To address widespread issues in the vehicle driver training market, such as unreliable teaching quality and trainees’ difficulty with rights protection, DoDo Driver, commissioned and guided by the Ma’anshan Transportation Bureau, developed the Ma’anshan “Smart Driver Training” supervision and service platform. This platform aims to innovate training patterns, minimize financial risks in the driver training market, safeguard trainees’ rights, and maintain the market order. It also seeks to provide a model of driver training that is easy to copy and promote.

Enhanced digital supervision for smart driver training development

The Ma’anshan “Smart Driver Training” supervision and service platform integrates closely with a time recording system and third-party financial institutions, and offers functions like training institution information display and query, online registration and payment, training hour query and verification, exam scheduling, and policy & regulation publicity. This platform provides Ma’anshan residents with an efficient and convenient way to learn to drive.

This platform is deeply integrated with the public security traffic police department, ensures seamless data flow between the supervision and service platform and the driver examination system, and further enhances regulatory efficiency. To date, the platform covers all 16 driver training institutions across the city. Since its launch in March this year, it has published 121 pieces of information on various training courses, and 10,500 trainees have enrolled for courses through the platform.

To achieve intelligent and precise management of training records, information on 527 coaches and 479 training vehicles citywide has been uploaded to this platform. These training vehicles have all been equipped with on-board time recording devices, enabling real-time uploading of practical training hours. This ensures a comprehensive, accurate record of the training process and strictly requires trainees to complete the training hours required by national standards at their training institution before applying for Tests I to IV.   

The “Smart Driver Training” supervision and service platform enables complete, objective and accurate collection and transmission of training data, providing strong data support for regulatory efforts. Based on this, the platform helps competent authorities efficiently establish mechanisms for supervising and inspecting training information and intensify the crackdown on fraudulent training hour recording in driver training institutions according to the principle of full-coverage review and zero tolerance for violations.

A fund escrow mechanism for innovative service patterns

As the driver training industry is expanding, the traditional pattern of paying tuition upfront no longer meets trainees’ needs for financial security, training quality, and personalized services. The new service pattern effectively addresses key issues, such as fund misappropriation and refund difficulties at driver training institutions, and therefore improves industry standards, transparency, and service quality.

The service pattern has been reformed by establishing a fund escrow mechanism, replacing the traditional upfront fee collection by training institutions with a bank-managed tuition escrow agent. Through the “Smart Driver Training” supervision and service platform, trainees pay their tuition directly into a dedicated escrow account, thus eliminating risks of fund misappropriation or capital chain rupture and ensuring financial security. To date, the escrow account has a total of 37,370,500 yuan in training funds, with 18,894,700 yuan disbursed to driver training institutions.

To standardize training fee collection, a pay-after-training service pattern has been implemented. The tuition escrow agent disburses tuition in installments from the escrow account to the respective training institution based on each trainee’s progress, as tracked by the “Smart Driver Training” supervision and service platform. This sets a new pay-after-training pattern for vehicle driver training tuition payment. If a trainee is unable to continue training for any reason at any time node, the remaining funds are fully refunded, preventing refund issues.

Improved service convenience meets personalized training needs. To ensure the smooth implementation of the new service pattern, DoDo Driver contributed to the development of the “Ma Shang Xue Che” WeChat mini-program, which integrates processes for training institution selection, course type selection, contract signing, and tuition payment. Through this mini-program, trainees can independently schedule training sessions, choose training vehicles, evaluate coaches, negotiate training fees, and make requests. This makes registration more convenient, pricing more transparent, and processes more open.

Multiple measures for improved efficiency and thoughtful services

When working on continued improvement of training services, competent authorities have strengthened the verification of trainee photos through the platform’s data analysis function, thereby effectively preventing coaches from manipulating on-board equipment to create false training hours. Driver training institutions in Ma’anshan are required to use the training contract templates stipulated by the Anhui Provincial Transportation Department, with a view to creating a competitive and orderly learning environment. Since the reform of motor vehicle driver training methods, complaints regarding training quality and infringement of trainee rights have decreased by 80%, and public satisfaction has improved significantly.

To further improve driver training facilities, DoDo Driver has upgraded the trainee attendance method on on-board time recording devices from card swiping to facial verification. This involves capturing a trainee’s photo in real time and taking six consecutive photos within ten minutes, thus greatly enhancing the accuracy and fairness of the time recording system. Additionally, the entire training process is recorded and simultaneously stored in the transportation services cloud platform, which enables quick query, whole-process traceability and accurate verification in case of complaints or disputes.   

In terms of technical support, competent authorities encourage driver training institutions to introduce the DoDo Cockpit, which uses holographic scanning technology to provide highly authentic restoration of real-life Test II and III places and enhance application scenario development.

The intelligent devices provided by DoDo Driver can simulate emergency vehicle handling scenarios that are difficult to replicate in traditional teaching, as well as driver training under extreme weather conditions such as heavy fog and rain. This effectively enhances trainees’ emergency response abilities in sudden situations and adverse weather. Additionally, for practical driving instruction, DoDo Driver has established electronic fences in designated training areas to strictly eliminate the presence of unlicensed coaches, which ensures the legality and standardization of teaching activities and provides trainees with a safer, more orderly training environment.

Sci-tech innovation reshapes industry future

DoDo Driver has long been focusing on smart driver training scenarios, advancing technological innovation and striving to enhance product and service quality. The successful implementation of the new driver training service pattern in Ma’anshan not only highlights competent authorities’ official recognition of DoDo Driver’s independent innovation capabilities and industry achievements but also marks a strong affirmation of its diligence in the digital and intelligent transformation of driver training in recent years.

Looking ahead, DoDo Driver will continue to increase its investment in the smart driver training sector and strengthen industry-specific applications to provide robust, information-based support for the healthy and orderly development of the driver training industry. We firmly believe that through ongoing technological innovation and industry practice, DoDo Driver will contribute even more to the transformation and high-quality development of the driver training industry.