A First Look at Didi’s English Interface

Didi has slowly rolled out its English interface — and hurray, we at beijingkids got a chance to try it.

Some notes:

Street names and the whole map now are now in English.

The top tab only shows car options (express, taxi, or premier) no bike/Ofo, or bus.

Searching for an English-name address? When you fast-type it, chances are that the search bar will not show any results. Try to use keywords first if you see no options. (If you have a Chinese address or name, then it still works, and will pull up a pinyin or English translation.)

For pick-ups, there are no changes in the interface; it still shows the name of the driver, the car’s number and color, and options like cancel request.

In the Customer Service menu, you’ll see a list of your recent trips and FAQs. When tapping the options (like payment options, “Why was my ride paid twice”), you’ll see an explanation without any prompt to contact a customer service representative (just only thumbs up/down button).

Payment options and details are also in English, like for an international credit card, but second party payments, like WeChat, will link to the app already installed on your own phone.

So there you go. The English interface looks friendlier and a lot easier to use.

Photos: Andy Penafuerte, Vanessa Jencks