北京上海網約車市場對外地司機關閉大門

BEIJING —Fresh from school with a degree in hotel management, Luo Haichao left his hometown and moved to Beijing to look for a bigger paycheck.

北京——從學校畢業不久，拿到了酒店管理學位的雒海超離開家鄉，來北京尋找更高的工資。

He eventually found one in a different sector: driving cars.

他最終在另一個行業找到了一個工作：當司機。

China has created its own local versions of Uber and Lyft, and the ride-hailing business is booming.

中國已經有了本國版本的Uber和Lyft，網約車業務正在蓬勃發展。

But now Mr Luo — and potentially tens of thousands of other drivers — will have to get off the road.

但現在，雒海超將不得不停止工作，還有成千上萬的其他司機也可能面臨這個前景。

Citing safety and other issues, the cities of Beijing and Shanghai said on Wednesday that Chinese ride-hailing companies must stop using out-of-town drivers like Mr Luo and hire only local residents to sit behind the wheel.

週三，北京和上海這兩個城市以安全和其他問題爲由宣佈，在國內經營網約車業務的公司必須停止使用像雒海超這樣的外地司機，只能僱用當地居民來開車。

It makes me feel sad, said Mr Luo, 29, who works for the ride-hailing companies Didi Chuxing and Yidao Yongche and had just spent about $36,000 on a new Volkswagen Passat to give his passengers a more reliable ride.

這讓我感到難過，29歲的雒海超說，他爲網約車公司滴滴出行和易到用車工作，爲了讓自己的乘客能更可靠地乘車，他剛花25萬元買了一輛新的大衆帕薩特。

Without people who come from the outside, Beijing wouldn’t have developed so fast.

沒有外地人，北京不會發展得這麼快。

The new rules could deal a significant blow to Didi Chuxing, China’s ride-hailing giant, and smaller rivals that must now find new — and probably more expensive — drivers in two major markets.

新規則可能會給中國最大的網約車公司滴滴出行及其更小的競爭對手造成重大打擊，這些公司現在必須在這兩個主要市場尋找新司機，而且也許要付出更高的工資。

Didi Chuxing had just defeated Uber in an expensive battle for dominance in the world’s largest ride-hailing market, and it enjoys such a high global profile that it counts Apple and other big names among its investors.

滴滴出行爲了在這個世界上最大的網約車市場中佔據主導地位，剛在一場代價昂貴的競爭中擊敗了Uber。

滴滴在全球享有如此高的名聲，以至於其投資者中有包括蘋果(Apple)這樣的大牌公司。

In a statement, Didi said the rules represented a significant step toward a more sensible and liberal framework, and were less limiting on pricing, cars and driver restrictions than earlier drafts.

滴滴在一份聲明中說，這些規則代表了向着寬鬆和更合理的方向做了修改，在定價、汽車和駕駛員方面的限制比以前草案版本中的要少。

A spokeswoman declined to comment on how the Beijing and Shanghai residency requirements for drivers would affect its business.

公司發言人對北京和上海有關司機戶籍的要求會如何影響公司業務拒絕發表評論。

China’s technology boom has put the country on the innovation map and transformed the lives of many of its nearly 1.4 billion people.

中國技術行業的蓬勃發展已讓該國在創新領域佔有一席之地，改變了中國近14億人口中許多人的生活。

But even the new parts of the Chinese economy depend in part on the same old fuel that powered the country’s rise for decades: cheap labor from the countryside.

但是，即使在中國經濟的新領域，也部分地依賴於幾十年來驅動經濟發展的舊要素：來自農村的廉價勞動力。

Those workers — now totaling nearly 280 million, including Mr Luo — leave their farms, villages and smaller cities to seek factory jobs and better lives in the big cities.

這種勞動力目前的總人數已近2.8億，其中包括雒海超，他們從農場、農村和小城鎮走出來，到大城市尋找工廠的工作和更好的生活。

Their hands, low wages and willingness to work helped make China the world’s factory floor.

