Car-hailing, freight transport platforms asked to reveal pricing systems to public: Chinese ministry

China‘s transport authority will call on the country’s major online car hailing and road freight platforms to reveal their pricing system to the public, while setting up a range of reasonable service fees for the platforms, an official from the Ministry of Transport said on Thursday.

The ministry will place a greater focus on transportation platforms on the percentage of profits the platforms could draw in the form of platform fees, Wang Xiuchun, an official with the ministry told a press briefing.

Major Chinese car hailing platforms will be required to provide transparency over pricing rules to the public while setting up a reasonable percentage and upper limit for the split between drivers and the platforms, while drivers must be notified within a reasonable period as to how much platforms earn.

Road freight enterprises will also be required to publish their pricing arrangements in addition to establishing proper standards for pricing and other fees, which may include the so-called membership costs.

Earlier in February, five major car hailing service providers, including Didi Chuxing, were summoned by the market regulators in Central China’s Henan Province over business activities which the regulator determined were disrupting market order and inhibiting fair competition.

The Ministry of Transport vowed at a meeting in January to strengthen compliance throughout the car-hailing sector while effectively preventing the unchecked expansion of capital.

Source: Global Times