On November 6th, Didi’s Carpool Service, which was suspended for a long time, was re-launched and started trial operation in several cities in China.
In response to previous security issues and user concerns about security, in the new Carpool program, Didi Travel introduced a mechanism for untrustworthy screening, and actively explored cooperation with third-party credit products companies to improve user entry barriers.
But clearly, femle passengers felt unfair to the new rules. Almost all users responding ‘unfair’ to femal passengers.
The return of the Carpool Service is not easy. From November 20th, only seven cities will be trial-running and will only provide short-distance travel within 50 kilometers. For female users who have been at the core of the previous public opinion, their ride time has also been greatly reduced. This service will not be available until 5 am and after 8 pm.
The Carpool Service has also been watched by public opinion with a magnifying glass. Security issues, legal liability issues, and pricing issues are all like flammable gunpowder barrels. Now that the trial operation is announced, can Didi return to the essence of the ride, and what kind of fate will this new life share with the industry?
Fear
The Didi Carpool function had affected the hearts of the entire Chinese passengers in 2018. On August 27 last year, Didi announced the suspension of Carpool, and it has been stagnant for 450 days. The whole market has also undergone great changes. Many travel apps have also launched corresponding services during the downturn to meet user’s needs, including Gaode Map, Haluo Travel and more.
On May 6, 2018, a Chinese female flight attendant was killed by a driver after running a Carpool; on August 24, 2018, a 20-year-old girl lost her life after taking Didi Carpool, and one day later, the girl’s body was found. The suspect admitted to rape and kill her.
With two cases, the entire Chinese society began to re-examine the company and the Carpool business. Under the double blow of public opinion and regulatory pressure, Didi went to the suspend Carpool business in China on August 28.
“Fear, it is fear.” When talking about why the shuttle business is not going online, Didi President Liu Qing said at the public communication meeting held for the first time after the suspension. In March of this year, at the small-scale closed-door communication meeting held by Didi, the signal of returning of Carpool has been released, but there was still no accurate time.
A piece of financial data circulating inside the company shows that the company continued to suffer huge losses in 2018, with a loss of 10.9 billion yuan. At the same time, in the year of 2018, Didi invested a total of 11.3 billion yuan in driver subsidies. Over the past year, Didi is bearing huge compliance pressures and costs.
The Carpool business is a great boon for Chinese passengers, and the contribution of Didi is huge. The data shows that during the Spring Festival of 2018, the capacity of the drip windmill reached 30.67 million times, equivalent to 46.7% of the capacity of civil aviation, equivalent to the addition of 45,000 trains of 8 EMUs and 170,000 Boeing 737s.
After the suspension, it caused a lot of trouble to the users
The glory of the past has come to an abrupt end due to security issues, and the suspension has almost ruined all the fantasies about future travel. However, the market has never lost its market. After becoming a business, it just lost its hearts.
Many people working in first and second-tier cities may have a deep understanding, especially for those who need to cross the city to go to work. It is too difficult to get a car at night. It is normal to call the car at the peak, catching up with the cloudy and rainy holidays, and the waiting time will be doubled. The key is that the toll is still very expensive.
The market’s call for the Carpool began to rise, and it was too inconvenient to not using the Carpool while commuting to work. “We need to ride the wind” and so on. “Before the Carpool, I can go back home in an hour, now the subway bus takes more than two hours.” Xiao Li, the programmer who works in urban and sleep in the suburb, hopes that Didi will be able to go online as soon as possible.
Now, Didi’s Carpool is coming back.
For the security access problem that users are generally concerned about, Didi said that it will introduce a mechanism for screening the untrustworthy person, and the user who can be publicly queried will not be able to register as a rider. In the new program, Didi will also introduce the untrustworthy screening mechanism, and actively explore ways to cooperate with third-party credit products companies to further enhance the user access threshold.
It’s discrimination!
However, the time-sharing mechanism for protecting vulnerable groups has been opposed by women.
In the program, women take 3 hours less than men. And after 8 pm, female users will not be able to use the Carpool function, causing dissatisfaction from some feminists.
In Didi’s notice, they said “Re-starting with awe, we hope to take responsibility for creating value for the public and continue to provide safe, economical, friendly and environmentally friendly travel modes for our customers.” Clearly, Didi screwed their awe again.
Didi’s Weibo is now flooding with criticism.”It’s discrimination.” One Didi female user felt unhappy to hear this new rules, “I can take a normal Didi ride after 8 pm, why I can’t take Carpool after 8 pm. And who will protect female Didi drivers at night?”
User @rouhaha said on Weibo under Didi’s new rules, “Is there any female employee in your company? We can’t accept this plan, and as a female passenger, I felt disrespected. Relaunch or do nothing else. This is unfair to us. As women, did we do something wrong?”
Opinions are saying, Didi thought the main problem of Carpool suspension came from female passengers, so they make the rules unfair to female users. Even male users of Didi felt unfair for them.
While the safety problem not solved, Didi has more trouble to suffer. This one is more tough than relaunching the Carpool service.
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