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.