As of now, more than 200 online ride-hailing platform companies have obtained business licenses across the country, but there are only a handful of platforms with orders exceeding one million per month. Is it because people’s demand for shared travel has decreased or is the number of online ride-hailing platforms being too saturated? As of the end of 2021, according to data released by China Internet Information Center , the number of users using shared travel nationwide exceeded 400 million, an increase of 87.33 million over the past year. At the same time, the order information received by online ride-hailing platforms is also steadily increasing, which means that people's demand for shared travel is still growing. Therefore, the reason for the low order volume of various online ride-hailing platforms can be attributed to the lack of technology and external traffic support within the company.
In this period when the number of online ride-hailing platforms is rapidly expanding, Gaode taxi platform took the lead in launching the aggregation taxi model, a new business model for shared travel. The nature of an aggregation platform is similar to that of an intermediary. Its main purpose is to distribute its own technology and traffic to various online ride-hailing platforms that are accessible and cooperated. Some authoritative people believe that the development of the aggregation model provides "places and opportunities" for online transactions and is an important connection point connecting third-party platforms and users. The Gaode Taxi platform has used its original technology, and its traffic and popularity have quickly opened the door to aggregation and shared travel platforms, provided dozens of online ride-hailing platforms with space for survival and development, optimized the industry structure within the online ride-hailing market environment, and achieved a win-win situation of cooperation.
For the audience of shared travel, the aggregation platform will appear more convenient than ordinary online ride-hailing platforms. Users can get multiple information services on one platform without downloading multiple taxi-hailing software, such as the Gaode taxi-hailing platform. Passengers can call online taxi-hailing on each platform at the same time, regardless of type and model. However, whether the qualifications of each online ride-hailing platform are qualified is also a factor that Volkswagen has been considering. Therefore, the rights and responsibilities of the aggregation platform need to strengthen the qualification review of the access company, and strictly require that the accessed online ride-hailing platforms must operate in accordance with relevant regulations, be legal and compliant, and all irregular vehicles and personnel must be cleaned up.
Experts generally believe that aggregation platforms are different from online ride-hailing platforms, and the responsibilities they need to bear are also different. Online ride-hailing platforms are carriers and require licenses to operate; while aggregate platforms provide information services and are the role of intermediaries. They need to carefully review access to third-party companies to ensure consumer rights. In general, the primary responsibility of the aggregation platform is to ensure that the qualifications of the connected online ride-hailing platform companies meet the needs of the market, and to ensure the information security and travel experience of all users.
