Life after midnight in China without Didi rides: unlicensed taxis, police and pedal power

As the founder of a two-year-old tech start-up in Shenzhen, a coastal metropolis of 13 million people sometimes likened to China’s Silicon Valley, 28-year-old David Liang is used to burning the midnight oil.

Almost without fail, Liang would go back to his office after dinner, staying as late as 2am working on lines of code, or reviewing the business plan for his online education start-up. But not this week. Liang headed straight home after his shift because Didi Chuxing, the Uber of China, had suspended for seven days all of its services from 11pm to 5am. He could stand on the street to hail a taxi, but he has grown so accustomed to hailing a cab with his smartphone that he decided it was not worth the hassle.

“I like to stay alone late at night in the office because I can think more clearly without anyone disturbing me,” Liang said as he emerged from the One Zebra restaurant near Shopping Center Station in Shenzhen’s Futian district. “But the suspension of service has disrupted my working habit.”

Across China, millions of people who use Didi to hail taxis, book private-car rides or arrange for shared trips have found themselves having to adjust their late-night routines because of the suspension. Interviews with taxi drivers, private-car drivers and commuters throw up a consistent observation: fewer people are staying out late this week because of concerns they cannot easily get home. The week-long suspension, which began last Saturday, was meant to allow Beijing-based Didi to phase in added safety measures, including the upgrade of a panic button to a direct link to the police, as well as trial in-trip audio recording and intensified background checks of drivers.

The exercise is taking place against the backdrop of a safety crisis sparked by the second rape-killing of a female passenger in three months involving a Didi driver.