New | Didi offers rides on minibuses, expanding into another area of China’s public transport service
Didi is offering minibus rides in selected areas of Beijing and Chengdu, aiming to expand into more urban cities next year
Didi-Chuxing, China’s largest car-pooling application, has begun to offer short rides to commuters on minibuses, expanding its ride-sharing service further into the traditional realm of the mainland’s public transportation system.
The new service began on December 8, connecting major bus and subway stations in selected areas in Beijing and Chengdu via seven-seat minibuses that Didi-Chuxing rents from leasing companies, said the company’s spokeswoman Sun Liang, in a telephone interview.
The company plans to expand the service to more urban areas, providing the so-called “last three-kilometer” connection to and between public transport hubs, Sun said.
The service helps passengers arrive at or leave from train stations more easily, while improving the efficiency of the public transport infrastructure and relieve congestions around train stations during the annual migration during the Lunar New Year holidays.
The service aims to provide users with a high quality and cost effective travel experience for short trips by using big data system to calculate passengers’ pick-up and drop-off points, plan and adjust the best possible routes and calculate the cost, she added.
Didi does not own the minibuses but rent them from vehicle leasing companies on-demand, she said. “For example, a total of 60 minibuses are running in Huilongguan (回龍觀) area in Beijing, providing services for up to 5,000 users every day, much more efficient than the same number of taxis,” she said.