(Yicai Global) Sept. 11 -- Authorities in China are clamping down on vehicle-hailing platforms that transport packages and cargo such as Shanghai's Huolala Technology and Hong Kong's GoGoVan, ordering them to verify drivers' licenses and stop sticking ads on vehicles. 

The Shanghai Urban Management Law Enforcement Bureau in conjunction with two other regulators carried out a joint inspection this month to check that platforms had made changes demanded early last month after irregularities surfaced, state media outlet The Paper reported, citing the bureau.  

Drivers were found to have transported goods using passenger cars, made unauthorized modifications to their vehicles, posted ads on their rear windshields, and illegally carried dangerous goods, the report added. 

Huolala's Shanghai unit issued a rectification report yesterday, saying that the platform has removed drivers who have no qualification certificates or business permits. The company will strictly check up on identity cards, drivers' licenses, vehicle registration certificates, road transport permits, and qualification certificates for new drivers and vehicles joining the platform, and will not allow registration without these five documents.

"If I don't post Huolala's ad on the vehicle, the platform will impose a fine on me," a driver told The Paper, adding that the second time it happens, the firm deletes driver accounts. They need to take photos of the ads on their vehicles and upload them to the platform within the first seven days of each month, according to Huolala's rules.

"I'm from Anhui province. I drive an Iveco. The vehicle doesn't have a business operation permit and I don't have a freight practitioner qualification certificate," he said. At the time of registration, the platform only required a driver's license and vehicle registration certificate, and did not require a qualification certificate or business operation permit, he added.

On the same day Huolala published its report, law enforcement officers stopped the driver's van near Huolala's Shanghai office on Hongqiao Road. The officers said penalties of between CNY2,000 and CNY30,000 (USD290 to USD4,370) will be imposed for illegally posting ads on the car body, according to outdoor advertising regulations.

Editor: Emmi Laine