他們的勞動、低工資和什麼活都願意幹的態度幫助中國成爲世界工廠。

Increasingly, many of those workers do the grunt work behind China’s internet success stories.

這些工人正越來越多地幹着中國互聯網成功案例背後的苦活。

They drive cars for Didi Chuxing and Yidao Yongche, deliver packages for Alibaba Group and , and fetch takeout meals for Koubei and Eleme.

他們爲滴滴和易到開車，爲阿里巴巴和京東()投遞包裹，也爲口碑和餓了麼送外賣餐。

Without them, China’s thriving e-commerce industry could take a significant hit.

沒有他們，中國蓬勃發展的電子商務行業可能會受到重大打擊。

But the new ride-share regulations show that the technology industry in China is coming up against long-held concerns in the country about overcrowding, a widening wealth gap and access to education, health care and other services.

但是，新的網約車規則表明，中國的技術行業正面臨着人們長期以來的擔憂，包括人口過多、貧富差距擴大，以及外來人口獲得教育、醫療保健及其他服務的問題。

At the bottom of the conflict is tension between powerful vested interests and a new rising class, said Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

北京理工大學經濟學教授胡興東說：矛盾的根本是強大的既得利益與上升的新興階層之間的緊張關係。

The political power of China’s taxi services — which see ride-hailing companies as dangerous rivals — presents a particularly strong challenge, he said.

他說，中國出租車行業的政治力量是一個尤其強大的挑戰，出租車公司把網約車公司視爲危險的競爭對手。

It is not clear how many drivers would be affected, but the numbers could be significant.

目前還不清楚將有多少司機會受影響，但人數可能會不少。

In Shanghai, for instance, fewer than 10,000 of the 410,000 active drivers registered to Didi Chuxing have permanent residency papers, according to Didi.

例如，根據滴滴的數據，在滴滴上海註冊的41萬名活躍司機中，只有不到1萬擁有本地戶籍。

Also on Wednesday, the southern boomtown of Guangzhou joined cities that had previously instituted less-restrictive residency requirements.

同在週三，南方繁榮城市廣州則加入到了戶籍要求不那麼嚴格的城市的行列之中。

In its statement, Didi said the city of Beijing had given it five months to implement the rules.

滴滴在其聲明中說，北京市給公司五個月的時間來實施規則。

Officials in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.

北京的官員沒有迴應置評請求。

But they were quoted by local news outlets citing safety concerns and a need to track drivers, as in the case a year ago, when a 28-year-old Beijing ride-share driver made headlines when he punched a drunk passenger, breaking an eye socket.

但當地新聞媒體引用官員的話說，主要是出於安全考慮，以及能跟蹤司機的需要，比如一年前發生過這樣的新聞，北京一名28歲的網約車司機動手打了一名醉酒乘客，將其眼眶打破。

The officials were also mentioned as citing local regulations already in place that require taxi drivers to be residents of the city where they work.

新聞報道還提到，官員稱現有地方法規已經要求出租車司機在他們工作的城市有戶籍。

At issue is China’s unique household registration — or hukou — system, which was intended to keep rural workers from flooding into more populous regions.

問題的關鍵是中國獨特的戶籍制度，又稱戶口，其目的是防止外來民工涌入人口更稠密的地區。

The larger cities, like Beijing and Shanghai, need a steady influx of people like Mr Luo to function.

北京和上海這樣的大城市需要有像雒海超這樣的源源不斷的勞動力。

But residents or officials often push back, worried that migrants could swamp schools, hospitals and other services.

但這些城市的居民或官員常常產生反彈，擔心農民工可能會讓學校、醫院和其他服務應接不暇。

Chinese cities have long struggled with how to square the need for migrant labor with the hukou system, and the country is slowly moving toward making it easier for migrants to establish residency.

