The aggregation platform has illegally operated a ＂base＂ for online car-hailing, and Autonavi has been issued warning letters by transportation departments in many places

With the growing demand of the masses for travel, the model of calling multiple online car-hailing companies through an "aggregation platform" has gradually been accepted. This "aggregation platform" is built by large Internet companies using their own traffic advantages, attracting many small and medium-sized online car-hailing companies with few users. Small and medium-sized online car-hailing companies have found new growth space in the "aggregation platform". Users can call multiple online car-hailing companies at the same time using only one software to achieve convenient travel. This seemingly win-win situation has caused frequent disputes between drivers and passengers due to the neglect of supervision of the "aggregation platform" for the incoming companies, which not only brings inconvenience to the rights of the masses, but also brings troubles to the relevant departments to regulate the online car-hailing market.

In response to the many problems exposed by the online car-hailing aggregation platform, the transportation departments of many places in Jiangxi Province recently issued a warning letter to the head company of the aggregation platform – Autonavi Software Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Autonavi Company), requiring it to standardize the online car-hailing business of Autonavi map software, stop accessing unlicensed and unqualified online car-hailing companies, and even require Autonavi to immediately stop conducting online car-hailing business in the local area.

"I used’Autonavi ‘to call a ride-hailing car, but I was scolded by the driver during the ride, and it has not been dealt with." On August 1, Mr. Wang told reporters that in February this year, he used the Autonavi mapping software to call an online ride-hailing car in Xinfeng County, Ganzhou City. During the drive, he got into an argument with the driver, who not only abused him, but also followed him out of the car to hit him. "I have reported this to multiple departments, and the reply is that the car is operating illegally and will not be accepted."

　

"We can receive complaints every month after using Autonavi maps to call online car-hailing companies. We want to contact Autonavi, but we find that the other party has no office space in Nanchang and no contact information." Deng Qing, head of the East Lake Brigade of the Nanchang City Transportation Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Detachment, told reporters that due to the inability to contact Autonavi, law enforcement officers can only contact online car-hailing companies on the platform one by one through the complainant’s taxi information, making it difficult for the public to protect their rights. "In our daily handling of complaints, we found that the Autonavi map aggregation platform has problems such as negligence in supervision of online car-hailing companies connected to it, and lax review of driver operating qualifications."

The same problem also plagues the law enforcement officers of Shangrao Transportation Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Detachment.

"We have received a number of complaints, reflecting that the Autonavi map aggregation platform has problems such as no threshold for entry, lax review, chaotic internal management, and affecting the safety and stability of the industry." Cheng Wangshao, deputy captain of the Shangrao Transportation Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Detachment, told reporters that those engaged in online car-hailing operations require corresponding service agencies and online and offline service capabilities at the service location. At present, most of the online car-hailing companies under the Autonavi map aggregation platform not only do not have service places in the local area, but also do not even have a person in charge. " The online car-hailing companies connected to the platform are mixed, and there are even drivers who do not have relevant qualifications. The serious point is that they are’black cars’. After receiving orders through the aggregation platform, there is a dispute between drivers and passengers, and Autonavi company gives the blame to the online car-hailing companies of the platform. The safety of drivers and passengers cannot be effectively guaranteed. "

The person in charge of an online car-hailing company in Ganzhou told reporters that the Autonavi map aggregation platform had access to a number of online car-hailing companies and drivers who had not obtained local licenses and qualifications, which seriously affected the operation of local legal online car-hailing companies.

For the problems caused by the Autonavi map aggregation platform, the transportation departments in many places have punished the ride-hailing service providers who have settled on the platform and rectified the violations of the platform.

It is reported that the transportation authorities of Shangrao City, Ganzhou City, and Jiujiang City in Jiangxi Province have successively sent letters to Autonavi Company, claiming that during the local operation of the Autonavi map aggregation platform, there is a behavior of sending orders to online rental car platforms that have not been licensed in this city and vehicles that have not handled the "Online Rental Car Transport License". This behavior has disrupted the order of the local online car-hailing market, affected the safety and stability of the industry, and damaged the legitimate rights and interests of drivers and passengers. It is required to immediately stop using the Autonavi map software to send orders to online car-hailing platform companies that have not obtained business licenses and vehicles that have not handled the "Online Rental Car Transport License", and to clear the online car-hailing companies that have not been licensed or cancelled.

