China Legalize Ride-Hailing Apps - Uber For Operation By November

It's official. Uber will be granted legal in China by November according to Bloomberg reports. The Chinese government is almost finalizing the modus of operation for the likes of Uber and Didi Chuxing - Uber's Chinese’s rival.

Both companies have been operating before now in a stiff complex condition amidst battling for supremacy in the world's largest ride-hailing market.

The Chinese government have been working on amending the regulations before now which supports a ban on the use of private cars for ride-hailing services, thereby limiting the licenses available for drivers. However, the latest announcement is more kind and accepted by the companies involved.

The new regulations include;

• Encourage growth of the so-called sharing economy, with some restrictions on how ride-hailing companies operate. 
• Drivers must have at least three years of experience, and cars must be equipped with safety features including alarms and GPS. 
• Cars that have been driven for more than 60,000 kilometers (37,282 miles) will have to be retired, and they will not be allowed to have more than seven seats. 
• All data collected by the companies will also have to be stored in China, and 
• Will be retained for at least two years.

Meanwhile, Uber and Didi Chuxing welcomed the new regulations and acknowledge challenges on strategies to implement and abide with the rules. Didi cited some concern such as the licensing procedure, which will be handled by local taxi authorities and how the rules will affect part-time drivers.

In a formal response on Thursday to the new regulations, Uber China said in a blog post, "While the details of how these regulations are implemented will fall to cities and provinces, this is a welcome step in a country that has consistently shown itself to be forward-thinking when it comes to innovation." 

While, in a statement to TechCrunch, Didi Chuxing said it "welcomes the government’s endorsement and encouragement of the industry and China’s emerging sharing economy." 

On the basis of capacity - Apple backed Didi Chuxing, which raised $7 billion in funding last month with a $1 billion investment from Apple in May, affirms it has more than 300 million active users in China, along with 14 million drivers. While, Uber has not disclosed the size of its user base in China, though it is currently operating in more than 60 cities across the country, and plans to reach 100 cities by the end of the year.

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>>Source: [Bloomberg. Image: TechCrunch]