中國城市長期以來一直未能解決戶籍制度與外來勞動力需求之間的矛盾，現在中國正在慢慢地向讓外來者更容易得到戶口的方向發展。

The ride-hailing business poses especially tricky concerns for local governments.

網約車服務業給地方政府帶來了特別棘手的問題。

Taxi drivers, who are required to be local residents, feel threatened and have flexed their political muscle.

出租車司機需要有當地戶口，這些司機感覺受到威脅，並開始動用他們的政治力量。

In some cities, taxi drivers have gone on strike, sometimes harassing ride-share drivers.

有些城市的出租車司機採取了罷工行動，有時還騷擾網約車司機。

That has discouraged some ride-share drivers.

這讓一些網約車司機感到泄氣。

There are fewer and fewer rewards, said Wen Zhenjiang, 37, who worked for Didi and Uber in Beijing for nearly two years and is now looking for work driving trucks.

37歲的溫振江曾在北京爲滴滴和Uber工作了近兩年，目前正在尋找駕駛卡車的工作，他說，（開網約車）的回報已越來越少。

There are other reasons to leave.

也有人因爲其他原因離開了網約車行業。

Driving full-time often means 14- to 15-hour shifts each day, sometimes overnight if there is strong demand.

全職開車常常意味着每天工作14到15個小時，如果需求特別強勁，有時還需要在夜間工作。

Most drivers rent vehicles, but some — like Mr Luo — bought their own after they started to make good money.

大多數司機用租賃車，但也有些人，比如雒海超，在他們開始賺錢後買了自己的車。

To save on rent, many share apartments in the suburbs.

爲了節省房租，許多人在郊區合租公寓。

Their employers don’t keep tabs on how often the drivers work or require them to reach driving quotas.

網約車司機的僱主不管司機工作多長時間，或者對他們有工作的配額要求。

However, if they get bad ratings from passengers, they risk losing bonus payments.

但是，如果乘客給他們的評分不高的話，他們就有可能失去獎金。

Still, the rewards of getting into the ride-hailing business are clear: Mr Luo has occasionally earned about $4,350 in a month, or three times more than the average Beijing office worker.

儘管如此，從事網約車服務者得到的回報很明顯：雒海超有時一個月能掙到3萬元，比北京一般上班族掙的高三倍多。

On Wednesday, online groups devoted to ride-share drivers were filled with messages of anger and disappointment.

週三，以網約車司機爲主的在線社區充滿了憤怒和失望的帖子。

Many said they would return to driving illegal taxis.

許多人說，他們會重返駕駛非法出租車的工作。

That will probably make me more money, wrote a driver named Xiaowei.

一個名叫小偉的司機寫道，那可能會讓我掙到更多的錢。

Another, named Canyue, said, Whatever the rule is, I will keep driving as long as I can still tap ‘start a service’ on my app.

另一個名叫殘月的人說，無論有什麼規則，只要我還能在app上點擊‘啓動服務’，我就要繼續開車。

Mr Luo has a lot at stake.

新規則對雒海超有很大的利害關係。

He is married and has an apartment and a mortgage back home in Chengde County in Hebei Province.

他已結婚，在河北省承德縣有一套公寓，需要支付抵押貸款。

His living is a good one for someone with a rural hukou.

他目前的生活對有農村戶口的人來說已很不錯。

He is still making monthly payments equal to about $290 on his car and paying the same amount on his mortgage.

他仍在支付每月約2000元的車貸和同樣數額的房貸。

This is unfair to people from outside Beijing, he said.

這對北京以外的人不公平，他說。

But his days in the business are probably numbered, he said on Wednesday.

但他在週三說，他當網約車司機的日子可能不多了。

If it isn’t allowed, I will stop driving, he said.

他說，如果不讓我幹了，我將不再開車。

What can I do? I can’t put all my eggs in one basket.

我能幹什麼呢？我總不能把所有的雞蛋都放在一個籃子裏吧。