Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    TWO major app-based cab providers, Didi and Uber, vowed to tighten qualification checks of drivers and will ban non-Shenzhen-registered vehicles from operating in the local market.

    In a response to new requirements from police and transport authorities, Didi said it will tighten background checks for drivers and hopes to be granted the right to inquire into the backgrounds of new drivers.

    Drivers with 12 penalty points in a year, or who have been involved in a major traffic accident in the last three years, will be disqualified from being a Didi driver. Didi will also invest 100 million yuan (US$15 million) a year to guarantee the safety of riders.

    Uber said it has established a background check system for drivers and set a higher threshold for qualifications. The company said it will further tighten background checks and cooperate with government agencies to control illegal business of non-Shenzhen-registered vehicles.

    At a news conference, Yu Li, an official with the Shenzhen Municipal Transport Commission, said there have been around 300,000 non-Shenzhen-registered vehicles involved in app-based cab services in the city since 2015. The vehicles have worsened traffic in Shenzhen.

    The commission is requiring app operators to stop giving orders to the vehicles and improve the vehicle registration system before April 10. Otherwise the companies face being blacklisted as untrustworthy.

    Statistics showed app-based cabs have been involved in 756,000 violations since 2015. The city reported 3,653 traffic accidents involving ride-hailing apps. On March 26, two passengers were severely injured by another car when trying to get into a Didi driver’s car.

    Statistics released Monday by iResearch, a third-party organization, showed that Didi controlled 88.4 percent of the app-based cab hailing market in China in 2015.