Following protests, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache offices shut down in Luoyang

Last week, it was Uber’s offices in China getting raided. Now, it’s apparently Didi/Kuaidi’s turn. China’s two biggest taxi and private car apps, which merged earlier this year, reportedly saw both of their offices in the city of Luoyang closed Tuesday by local industry and commerce officials following protests from local cab drivers.

In Luoyang, as in other cities across China, cab drivers are deeply displeased about taxi and private-car apps cutting into their business. Luoyang drivers have already been ordered by authorities to uninstall the apps, so when some cabbies discovered a fellow driver using one on Monday, they followed him, surrounded his car, and began what turned into a pretty large scale protest.

As more and more drivers gathered, their attentions turned from the offending cab to the office of Didi Dache itself, and eventually also the local office of Kuaidi Dache. As protests grew, police were called in, and eventually industry and commerce officials arrived as well, shutting down the Didi and Kuaidi offices and escorting staff and some equipment from the premises. Both companies saw their offices’ signs torn down, but it wasn’t immediately clear who the men tearing the signs down were.

A Didi Dache worker told Caijing that the companies have been under intense scrutiny ahd pressure from local authorities since they arrived. It’s not immediately clear whether the shuttering of their offices in the Henan city is temporary or permanent, but it is quite clear that the local taxi industry has no plans to play nice in its opposition of China’s taxi app revolution.

(Source: Sina Tech)