Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    ANOTHER excuse bites the dust. Yesterday, a popular ride-hailing app rolled out a service for drivers who have had too much to drink and need someone to drive their car home.

    Didi Kuaidi, the largest taxi-booking operator in China, now offers a paid designated driver service in 10 cities, including Shenzhen.

    The other nine cities are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Xi’an, Wuhan, Dalian and Nanjing, the company said at a press conference in Beijing yesterday.

    Riders for the designated driver service can enjoy the first ride for free. They can order the service through the Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache apps.

    By the end of August, another five cities including Chengdu, Changchun and Xiamen will be covered by the service. By the end of the year, the service will cover more than 100 cities.

    Cheng Wei, president of Didi Kuaidi, said China’s designated driver services are still in the developing and have great market potential.

    “The industrial size of designated driver services in China could reach 2.69 billion yuan (US$427 million) this year. It is only one-10th of the size of South Korea, which has 50 million people and 20 million vehicles,” said Cheng.

    The flag price of the designated driver service includes the first 10 kilometers. The costs change depending on whether the service is used at night or during the day.

    In Beijing, the starting price is 36 yuan from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the first 10 kilometers and 20 yuan for each additional 10 kilometers.

    Didi Kuaidi now has more than 5 million registered drivers and more than 1 million drivers have applied to provide the service.

    The company selected more than 160,000 drivers after training organized by Didi Kuaidi in partnership with the Chinese Automobile Circulation Association.

    Drivers that need to commute to clients will be able to share rides. The company will also subsidize the trips. The company will pilot night bus service for designated drivers in cities where the service proves popular.

    Didi Kuaidi, which was established more than three years ago and now has more than 200 million mobile app users, accounts for 80 percent of the total car-hailing market.

    Didi Kuaidi raised US$2 billion earlier this month due to tremendous interest from global investors. Didi Kuaidi said the fundraising would lift its cash reserves to US$3.5 billion, making the firm the largest by cash reserves in China’s mobile Internet industry.

    Didi Kuaidi integrates various transport solutions, including taxis, private cars, social ridesharing, enterprise solutions carpooling and chauffeurs.

    It serves 30 million riders daily and has a presence in 80 cities.