Chinese taxi-hailing and ride-on-demand app developer Didi Kuaidi has announced on Wednesday, July 29, that it will invest 500 million yuan ($80.55 million) for its shuttle service, which is set to operate in more than 30 Chinese cities by year-end, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Didi Kuaidi, which has been operating commuter shuttles in Beijing and the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen since July 16, said that they formulated their routes based on the travel needs that riders submit online.
The company said that their shuttle service aims to provide office workers with better commuting experience, especially those whose needs are not met by existing public transportation.
According to the company, users can now sign up for the shuttle service via Tencent's WeChat mobile messaging app, and they will be able to access the service using their own mobile app in two months.
Li Jinfei, a manager who runs the shuttle service at Didi Kuaidi, said that the 500-million-yuan investment will be used for expansion in new cities, as well as in launching new shuttle routes and to secure more quality vehicles for the shuttle service.
The company said that they do not own the shuttle buses that will used for the service, but instead use idle vehicles at travel agencies and car rental companies.
Didi Kuaidi, which is already regarded as the dominant company in China's online taxi-hailing market with more than 3.5 billion dollars in cash reserves, is competing with rivals Uber and CAR Inc. for ride-on-demand service. The commuter shuttle is the latest addition to its transportation offerings, as the company seeks to make a presence in the $16.1-billion intelligent public transportation market.
Earlier this month, the company announced that it had completed a fresh round of financing worth $2 billion from existing stakeholders, such as Alibaba, Tencent, Temasek and Coatue Management, as well as several new investors, such as Capital International Private Equity Fund and Ping An Ventures.