Despite their immense popularity, ride-sharing services like Uber and Didi Chunxing are actually illegal in China. Until now.
The Chinese government has enacted a new law setting up the necessary rules and regulations that will govern ride-sharing services. This was announced by the Chinese transportation ministry and other related departments on Thursday, the New York Times reported.
Under the new law, drivers wishing to work for any ride-sharing company are required to have at least three years of driver experience. They also need to be duly licensed by local taxi regulators.
The new law also sets the limit on the type of cars that can be enrolled in the services, stating that only cars that have 600,000 kilometers or less in their odometers will be allowed to should be used. And as part of safety regulations, all cars enrolled as a ride-sharing vehicle are required to have GPS trackers installed.
Both Didi and Uber welcomed the new law. According to Uber5 China's senior vice president for corporate development Zhen Liu, the company is ready to comply with the new regulation and that it will be closely working with local authorities to ensure proper implementation.
On the other hand, Didi hailed particular elements of the new law, including that of allowing companies to set their own prices. The company also noted in its statement that the guidelines are actually better than the ones initially proposed. Didi added that it is already tasking its drivers to comply with the new law and get the necessary license, Forbes reported.
The new law is set to take effect in November.