Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    DIDI Hitch’s Share-A-Seat Program offered 4.2 million rides to travelers during the Spring Festival transport season between Jan. 13 and Thursday, statistics from the app-based cab operator showed.

    This number was four times that of the same period last year and was equivalent to adding an extra 5,874 eight-car high-speed passenger trains to the country’s strained transportation supply.

    Most of the trips during the post-festival period were within 300 kilometers and 6.9 percent of the trips were more than 1,000 kilometers. The longest trip was 1,318 kilometers, between Shenzhen and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.

    Most of the trips departed from Shenzhen for Dongguan, Guangzhou, Meizhou and Heyuan. Riders carrying large luggage on their transport only accounted for 2.8 percent of the orders, while 4.4 percent of them were traveling with their children and 1 percent were accompanied by pets, the report showed. Among the drivers, 97 percent were male and their average age was 36.6.

    The last day of the Spring Festival holiday was the peak of travel and the top 10 routes included those between Shenzhen and Chongqing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and Harbin and Beijing.

    The data shows that travelers from Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province like to travel alone and Guangzhou travelers, accounting for 52 percent of hitch riders, chose to travel with other riders.

    Didi estimated that it would carry 8.4 million fellow riders during the 40-day transport season, filling the gap unmet by railway, road and air transportation.

    During last year’s Spring Festival transport season, a total of 1.9 million passengers used the service over the course of 40 days.

    Didi Chuxing, the operator, launched the national Share-A-Seat Program in Beijing together with seasoned Didi Hitch car owners, encouraging private car owners to share spare seats in their cars to take people home.