Business dropped off sharply once the National Day holiday was over. What's left is mostly regulars, and they tend to book at weekends — Monday through Friday I'm basically idle. So I started looking around for something else to bring in money. The car just sits in its spot, and my wife said: why not run Didi for a while, take the car out, and see a bit of the pretty side of Zhengzhou.
So I signed up on Hello instead. The review came back quickly enough.
Two orders that morning: 75 km, about 63 yuan in the app — except 20 of that was Hello's first-time bonus. Take the bonus away and the two rides came to roughly 43 yuan. Fuel for the morning was around 37. Which leaves about five yuan of profit. A genuine free ride; unfortunately I was the one providing it.
According to the guides floating around online, there isn't much money in this at all if you stay inside the city. Intercity is where it can work: run several platforms at once, pick a route that has demand in both directions, and try to fill all four seats. That's the only way the numbers start to make sense.
Renewing a license that's about to expire
My license hits the five-year mark in November. Without really noticing, I've turned into a veteran driver — over 20,000 km in five years, and no accidents. Part of that is temperament; I'm a cautious person behind the wheel. It's a record I'd like to keep.
I asked the more experienced drivers in a group chat how the renewal works, and the answer was to just turn up. I drove to the Zhengzhou traffic police No. 2 detachment and discovered it had moved. The replacement was a Zhongyuan District administrative service center. A notice on the wall explained how to book an appointment, so I took an afternoon slot.
The actual processing was fast. Medical check, self-service photo booth, face recognition at one window, then collect the new license at another. Half an hour and it was finished — far less hassle than I'd expected.