China’s largest ride-hailing service provider plans to put its new safety protocols in place by the end of this month
Didi Chuxing, the largest ride-hailing service provider in China, is looking to overhaul its car-pooling programme Hitch in response to the tragic death last week of a female passenger in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province.
“We are committed to fully taking our due legal responsibilities related to traffic accident, public security, criminal cases and disputes on our platform,” Didi said in a statement released on Wednesday. It said new safety protocols will be put in place by the end of this month.
The Beijing-based technology start-up will make facial-recognition scanning mandatory for all drivers on its platform before they take any orders. This safety measure was designed to prevent unauthorised persons from stealing the identity of Didi-registered drivers.
Last week, a man in Zhengzhou was able to log into the account of his father because Didi’s night mode facial recognition system failed to engage, according to the company’s statement on Monday.
The 26-year-old man allegedly went on to rape and kill his passenger, a 21-year-old flight attendant who booked a ride on the Hitch service, before being found dead himself by police in a river on Saturday, according to a report from the official Xinhua News Agency.
Didi said on Wednesday that its Hitch car-pooling service, which had been suspended for a week, will not be offered after 10 in the evening when its operation resumes. For unfinished Hitch trips between 10pm and 6am, both passengers and car owners will receive special safety reminders before they set out, the company said.
