Chauffeurs of convenience

Chen Aoliang drives a customer home. Photo: Du Qiongfang/GT

Designated driving is big business in Shanghai

Every night groups of men start gathering outside restaurants, karaoke bars and at intersections in downtown Shanghai. Many of them carry portable electric scooters and chat with each other while closely monitoring their phones. Eventually, one, then two, then others, get the calls they have been waiting for and scoot off.

These are some of the thousands of designated drivers in Shanghai, earning their keep by driving home men or women who have been drinking and want to get home safely with their cars.

The professional driving service committee of the Association of Road Transport in Shanghai lists around 100 designated driving companies at present and there are some 10,000 designated drivers working with these companies.

One of these drivers, 28-year-old Chen Aoliang, was on duty on September 17 and got his first call through the smartphone app designed by his company. He met his client at around 9 pm on Yandang Road. The man had been to dinner and wanted Chen to drive him to his home near Dapuqiao area.

After the man signed a contract and after Chen had checked the vehicle for damage, Chen set the distance meter on his smartphone and drove to Dapuqiao. When they got to the man's home Chen gave the key back to the man and gave him the bill.

Clients can pay in cash or with smartphone app that is linked to the distance meter app (they can also leave a comment on the service with this).

City media has regularly reported on the designated drivers that have cheated or misbehaved - some have tried to charge clients ridiculous amounts, others have fled after minor accidents or being pulled over by the police. The Shanghai Morning Post reported in December 2010 that police arrested one designated driver for drunk driving while he was meant to be taking a client home.

New standards

In July the professional driving service committee of the Association of Road Transport issued certification standards and began issuing certificates to drivers who met the standards. The association checks each driver's age, work experience, traffic violations and criminal records before approving a driver as a designated driver. The driver's personal details are recorded on the association's database so that if there are problems, accidents or disputes, drivers can be located quickly. Some 2,000 designated drivers have been given certificates to date.

To get a certificate designated drivers have had to be driving for at least three years and they must have been driving constantly in that time - drivers who are licensed but have not driven a lot will not qualify. Drivers have to be aged between 24 and 60 and must not have been involved in any significant traffic accident over the past three years. Drivers from out of town have to have temporary residency permits for Shanghai. Feng Yuanming, the chairman of the professional driving service committee said there were also standards set for designated driver companies and clients. The association now has more than 20 member companies and another 20 more are set to join the association. "Although there are allegedly 100 designated driving companies in Shanghai, there are only between 50 and 60 proper companies. The others are just people who have set up websites that can connect individual drivers and customers."

Approved companies must have registered capital of at least 30,000 yuan ($4,886) and employ at least 10 people. And clients must not be drunk when they use the service. "If a customer is so drunk that he cannot tell his home address, there will be problems - but if a drunk customer is accompanied by someone who is sober they can be accepted. These are the same rules that taxi drivers have," Feng said.

Chen Aoliang works for the Shanghai Master An Driving Service Co, which employs around 3,300 drivers in Shanghai. More than 1,000 of the company's drivers have now got certificates. Ning Shuwang is its general manager and said some customers had read about the new certificate system. "I told our drivers to get certificates - they help give our customers more confidence in our service."

Would-be drivers for this company undergo a series of practical and theoretical tests but Ning said driving skills alone are not that important. Designated driving doesn't just require skill - it is a service industry, he emphasized.

The company began in July 2012 as an IT company but it developed and changed direction rapidly. Today it is the second-largest designated driver company in Shanghai and the third-largest in China. Most of the company's drivers are aged around 30. Ning said that although many taxi drivers with 20 years or more experience had applied to join the company he did not employ them, believing that older drivers didn't have the same approach to service as younger people.