Didi's hitch service remains suspended; more changes sought

The hitch ride service of Didi Chuxing, the country's largest car-hailing platform, will remain suspended nationwide until the company rectifies all safety problems, authorities said on Wednesday.

A multidepartmental inspection group found that Didi had engaged in illegal business activities in its hitch ride service and seriously jeopardized the public interest. The group included supervisors from the Ministry of Transport and the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.

It said that the hitch ride service might jeopardize users' personal information, that it has security risks and that it violates national and local regulations.

Cheng Wei, Didi's founder and CEO, said, "In the past three months, Didi has launched and improved more than 10 safety initiatives, such as audio and video recording functions, a one-click 'call police' function and an emergency contacts function on its online ride-hailing service."

Authorities said unauthorized vehicles or drivers still exist on the company's platform and Didi's alarms and quick-response mechanisms are inefficient. They also said the company's order dispatching mechanism is not transparent and has safety loopholes.

Cheng said Didi will organize more training for its drivers, and will improve and upgrade its current client service system.

Authorities also ordered seven other online ride-hailing and carpooling companies, including Shouqi Limousine and Chauffeur and Shenzhou Zhuanche, to ferret out problems affecting the safety of passengers and the public.

China's largest mobile ride-hailing platform, Didi claims to provide about 30 million rides daily from a pool of 550 million users worldwide.

Public concerns about the platform's ability to ensure safety were raised in May when a female passenger, a 21-year-old flight attendant, was murdered by a Didi driver in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.

The inspection group launched a comprehensive in-house inspection in September of all internet-based car-hailing and ride-sharing companies across the country to ensure that their services are safe and that the rights and interests of passengers are protected.