Technology drivers are stuck, turn off the app and quit their jobs.
Due to the nature of their work, technology drivers are currently having a "headache" over the problem of rising gas prices. Although they drive every day, their income has still decreased, causing many drivers to struggle. Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Vu Van Doi - a technology driver (62 years old, Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that in addition to receiving passengers on the app, he also accepts fixed trips to pick up students at 7am and 5pm every day to increase his income.
“The fare for each trip remains unchanged, but the continuous increase in gasoline prices has affected my income. Before, my income was 5 million VND/month, but now it has decreased to only 3.5 - 4 million VND. With this salary, living with my family in Hanoi is not easy,” said Mr. Doi.
The money from driving is not enough to cover living expenses, so many technology drivers consider "turning off the app" and quitting their jobs to return to their hometowns to start a business. Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Tran Xuan Tien - a technology driver (26 years old, Dong Da, Hanoi) said that in 2022, when the price of gasoline increased to a record of nearly 30,000 VND/liter, he stopped driving and switched to another job.
“The money I make from driving is not enough to cover the cost of gas, so now I only drive to earn extra money after work. But if gas prices continue to rise, it will be very difficult to sustain,” said Mr. Tien.
To limit the increase in gas prices, many technology drivers join groups on Facebook or Zalo to share orders or combine orders. Accordingly, when receiving orders from customers who need to move or deliver goods, instead of opening the application, they will post them on social network groups. In this way, technology drivers will search for more orders, from which they can deliver 1-2 more orders for the same distance. From there, they save money on gas and increase their income.
Trip canceled because "gas money is not worth the effort"
The price of gasoline has been increasing continuously, many drivers have quit their jobs and are selective about each single trip, making it difficult for many people to book a motorbike taxi. Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Tuyet Ngan (Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that she had to book a motorbike taxi 4 times before successfully finding a motorbike taxi from Xuan Thuy (Cau Giay, My Dinh) to My Dinh Bus Station.
“My family had to go back to the countryside so we urgently needed to go to My Dinh bus station, but we booked a car many times but still couldn’t find a driver. The first few times, the trip was confirmed as successful but the driver canceled it. It was only the fourth time that it was successful,” said Ms. Ngan.
Not only Ms. Ngan but many of her friends are also in the same situation. The main reason is that recently, the price of gasoline has increased, many trips have to pick up passengers from far away, after deducting the cost of gasoline and the discount, the remaining profit is very little so the drivers are "afraid" to accept it.
Ms. My Duyen (Thuong Tin, Hanoi) also felt that in the past 2 weeks, calling a technology taxi has been much more difficult than before, and the fare has increased.
"Previously, the fare from my house to the office was only 40,000 VND, but now it has increased to more than 50,000 VND. Even if you call during rush hour, it is highly likely that it will be difficult to find a driver. Sometimes, I have to go to the main road, near the shops to catch a car more easily" - Ms. Ngan said.
At the latest gasoline price adjustment session on the afternoon of September 21, gasoline prices of all types recorded a sharp increase compared to the previous period. Specifically, E5RON92 gasoline increased from VND23,471/liter to VND24,190/liter; RON95-III gasoline increased from VND24,871/liter to VND25,740/liter.
Previously, the gasoline price adjustment session on September 5 also recorded gasoline prices increasing 6 times in a row. Explaining the reason for the price increase, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that domestic gasoline prices increased due to the general upward trend of the world oil market. High demand, combined with OPEC+ restraining supply and tightening the market, caused world gasoline prices to increase sharply in the past 10 days.
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