Didi ＂answers any questions＂： What factors determine the price of online car-hailing？
After the first phase of the announcement of the online car-hailing service rate ("commission"), Didi’s "Questions and Answers" launched the second phase of the content today, focusing on the price issues that drivers and passengers are generally concerned about. Guo Fei, technical director of Didi’s online car-hailing supply and demand strategy department, answered the factors that determine the price change of online car-hailing and solicited comments and suggestions from the public.
Guo Fei pointed out that, like the "fruit freedom" that has caused heated discussions in the media and netizens some time ago, the decrease in supply and extreme weather have led to the increase in the price of vegetables and fruits, and netizens have said that they cannot afford to eat fruits. The price of online car-hailing is affected by factors such as supply and demand, local consumption level, income level and energy price. Among them, supply and demand are the most important and complex factors. Passenger demand is stronger in morning and evening peaks, extreme weather, hot summer and cold, and driver willingness, compliance policies, safety and security will affect the supply of drivers. Any change in demand or supply will upset the original balance.
Guo Fei said that the relationship between supply and demand fundamentally determines the fluctuation of prices. Only when the demand for travel is growing rapidly, and the city continues to be in short supply and capacity shortage, the price needs to be raised. But when the supply and demand are balanced, random price increases will definitely reduce the demand for passengers to take a taxi, directly affecting the income of drivers and platforms, which also determines that Didi will not raise prices at will. Didi will continue to work hard to continuously explore the characteristics of temporal and spatial changes related to supply and demand and analyze the influencing factors, summarize the laws of supply and demand changes in the travel field; respect the market, so as to better serve users.
Since September last year, Didi has continued to strengthen dialogue and communication with the public, and has successively launched communication columns such as "Public Council", "Answers to Questions", and "Safe Release". Didi will continue to be open and transparent, and actively work with all sectors of society to build a safe and healthy travel ecosystem.
The following are the original questions and answers of Didi’s second "Ask and Answer":
What factors determine the price of a car on Didi?
(Guo Fei, Technical Director of Online Car-hailing Supply and Demand Strategy Department)
Passenger:
Taxi prices often change, so why should Didi adjust it?
Peak price increases, is Didi taking advantage of the fire?
Driver:
Oil prices are rising, and the air conditioner is turned on in summer. Should the fare be increased?
What should I do if I change the car and insurance after compliance, the cost is high and the income is less?
After answering the questions related to "platform service rates (commonly known as commissions) " in the last issue of "Questions and Answers", we received feedback and questions from many driver masters and passenger friends, including many of the above questions about online ride-hailing prices.
In fact, just like the "fruit freedom" that caused heated discussions in the media and netizens some time ago, the decrease in supply and extreme weather have led to the increase in the price of vegetables and fruits, and netizens have said that they cannot afford to eat fruits. The fluctuation of online car-hailing prices is also similar, which is affected by factors such as supply and demand conditions, local consumption levels, income levels and energy prices. Among them, the supply and demand situation is the most important and complex factor. Any change in demand or supply will upset the original balance.
Demand: Morning and evening peaks, extreme weather, heat and cold are more vigorous
There are travel tides in the city, not only is it difficult to take a taxi in the morning and evening peaks, but also in bad weather, extreme heat and cold and peak tourist seasons, using Didi to call a car will also encounter "queues", because there are more people taking a taxi at this time, and everyone hopes to travel conveniently and comfortably.
During the peak of the working day, or when the spring flowers are blooming and the autumn is cool, the number of people traveling by bus, subway, and bicycle will increase, and the number of people taking taxis will be relatively small. At this time, it is easier for passengers to order a car, but the driver’s perception is "less orders."
Supply: Affected by driver willingness, compliance policy, safety assurance, etc
During holidays such as the Spring Festival and National Day, drivers prefer to accompany their families or travel, rather than go out to take orders. However, in rainy days, severe road flooding or other extreme weather, for their own safety reasons and to avoid vehicle damage, the number of drivers leaving the car will also be greatly reduced.
Although the number of passengers taking taxis increases in summer, turning on the air conditioner will also significantly increase fuel consumption and increase additional costs. Therefore, drivers often decide whether to take orders based on their income, weather, traffic jams, etc., which also leads to constant changes in supply.
In addition, the implementation rules for the management of online car-hailing business services in various places have different regulations on the access of drivers and vehicles, and relatively few drivers meet this condition. Drivers change vehicles according to restrictions such as vehicle wheelbase, displacement, and vehicle price, and pay operating insurance, which also greatly increases costs, and even some drivers change careers as a result.
Another thing to note is that since last September, we have continued to upgrade our security, and we have intensively launched security measures such as late-night service driver standards, APP facial recognition, and in-car video recording equipment, which have also affected the supply to a certain extent.
Price adjustments help to ease the imbalance between supply and demand
When a city’s response rate continues to decline at certain times or throughout the day for a certain period of time, and the supply and demand are obviously out of balance, passengers will feel that it is difficult to get a taxi, and 3 out of every 10 taxis may not be called, as happened in Shenyang recently. When prices are appropriately raised, price-sensitive demand will be reduced, and at the same time, more drivers will be attracted and encouraged to get out of the car and go to hot spots to take orders. Supply and demand can be balanced. At present, most cities are in a state of more passengers and less drivers.
On the contrary, if a city has a long-term oversupply during certain periods or throughout the day, and drivers receive fewer orders for a long time, they will not be able to obtain a reasonable income. At this time, the price of online car-hailing is appropriately reduced, which not only allows passengers to get a ride at a cheaper price, but also guarantees the driver’s income. For example, in the first half of this year, the express train in Jiyuan, Henan Province, and the special car in Hefei, Anhui Province, and the special car in Urumqi, Xinjiang Province, have been oversupplied for a long time in some periods, so the starting price, mileage fee and duration fee for the corresponding period have been reduced.
The relationship between supply and demand fundamentally determines the fluctuation of prices. Prices need to be raised only when the demand for travel is growing rapidly, and the city continues to be in short supply and capacity shortage. But when supply and demand are in balance, random price increases will definitely reduce the demand for passengers to take a taxi, directly affecting the income of drivers and platforms, which also determines that Didi will not raise prices at will. Due to the continuous development of the economic level and urbanization process, the demand for travel and the labor and living costs of drivers in most cities continue to grow, so everyone will feel that prices have risen more and fallen less.
The supply and demand situation is complex and changeable, and we are still working hard to continuously explore the characteristics of spatiotemporal changes related to supply and demand and analyze the influencing factors, summarize the laws of supply and demand changes in the travel sector, and respect the market in order to better serve users.