Chinese Regulators Summon 11 Ride-hailing Firms Over Illegal Behavior

On Wednesday, five Chinese regulators have summoned and interviewed 11 ride-hailing firms, including Didi Chuxing and Shouqi, asking them to rectify illegal operation problems and actions that disrupt the market order.

Other ride-hailing firms involved include T3, Meituan, Cao Cao, AutoNavi, Dida, SAIC Mobility, Ruqi, Sunshine and Wanshun. The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Transport along with a number of other regulators, including the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Chinese regulators have alleged that the services are recruiting unapproved drivers and vehicles, which is disrupting fair market competition.

The Ministry of Transport has put forward several requirements for each platform, stressing that they must provide specific targets for vehicle and driver compliance by the end of this year.

According to the requirements, all platforms must immediately stop recruiting non-compliant vehicles and drivers. When drivers are newly registered, those who cannot provide licenses will not be approved.

Ride-hailing platforms must not entice drivers to join through fake promotions or transfer any business risks to the drivers themselves, the regulators said. Personal information of users shall not be provided to third parties without the consent of users.

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Regulators added that drivers should also be given enough rest time and companies should reduce the commission they take from each ride. All platforms must announce its pricing rates and fees to the public.

These ride-hailing platforms indicated that they will fix the problems mentioned and other potential safety risks according to the requirements.