China's top cab hailing service - Didi Kuaidi - claims that its taxi services have contributed to dialing down pollution levels in China.
In a research report released in Jan. 21, Didi Kuaidi claims that its services have reduced individual number of car trips by 1.14 million per day. This move by Didi Kuaidi has cut down over 13.5 tons of carbon emissions.
The recent research paper is titled "China Urban Smart Transportation Report," which has been created by Didi Kuaidi, in association with Watching Media and First Finance Commercial Data Research Centre.
Citing excerpts from this study, Tech in Asia reported that Didi Kuadi's services offer four pronged solutions to China's urban transportation challenge. First, its services reduce need to buy new vehicles for commutation purposes. Second, it reduces private car rides and increases social peer-to-peer experience on account of its car-pooling services. Third, its services alleviate urban traffic pressure and congestion issues. Fourth, it reduces negative environmental impact caused by vehicular emissions.
According to Financial Times, Didi Kuaidi secured China's first municipal license for "internet car booking" on Oct. 8, 2015 in Shanghai. While the license was being granted, Chinese political leaders had made it clear that such services could reduce traffic congestion and pollution. Didi Kuaidi is jointly owned by Chinese internet giants- Alibaba and Tencent - and offers serious competition to American cab hailing company Uber.
In a recent report, Didi Kuaidi claims to have 99 percent market share in taxi-hailing services, and 87 percent market share in private car ride services. This number is disputed by Uber, which claimed to have 35 percent market share of private cab services in China.
China has recently attempted to cut down on its alarming levels of urban pollution; however, some doubts whether Didi Kuaidi or Uber contribute to a positive environmental impact, since most of the car rides they offer are solo ones.