REGULATORS have decided to launch a nationwide safety overhaul of ride-hailing platforms amid concerns that the web-based services may bring more risks than convenience.

The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Security on Monday jointly announced a campaign against illegal activities in ride-hailing and car-pooling services, which will start immediately and remain effective till the end of the year.

Local transport authorities and police should move promptly, an official statement said, citing measures including background checks on drivers, fulfillment of business responsibility, and improved mechanisms for complaints, alarms and quick-response.

Businesses will be asked to adopt new technology to forestall risks — facial recognition to examine the identity of drivers and big data to detect hazards, such as deviation from the right path and unreasonable, long stops.

More efforts are required in areas including privacy protection of passengers, stricter actions on drivers involved in complaints, and random offline checks on cars and drivers.

The statement also urged quick responses from authorities to related crimes and demanded technological support from ride-hailing platforms for police investigations. (Xinhua)