Vehicles are mainly used for commercial operation, official business and private travel, bringing great convenience to the public. Yet some vehicle owners step out of bounds to run advertising businesses: recently on the streets of Shijiazhuang, a number of taxis and online car-hailing vehicles have been fitted with LED electronic advertising screens on their rear windows. This practice has sparked widespread public discussion, and many other vehicle owners intend to follow suit to earn extra income without knowing whether such installation complies with relevant laws and regulations. Likewise, individual online car-hailing drivers who have already installed the screens are confused about their legality, as some ride-hailing platforms have ordered drivers to remove the fitted LED screens.

This issue bears on the vital interests of numerous taxi and online car-hailing drivers, as well as industrial administration and regulatory compliance. Therefore, we launched an investigative news report on the matter. A number of in-service taxis have already been equipped with green-text LED screens.

Our newspaper has recently received constant enquiries from readers regarding the installation of in-car LED advertising screens. Mr. Zhang, an online car-hailing driver, explained that he planned to install an LED screen after seeing other drivers profit from such equipment, but his operating platform banned the installation on regulatory grounds and he hoped our reporters could clarify relevant rules. Ms. Gao, a taxi driver, also hoped to fit a screen for supplementary earnings while uncertain about its legality, alongside multiple private car owners who have called in for consultation.

Green-text LED screens have become a common sight on local roads. Field visits to urban streets found two main types of rear-window LED screens on taxis: those displaying yellow characters and others with green characters.

One veteran taxi driver stated that yellow-character rear-window LED screens were uniformly installed by local transport authorities years ago, dedicated to public welfare and commercial ad release alongside satellite positioning functions designed to safeguard the safety of drivers and passengers. "Green-text LED screens are a newly emerging product operated by an advertising media firm; taxi drivers can gain commission revenue by installing their green LED screens," the driver added. Following a driver’s directions, our reporters visited an installation site near South Second Ring Road, where a technician was mounting a green LED screen onto a taxi via suction cups fixed directly on the rear windshield for easy fitting.

From behind the vehicle, scrolling green advertising captions on the screen stand out prominently. A nearby taxi driver commented: "The revenue is minimal, only a few yuan per day for me currently." According to the on-site installer, the outlet serves as an authorized installation point for Luliang branded LED screens, with driver commissions tied to daily vehicle mileage. He disclosed that large quantities of online car-hailing vehicles previously had the screens fitted, yet ride-hailing platforms later barred screened vehicles from accessing service and mandated screen removal, triggering a surge of online car-hailing drivers returning to uninstall equipment recently. "We mainly install green LED screens for taxis these days, with 20 to 30 installations completed at this outlet every single day." At an intersection along Zhongshan Road, a short observation spotted several sedans fitted with green rear-window LED screens, all mounted on taxis with none found on private passenger cars.

Details published on the official webpage of Luliang Shared Vehicle-mounted Advertising Screen show the green-text LED screens are operated by Hebei Hengzhong Advertising Media Co., Ltd., established in [month, year], whose core business centers on the Luliang shared advertising platform.

Per Luliang’s official introduction: "Users may post or launch text-based advertisements via the dedicated Luliang mobile App, with smart vehicle-mounted LED advertising screens fixed on vehicle rear windshields as the display hardware."

Qualified online car-hailing vehicles (complying with official wheelbase standards) qualify for installation.Online car-hailing drivers and private car owners need to pay a security deposit. Private buyers who purchase a standalone Luliang vehicle-mounted screen receive 100,000 complimentary ad placements across all platform-linked display devices; owners can either publish self-owned ads on their individual screen or accept platform-assigned ads to accrue advertising proceeds.

Reporters contacted Didi Chuxing’s official management regarding legality of online car-hailing LED screen installation, whose representatives explicitly confirmed the platform prohibits all ad-bearing LED screen installations on affiliated online car-hailing vehicles and requires full removal of already fitted devices.

Per Article 33 of the Interim Administrative Measures for Online Car-Hailing Business Services of Shijiazhuang City, registered online car-hailing vehicle owners must maintain proper working order of factory-fitted in-vehicle equipment; vehicles engaged in online car-hailing services are forbidden from unauthorized hanging, placement, pasting or installation of extra vehicle logos, markings, advertisements, tinted window films or auxiliary devices on vehicle bodies, cabins and windows, nor any flashing or reflective fittings other than factory-standard vehicle lamps.Article 55 of the Shijiazhuang Taxi Administration Regulations specifies penalties: anyone who installs advertisements inside or on taxi bodies, applies non-compliant window tint, fits colored glass or unauthorized flashing devices shall be ordered to rectify violations by county-level or higher road transport authorities and fined between 50 and 200 RMB.

Given taxis and online car-hailing vehicles fall under commercial passenger transport categories, our reporters visited the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Detachment of Shijiazhuang Transportation Bureau late in the day to verify relevant compliance rules. Bureau officials confirmed they are aware of the newly popular green-text LED screens installed on taxi rear windows, none of which have gone through official pre-approval filing with their department. As the case involves multiple administrative authorities, relevant departments are conducting evidence collection for joint follow-up regulatory disposal in accordance with applicable provisions.