Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

SHENZHEN traffic police and Shenzhen International Airport have designated a passageway for app-based cabs to pick up passengers starting Friday.

The passage, which is located inside Parking Lot 3, includes 47 parking spaces in the Reserve Area and 24 spaces in the Pickup Area.

The system at the entrance of the Reserve Area can distinguish between app-based cabs, traditional cabs and other private vehicles through the registered data of app-based cab operators.

“App-based car drivers are allowed to wait inside the car reserve area for 15 minutes for free, but when they pick up passengers on the passageway, they are required to drive off within three minutes, otherwise they will be fined 300 yuan (US$44) and have three penalty points added to their driver’s license,” said Ma Jianjun, head of the Jiachang Brigade of Shenzhen’s traffic police bureau, at a news conference yesterday.

Punishments will be imposed starting Feb. 1 after a nearly two-week grace period.

App-based cab drivers can drop off passengers at the departure hall, but they can’t pick up or wait for passengers at the departure hall.

App-based operators, including Didi, the largest app-based vehicle service provider in China, will set up an electronic fence in the area of the departure hall that disables arriving passengers from sending a request for an app-based cab. To land orders, passengers will need to walk to the Pickup Area through Exit 15 of the Ground Transportation Center and vehicles in the reserve area will be sent to pick them up.

“The measures are being taken to ensure smooth traffic at the departure hall, which has been plagued by app-based cars picking up arrival passengers,” said Liu Ming, general manager of the airport’s traffic operation center.

Shenzhen police implemented a strict rule in December 2013, after the opening of Terminal 3, which only allows vehicles to park at the platform of the departure hall for at most three minutes. The situation has greatly improved since the rule was implemented.

However, with the popularization of app-based cab services, police are facing a challenge as more departing passengers use app-based cabs.

Cab drivers drive to the platform to drop off passengers and some wait at the exits of expressways, or some roads near the airport, waiting for orders. They randomly park their cars and slow down on the way to pick up passengers after receiving orders, disrupting traffic and creating hazards for other vehicles.

Statistics from Didi showed that the operators received about 8,800 orders for airport passengers a day, accounting for 18 percent of the total passengers using ground traffic at the airport.