A number of experts have urged the Chinese government to amend its regulation on online car-hailing services as they express strong disapproval of its draft, citing serious flaws.
As reported by the online site caijing.com, the experts have agreed that the rules may hinder the growth of the emerging industry and called for the rewriting of the draft regulation.
According to Fu Weigang, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute of Finance and Law, the online car-hailing regulation should be different from those that regulated the conventional taxi industry.
Fu emphasized that if the same set of rules will be pushed through, it will cause a heavy blow to the burgeoning industry.
The draft regulation, which is open for public scrutiny for a month, was released by the Ministry of Transportation on Oct. 10. It bans the use of private cars and requires the existence of a labor contract with an online car-hailing service provider.
Under the draft, the private cars that will be used must be registered as a "taxi," which means the registered units should be abandoned after eight years of service.
Fu told the Global Times that "unlike traditional taxi companies, online car-hailing platforms are not employers of drivers, but an intermediary between drivers and passengers."
Rules requiring the drivers to have a labor contract with the online platforms will force drivers of private vehicles to leave the business, which will harm the interests of both passengers and drivers, the expert remarked.
The draft regulation also requires online car-hailing operators to get a license from transport officials.
"Since passengers can easily get information on taxi drivers and can access feedback on the drivers' service record, it is unnecessary to set such rigid requirements on drivers," Fu pointed out.
Along with other experts, Fu recommended some suggestions, which include the establishment of an accountability system for the car-hailing platforms.
They also suggest that insurance coverage should be required to ensure the safety of passengers as well as drivers.
Meanwhile, car-hailing firms Didi Kuaidi and Uber China have committed to contribute to the regulation's development.