Everywhere you go you see... drivers
At 1 p.m., Mr. Tran Thanh (30 years old, from An Giang province), a motorbike taxi driver, had just dropped off a passenger at his destination and immediately hurriedly waited for a new ride.
With a growling stomach, Mr. Thanh still did not allow himself to rest. Because from morning to noon, the amount of money he earned still did not reach the set target.
The increasing number of technology-based motorbike taxi drivers has made many drivers frustrated with high competition and reduced income (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
"I try to run whenever I can. There are so many drivers and competition these days that I can't take a long lunch break," he confided.
Having been a motorbike taxi driver in Ho Chi Minh City for over a year, Mr. Thanh bitterly admitted that his income is decreasing. Every day, instead of working only 10 hours, he has to "speed up" to drive 2 more hours to earn more trips.
Previously, with 10 hours of work, he could earn 600,000-700,000 VND/day. But now, even if he works 12 hours/day, the amount of money he "pockets" after deducting the costs of gas, maintenance, and food, is only a little over 200,000 VND.
With this income, he has to "cut" the money he sends home to his parents every month because it is only enough to cover daily meals in the city.
Not far away, driver Thanh Tung (41 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City), was staring at his phone screen waiting for a new order. Around where he was standing about 5 meters, there were 4 drivers also waiting for a ride.
"These days, even the driver profession is competitive. Every day I drive to work, I see a technology motorbike taxi driver every so often. Honestly, I'm also... fed up," said Mr. Tung, smiling.
To have the same income as before or at least enough to live on, drivers have to work more than 10 hours/day (Photo: Nguyen Vy).
Mr. Tung has only been a tech driver for 2 years, but his income has dropped by 30% compared to when he first started working. To have money to support his small family, he has to take on another job, and his wife, who used to be a housewife, now has to go to work to help her husband cover living expenses.
To date, the Be technology motorbike taxi system has recorded about 300,000 drivers, Grab has 300,000 drivers and Xanh SM Bike is expected to have 90,000 drivers by the end of this year.
According to MSc. Huynh Phuoc Nghia, Deputy Director of the UEH Institute of Innovation, currently and in the future, technology motorbike taxi drivers must adapt to reduced income, work more, and provide more services with the service company.
"From the beginning, technology car companies will use low costs to attract customers and partners - drivers and delivery people. When the number of drivers increases but market demand does not change, they will "tighten" to reduce the size of drivers, ensure balance of demand, then increase the income of the remaining drivers", Mr. Nghia commented.
Not only do drivers have to increase their working hours, they also have to take advantage of other jobs (Illustration: Nguyen Vy).
Don't want to commit long term
Mr. Thanh said he used to be a worker at a shoe factory in Cu Chi District (HCMC). At that time, the company paid him a salary of about 8 million VND/month and he only had to work 8 hours/day.
After 9 years, he was laid off by the company during a downsizing a year ago. Finding it difficult to find a job, he registered to be a ride-hailing driver.
"I heard from my colleagues that this job is free and you can earn a lot of money, so I signed up. It's true that at first, I earned a lot of money and had some left over to send back to my parents. But I didn't expect that this job is so competitive now, and the money I make isn't even enough to cover my living expenses in a big city," said Thanh.
Many drivers are "ready" to change jobs (Illustration: Nguyen Vy).
The male driver said he is looking for another job or at least going back to work as a worker, he does not want to stay too long as a driver.
"I'm young, but after working for a short time, I feel exhausted. Driving for 12 hours every day, my eyes are sore and blurry, and my neck and back are very painful. I think having a specialized job would be better than doing freelance work like this," Thanh shared.
Agreeing with Mr. Thanh, Mr. Tung confided that he would also find another more stable job in the future. He himself also considered being a driver as a side job, so that he could earn a little extra money to take care of his family.
According to the Study on assessing the current living conditions of workers and the practical management of technology-based vehicle service activities in Ho Chi Minh City (conducted by the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Committee in coordination with the Institute for Social Life Research), most of these drivers previously had other jobs, and 27% of current technology vehicle drivers are now motorbike taxi or traditional taxi drivers.
According to experts, drivers must get used to reduced income and increase productivity in the near future (Illustration: Nguyen Vy).
Among the 400 drivers surveyed, the loan amount of car drivers was more than 48 billion, equivalent to more than 350 million/car driver. The average loan amount for motorbike drivers was nearly 20 million/driver.
Up to 67% of drivers consider this a stable job, but 28% of drivers still want to switch to another career.
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