After sending a letter asking the Autonavi map aggregation platform to remove illegal online car-hailing companies, the Shangrao City Transportation Department once again sent a letter to AutoNavi, finding that the online car-hailing aggregation platform business carried out by Autonavi in the Autonavi map software was engaging in illegal online car-hailing business in disguise, requiring Autonavi to immediately stop conducting online car-hailing business.

Cheng Wangshao said that on July 29, Autonavi had sent managers to interview and promised to remove unlicensed ride-hailing companies from the shelves, but hoped to allow Autonavi map software to connect to compliant ride-hailing companies in Shangrao to continue operating. "We have determined through a series of investigations that the aggregation platform carried out by Autonavi in Shangrao is an online ride-hailing platform, and we are not allowed to connect to online ride-hailing companies before obtaining administrative permission."

After Shangrao, the Ganzhou Urban Public Transport Development Service Center also sent a letter to Autonavi on July 29, claiming that Autonavi Map Software had not obtained the "Online Booking Taxi Business License" in the central urban area of Ganzhou, which was an illegal operation. It required Autonavi Map APP to immediately stop conducting illegal online booking taxi operations in Ganzhou.

Internet Tech Giants have entered the ride-hailing aggregation platform one after another, leveraging their traffic advantages to monetize, but they have not fulfilled their responsibilities for reviewing and checking the connected ride-hailing companies and drivers. Does the aggregation platform need to be held responsible for this? What kind of responsibility should it take? The transportation departments in various places have different opinions on this emerging thing, and the measures taken towards it are also inconsistent.

Professor Liu Weiyong, director of the Local Legal Research Institute of Jiangxi Normal University, believes that the online car-hailing aggregation platform should at least review the basic qualifications and service capabilities of the online car-hailing enterprise, including the business license of the enterprise legal person, the real identity information of the operator, the access information of the operator, the "Online Booking Taxi Business License" of the online car-hailing platform company, and the filing of Internet information services. In addition, the responsibility of the aggregation platform should refer to Article 44 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law for the responsibility of the online trading platform, that is, "If consumers purchase goods or receive services through the online trading platform, and their legitimate rights and interests are damaged, they can claim compensation from the seller or service provider."

Liu Weiyong pointed out that if the online trading platform provider knows or should have known that the seller or service provider uses its platform to infringe the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and fails to take necessary measures, the seller or service provider shall be jointly and severally liable according to law. "Only by reassuring consumers can the platform truly gain users and develop."

Network about car aggregation platform chaos has attracted great attention from the competent authorities in the industry. The reporter learned that the "Network Booking Taxi Information Aggregation Platform Operation Service Specification" reviewed and approved by the Standardization Association of our country’s Urban Public Transport Association has officially formed a group standard exposure draft, and began to seek public opinions from the public. This standard defines taxi information aggregation platform operators as "relying on Internet technology to integrate taxi supply and demand resources, and provide transaction matching and intermediary services for passengers and online car-hailing platforms (including online car-hailing platforms and patrol network integration platforms).", which is the first time in China to define a taxi aggregation information platform, and on this basis, defines the scope of "resident" and "related parties" of the aggregation information platform, and clarifies the basic conditions of a taxi aggregation information platform that meets the meaning of this standard, and then makes detailed requirements on its establishment conditions, daily operation requirements, relevant party management, passenger services, service capabilities, complaint handling, etc., and specializes in the basic capabilities of the information aggregation platform, entry and approval of settled enterprises, price publicity, safety emergency protection, and complaint handling division of labor Special detailed regulations have been made in such aspects.

How did Autonavi respond to the warning letter issued by the transportation departments in many places in Jiangxi Province? On August 7, the reporter contacted the relevant person in charge of Autonavi and sent an interview outline. As of press time, Autonavi has not responded to this.