Baidu soft-launches mysterious ridesharing aggregation service (we think)

Is Baidu getting into the car booking/car rental game? It’s starting to look that way. On Friday, somewhat out of the blue, some Baidu users got text notifications that led them to this site (works best on mobile). The site is about a promotion for “Baidu Zhuanche” (Baidu Private Car), promising a discount for those who try it out before the end of the month, and service available across more than 20 cities.

But what kind of service is it? That’s not exactly clear. Chinese tech news outlets TechWeb and Sina Tech have slightly differing ideas, and neither has been able to get any useful information out of Baidu’s domestic PR team. (Tech in Asia has contacted Baidu’s international PR team and will update this article if we have more luck).

We do know the service runs off of Baidu Maps. Sina Tech reports that when you log onto it you get a number of different transportation options that include nearby Uber cars, other private cars, carpool opportunities, and even public transit and walking options. TechWeb speculates that it’s related to Baidu’s 2014 investment in Yidao Yongche (a lesser Uber and Didi competitor) and says that an Android version will be coming first.

My own best guess – based on what little information we have available – is that it’s a ride aggregation service that ties into Baidu’s various ridesharing partners while also making use of Baidu’s own data about public transit options. I suspect that the vision is an app that you can log into, set a destination, and then be given a variety of ways to get there, including Uber and other cab-hailing options, public transit, and more.

I doubt it will include any info from China’s biggest private-car ridesharing service, Didi Kuaidi.