China Looks Into Ride-Hailing Service Providers

Five major domestic ride-hailing service providers, including Didi Chuxing, were summoned by market regulators of Central China’s Henan Province on Wednesday over multiple business activities that are disrupting market order and fair competition, reported The Global Times. 

In a joint meeting with the traffic and transport, public security and market regulator, officials said that some ride-hailing platforms have opaque pricing plans, are dispatching orders for non-compliant vehicles and drivers, illegally operating intercity passenger lines for online car-hailing, raising the platform’s commission ratio, and have an unreliable dispatching mechanism, which leads to overtime work and driving fatigue for employees.

The officials said these practices disrupt market order and fair competition and damage the legitimate rights and interests of drivers and passengers.

The move came after a joint notice issued on Monday by eight departments, including the Ministry of Transport, which said China will strengthen oversight on the online ride-hailing industry to regulate its development.

The notice said that platforms that have incurred in serious violations and refuse to rectify their actions could be ordered to suspend regional operating service or have their apps blocked, after city regulators reported the situation to higher levels and organized a joint supervision.

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