China's largest car-hailing service provider, Didi Kuaidi, has announced plans to launch a separate service targeting corporate and government users, the China Daily reported.
Du Jincheng, vice-president of Didi Kuaidi, said that it plans to launch the new app by mid-August with the aim to cut the transport costs for businesses and the public sector.
"The market is estimated to be worth at least 100 billion yuan ($16.11 billion), especially in light of the central government's policy of auctioning off its official cars in China," Du said.
The National Government Offices Administration announced in January that some 3,184 official cars, used to be owned by central government institutions, will be auctioned.
The government has also asked all local governments to complete the reform on their official cars by the end of the year.
According to the report, there are no official data about how many cars will be claimed redundant, but the government can save money amounting to an estimated 150 billion yuan to 200 billion yuan spent on these official cars every year.
Du said that the plan to launch a separate service app was made in response to mounting requests for a convenient and economical service tailor-fit for corporate and government users.
The report said that the local government in Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces continue to find more ways to effectively manage their transport budgets, and now, several cities are discussing detailed cooperation plans with Didi Kuaidi.
Du said that to make the app's management more transparent, the company will probably add features that will include ways to monitor online spending.
Didi is also considering to set up online accounts for each individual civil servant or government employee, which will make it possible to monitor their car use information, including fees, the type of cars they use, and what routes they take.
Didi Kuaidi claimed in March that it has more than 100 million users in China.