheer luck, it seems I might have answered it in part when I posted my job descriptions. As mentioned in the previous post, I will be working on planning and implementing both an environmental pollution study as well as a community health survey--my first day will be tomorrow! My specific social issue is mostly environmentalism in China, specifically water pollution.
Prior to hearing about CURA, I did not know that much about environmental efforts in China except that they were generally much needed, but was not at the top of the agenda. Since then, over the course of taking UNIV 305 and writing a research paper about China and pollution, I have definitely learned a lot more. It seems pollution is hard to manage given the diffusion of power within the political structure of China. When smaller government authorities try to address pollution, efforts are limited, i.e. prohibiting the commercial use of firewood to cook a local chicken dish. The Beijing government very recently just made public smoking illegal. However, these laws apply to air pollution. I had the chance to speak with a Chengdu local a week before my trip, who told me the general sentiment among the people there is 'if it can be fixed with money, then it isn't a problem.' In this context, water pollution isn't a problem, since there's water filters and bottled water.
Now that I've been in China for a few days, I also have some in-country exposure to contribute--my layover in Beijing revealed very heavy smog, which I had initially mistaken for fog. While visiting my grandfather in a smaller city Jingjiang, there was still some smog but a blue sky was still visible. In terms of water pollution, Jingjiang has been getting better with each visit. The park waters and streams are much better; they're very clean! I was also impressed to see alongside regular trash cans were recycling bins as well. Overall, the city was cleaner than when I last visited 5 years ago. According to my dad, who goes every year, it's been improving continuously. I'm optimistic that more is being done, and look forward to learning more about such efforts in Chengdu!

Job Description! (T-minus 2 days...)

Major shout-out to my grandmother, who pointed out that my June 4th 1AM flight meant getting to the airport on June 3rd...missed flight crisis averted! Getting everything packed while also finishing up my medical school apps to submit before I depart has been keeping me busy. Just the other day, I got my tentative job description! It sounds pretty exciting, but also a bit intimidating:

Primary Responsibilities:

Project Assistant

Hannah will work with Mr. Takefman, Project Leader for the ongoing National Geographic Shui Tian Ping Village Project. The project investigates the environmental impact of local factories, Centralized Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), and households (Phase I); and the subsequent impact on (local) public health (Phase II).

Hannah will help with both phases. For Phase I, Hannah will:

·         Refine the list of chemicals and substances CURA has to run tests on

·         Communicate and work with the Chengdu Center for Disease Control (CDC) to prepare for and implement the collection of field samples and tests

For Phase II, Hannah will:

·         Support the planning of a community health survey

·         Work with professors and students from the Sichuan University Huaxi Medical School Department of Public Health to initiate survey implementation

Secondary Responsibilities:

Administrative duties such as the maintenance of a clean office, preparation of relevant reports, and the collection and storage of (field) photos

I'm looking forward to starting! Two other LW Fellows, Thomas and Karen are already there, and have had good starts so far--and I'll get to see them soon. 

One more thought--the other day, I had the chance to talk to someone from Chengdu, who made the point that to the people, 'If money can solve it, then it isn't a problem.' Applied to water pollution, this means they don't perceive it to be a problem, because they can drink filtered/bottled water. On the other hand, air pollution is a much bigger concern (Beijing having recently banned public smoking). I'm interested to see this for myself and how this might affects the surveys we'll be implementing given people's perceptions.