China
14:38, 31-Jan-2018
Didi offers rewards to improve Spring Festival driver turnout
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Every year during China's Spring Festival, it is difficult to get a taxi as many drivers choose to stay with their families.
Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing published a letter on Tudesday, announcing that it would spend up to one billion yuan (158.1 million US dollars) to encourage its drivers to turn out for work more often during the festival.
According to Didi’s predicted data, from Feb. 8 to 21, the possibility of getting a taxi will fall by around 20 percent. Customers’ waiting time will be longer as well.
Didi Chuxing announced that it would spend up to one billion to encourage drivers to take more trips during the Spring Festival. /VCG Photo
Didi Chuxing announced that it would spend up to one billion to encourage drivers to take more trips during the Spring Festival. /VCG Photo
To make things easier, Didi has announced several changes.
The company will remove the dynamic pricing function temporarily from Didi fast ride, Ushare and Uber, replacing it with a queuing function for a first-come, first-served operation. While the tailored taxi service keeps the dynamic pricing function, the extra money will go to the driver.
It will also offer drivers a service fee varying from one yuan to five yuan during the Spring Festival in 140 cities.
A one-click service to call for taxi, fast ride and Ushare orders at the same time has been launched in Shanghai, Wuxi and other nine cities, allowing customers to choose the fastest ride among all orders .
Didi is introducing several changes to solve the ride-hailing problem during the Spring Festival. /Sohu News Photo
Didi is introducing several changes to solve the ride-hailing problem during the Spring Festival. /Sohu News Photo
Last year, Didi Chuxing set aside 0.5 billion yuan (79 million US dollars) to encourage drivers to work during the Spring Festival. This year, it is expected to increase the figure by up to one billion yuan (158.1 million US dollars).
Ma Qiji, a researcher from Smart City Research Center of Pangoal Institution, told ThePaper that the car-hailing industry will face a huge gap due to the high demand and low availability of cars during the holiday. Ma said this problem could be partly solved by increasing the price subsidy.