Urban Mass Transit: Chinese Shared Transport Platform Offers Workable Solutions

DiDi’s application boasts 450 million registered passengers and covers 400 Chinese cities.

With a population of almost 1.4 billion, transporting millions of commuters every day is no small task for China’s public transport system. And so a group of 42 African, South Asian and Southeast Asian journalists recently visited DiDi, a firm that runs a shared transport platform in the Chinese capital, Beijing, to find out how it helps in facilitating mass transit across the country.

Aaron Liu, one of DiDi’s Public Relations Managers, said the platform was set up in 2012 because the transport situation in major cities was getting worse as demand outstripped supply. A private company today listed on the Stock Exchange, DiDi rolled out its shared transport platform with taxis before expanding to other modes of transport. After six months of operations, DiDi had only 1,000 rides a day at the end of 2012. Today, it boasts 25 million daily rides. The company’s partners have a fleet of 250,000 electric vehicles. DiDi has partners in India, Egypt, South Africa, the Middle East, North America, Brazil, the US and Southeast Asia.

The application enables subscribers to use cost-effective means of transport in 400 Chinese cities, with 450 million registered passengers and 19 million drivers, Sun Liang, DiDi Senior Communications Director explained. On average, 25 million rides are made each day. Drivers are evaluated through Global Positioning Systems installed in subscribed passengers’ phones and their feedback, Liang explained.

As many as 17.50 million job opportunities have been created in 400 cities across China ...