Life of 10 drivers for web taxi-hailing services

They may be a white-collar worker returning home, a company salesperson, a hotel staffer, a stay-at-home dad, a factory owner or a construction worker, but now they are all driving for internet taxi services.

In a recently promulgated regulation for this industry, China confirmed the legitimacy of internet taxi services, and categorized vehicles in this service as "taxis for reserved services." Public statistics show that more than 13.3 million people nationwide have registered on Didi, the largest of such a platform in China, to become a driver for Hitch, Express, Private Car, and Designated Driving.

This shows that driving for internet taxi services is becoming a hot profession.

Qi Jia poses with her car. [Photo/news.china.com.cn]

Qi Jia is around 30 years old and registered as a Didi Hitch driver in March of this year, following her friend's advice. She started working in a foreign-funded company in Beijing after obtaining a diploma with Bournemouth University in U.K. two years ago.

Qi named her car Tim, and regarded Tim as a dashy little boy. She says the two of them are like "inseparable siblings."

The interpersonal distance is large in big cities, but interesting passengers sometimes help her feel the long-gone closeness she likes, Qi said.

Qi Jia listens music in her car. [Photo/news.china.com.cn]

Albeit having a serene appearance, Qi insisted that she is a "rock-n-roll young woman" at heart. She likes Linkin Park and enjoys attending live rock music. When her passengers happen to be fans of rock music, the two of them can chat along the trip. In the reviews submitted by her passengers, she is labeled as "extremely beautiful" and a "rock-n-roll youth."

Apart from rock music, reading and travelling are her other hobbies. She toured the European continent while studying in the U.K., using the money she earned from part-time jobs. She said she had hitchhiking experience during those trips. "I was at the roadside giving drivers a thumb-up," she said. "Hitchhiking is wonderful experience. I didn't know I could continue to have such experiences by being the driver."

Qi Jia takes the subway to go to work. [Photo/news.china.com.cn]

When her car is grounded one day each week due to the city's car-ban, she takes the subway to go to work. In her opinion, ride shares are similar to public transport in their potential to improve interpersonal trust and closeness, while also lessening the traffic burden in big cities.