Car Wars: Didi Dache Takes a Swing at Uber, Offers RMB 15 Discounts Twice Per Day

Despite owning upwards of 98% of the domestic market, Didi Dache (also known as Didi Kuaidi since merging with another taxi app company recently) is clearly feeling threatened by apps such as Uber taking over a portion of the taxi app pie, as they are now allowing users to apply an RMB 15 discount twice per day when using Didi Express, Tech in Asia reports.

The discount covers about 10km each way, and is available in Beijing. A sizable proportion of Beijing’s population will therefore be able to travel to and from work for free, for an entire month.

Hopes for the company are that Didi Kuaidi will be much more than just calling a cab, but will be able to be the one platform to integrate services like premium cars, carpooling services, express services, and designated drivers.

We hope that this will lead to Uber releasing a whole load of discount codes in return, because we are huge Uber fans in the office following our Didi Dache and Uber taxi-off. However, Uber has already encountered multiple problems in China, ranging from having their offices raided in Guangzhou, having their corporate app shut down, and being declared illegal at the beginning of this year. Despite all that, they are still rolling here in Beijing.

If you don’t like any of this app malarkey, we’ve also laid out a guide for you as to how to hail your cab in Beijing the old-fashioned way, with your arm out on the street.

More stories by this author here.

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Photo: The Stack