Ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing raises prices in China’s biggest cities

Passengers of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing are finding they have to pay higher fees for their trips on the mainland after the company started increasing prices and reducing cash subsidies for several services in many cities across the country, such as ride hailing and carpooling, following its Uber China buyout.

Since last week, the price for Didi Hitch in Beijing has gone up 20 per cent, according to the Legal Evening News.

Drivers who register with Hitch input their destination and get paired with a passenger who will be picked up along the way, allowing drivers to network more easily.

The report said the starting rate for Didi’s hitch service in Beijing is now 1.5 yuan per kilometre, with a minimum cost of 12 yuan. Last month the starting rate was 1.3 yuan per kilometre with a minimum cost of 10 yuan.

Besides Beijing, Didi confirmed on Monday its Hitch service increased prices in certain cities with worse traffic and more Hitch requests, including first-tier cities.

In several urban cities across the country, such as Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu, passengers also had to pay more for the same distance, meaning the economic advantage over taking a taxi was lost, according to mainland media, while drivers working for the company complain that Didi has lowered financial incentives offered to them.