Didi to pilot carpooling relaunch more than a year after 2 passenger deaths

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing announced a trial relaunch of its peer-to-peer ride-sharing service, Hitch, in seven major Chinese cities at the end of November, more than a year after Didi suspended the service following two passenger deaths.

Photo credit: Didi

According to a statement, the trial relaunch of Hitch will be conducted in Harbin, Taiyuan, Shijiazhuang, Changzhou, Shenyang, Beijing, and Nantong. It will start with trips under 50 kilometers in metro areas between 5 am and 8 pm for female users, and 5 am and 11 pm for male users.

Created in 2015, Hitch allows private car owners that are registered on Didi’s platform to pick up users heading in the same direction.

The service was halted in August 2018 after a Hitch driver was arrested and confessed to murdering a female passenger in China’s eastern Zhejiang province. The tragedy came roughly three months after a flight attendant was raped and killed by another driver in Henan province.

Didi said the service’s relaunch follows a comprehensive safety review and product revamp that started last year. It includes improved safety features as well as stricter driver and passenger verification and rating mechanics.

The company is also looking to bolster women’s safety with features such as enhanced risk analysis, alert, and intervention models. It is rolling out a new in-app “safety assistant” that shows detailed information on drivers and passengers and offers access to real-time support from safety specialists.

The women’s safety program is expected to be introduced to Didi’s other services as well, according to the statement.

Earlier this year, Didi president Jean Liu Qing hinted at the return of Hitch, saying that the company was looking to discuss with the public ways to increase safety in the ride-sharing service. At the time, the exec assured that the team behind the service had been working on a “safer and more trustworthy” product.