Bye Bye for Didi Dache in Beijing?

Many Beijingers have found a temporary solution to the problem of finding taxis via the Didi Dache or Yaoyao Zhaoche apps available for various smartphones. While Beijing's municipal government continues to discuss taxi reforms, such as a higher flag fall, another major Chinese city has already taken action to ensure that those apps won't be part of the solution there.

Shenzhen has ordered taxi drivers there to stop using the apps and remove them from their phones, according to influential Guangzhou newspaper Southern Metropolis Daily. The main issue seems to be two-fold: that having the apps will prevent any meaningful reform of the taxi dispatch system, as they allow users to "sweeten" their requests by offering to pay above the meter fare, thereby making taxi booking into an auction system. As a result, hailing a taxi on the street would be even more difficult because it encourages drivers instead to wait for a booking by an app user.

As we reported in late April, the Beijing government has similar feelings and may also move against the apps. Taxi reform is expected this summer, but except for higher fares, there's no indication yet what else may change, although Beijingers would embrace a reliable telephone or Internet-based booking system.

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Photo: itourbeijing.com.