China’s Guangzhou to open up government-backed Uber-like car-hailing app after trial run, but locals not convinced
Residents see little competitive advantage to new service vis-a-vis Didi Kuaidi, Uber
The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has been conducting a trial run of its government-backed Uber-like car-hailing app for over three months and is now set to launch it commercially in February, according to the government-run Nanfang Daily.
During the testing period, the ride-booking service has been connecting users with an official fleet of about 300 licenced vehicles, the report said.
The service is called Ru yue - which translates as “punctual appointment” - and the cars in operation are either Toyota Camrys or Nissan models, it added.
READ MORE: After government ban, now Guangzhou wants to copy Uber
Until now, it has only been available to officials of the city’s municipal transport authority, political advisers, and deputies to the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress.
Moreover, the fees it charges are more expensive than those levied by regular taxis in the city.
The cheapest flag-fall rate is 18 yuan (US$2.83), with an additional 2.7 yuan charged per kilometre. This compares to a fixed start fee of 10 yuan and a per-km charge of 2.4 yuan among regular cabs.
However, Ru yue has been offering an initial 50 per cent discount during its trial run to drum up interest.