Taxi! Hitching a Ride With Help From China’s Top Cab-Booking App

The weather in Beijing has been gloomy of late, and just when I was queuing up to buy some cheap egg tarts along Houhai for friends visiting Beijing, it started pouring with rain and we had to head home. Because of the rain, it was a battle to find a spare taxi along that busy street. In a bid to show off that I’m a tech-savvy chick, I whipped out my phone and fired up an app I could use: Didi Dache (嘀嘀打车).

Like a virgin

A friend of mine first recommended the Didi Dache taxi-finder app to me, and was mildly amused when he said that a code is assigned to each taxi booking (pictured right) that needs to be verified with the taxi driver before he/she lets you on board. And if the taxi doesn’t show up after hailing that cab via the Didi Dache app, he/she gets a bad rating, as displayed on the driver’s profile within the app.

The first time you use the Didi Dache app – as with many rival apps – you will be required to fill in and verify your phone number, and are then brought to a page which asks if you require a taxi now or later. Being already half drenched I opted to book one right now; and then the app asked how much you would like to give the taxi driver on top of the fare (in increments of RMB 5, RMB 10, and RMB 20, which is about $1 to $3). You will also need to indicate how long you’re willing to wait (like, ten or 30 minutes), and then send a voice message (you’ll need to be online since, I was told, the app monetizes from mobile telcos and data usage) to tell the driver where you are and where you are heading to.

I chose to give an additional RMB 5, but unfortunately no taxi driver was willing to pick me up despite saying my request in the most seductive voice possible. I was then prompted by the app to increase the offer, which I did, and finally got a response when I reluctantly decided to add RMB 20 to the regular fare. The app will then show the details of the taxi driver, such as his last name, license plate number, the taxi company he represents, and his ratings from other users of the app. There is also a button where you can call the taxi driver on his phone.

Finally, my assigned taxi arrived. So as everyone tried to clamber into the taxi that belonged to me, I gave a triumphant smirk and said that the taxi was pre-booked online. Curious Beijingers asked what app I used to get hold of the cab. Given that the taxi driver did honor his promise of picking me up, I gave him a good rating.

Beijing and Shanghai supposedly banned these extra fees in May, permitting taxi apps to be used by driver only if no extra charges are applied for consumers. But, as we’ve seen, these extra charges are still happening. I asked a couple of taxi drivers about the ban. They said even if authorities implemented the ban properly, it was difficult to regulate the whole new taxi app industry. But nationwide regulation is a possibility.

They see me rollin’

According to my cab driver, most drivers would not pick up a passenger via the app who is only willing to give an extra RMB 5 unless both parties are serendipitous enough to be really close to each other. He rationalizes that for one, by the time he gets there, there’s the likelihood the passenger might be picked up by other passing taxi drivers. Secondly, he might be able to find other passengers along the way. But then if he doesn’t honor the jobs from Didi Dache, he’ll be whacked with more bad ratings.

Why this app?

Money not exactly the main motivation for taxi drivers