Recently a few readers reported that while using the popular Chinese app, Didi Chuxing, a notification kept appearing requesting Chinese ID.

After the recent changes involving Uber, this understandably caused a bit of fear and panic among foreign users. Uber was bought out by Didi Chuxing earlier this year in a move that proved Chinese companies know the market best. Uber had been “bleeding” money in the Chinese market, and finally accepted defeat.

After the buyout, Uber required all users to update the app. The update changed in interface into Chinese and then required users to enter a Chinese ID. This essentially made the app altogether worthless for expats.

With these rumors spreading around the city, we investigated the details of the changes.

Chen Xiaoni, a representative of Didi Chuxing through the Brunswick Group, Didi’s PR company, explained that the notification is only for Didi’s popular service called Hitch (顺风车). As the name implies, it’s a ride sharing option between non-commercial drivers and riders. The company is requiring that ID for rides that take driver and passenger from one starting city to a different destination city.

Without Chinese ID, riders will only be able to travel within the city of ride origin.

“The system only accepts users holding Chinese IDs because Didi can’t verify foreign passports at this stage. The company is working on solving this issue and hope to find a solution in the future,” Chen explained.

Though this is bad news for foreigners who were using Hitch to go between cities, everyone else can take a deep breath. Life will not get drastically more difficult for expats looking for a typical taxi ride when this new change takes affect this year on December 29.

“Other than Hitch, other services provided on Didi Chuxing platform such as express cars and private cars don’t require real name registration. Users can use these services as usual,” Chen reassured us.

Photos: Andrew N.

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Uber Technologies Inc’s is set to merge its China operation with local ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing in a USD 35 billion deal, Bloomberg (VPN needed) and the Wall Street Journal are reporting.

According to Bloomberg, “people familiar with the matter” have indicated that Uber will continue to operate its own app in China for now.

The Bloomberg article quotes from a blog post by Uber CEO Travis Kalanick that you may have seen doing the rounds on WeChat this morning:

“Uber and Didi Chuxing are investing billions of dollars in China and both companies have yet to turn a profit there. Getting to profitability is the only way to build a sustainable business that can best serve Chinese riders, drivers and cities over the long term.”

The quotes from Bloomberg match the blog post that just started to go viral on the Chinese web, so apparently it’s legit.

Unfortunately for consumers, this might end up being a bad thing. The intense competition between the car-hailing apps has meant they had to raise a hole bunch of VC funding to offer cut-rate fares. It’s likely that will stop following this decision.

The announcement comes just days after the government announced that ride hailing apps like Uber and Didi Chuxing will officially be legal in China on November 1.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on August 1.

Images: Tech In Asia, Uber (WeChat)

(UPDATED) Transportation in Beijing via taxis is convenient and relatively cheap if you can get around the traffic. However, newcomers might shy from hailing taxis on their own due to the language barrier (the prospect of having to speak Mandarin), or a fear of being rejected by a cabbie (due to his fear of having to speak English). Fortunately, taxi and car hailing mobile apps have become more commonplace. In this guide, we outline the basics of taxis and the most foreigner-friendly private car hailing apps in Beijing.

Taxis
If your phone is out of battery, not set up for payment, or you just don’t want to try to speak Mandarin over the phone, a normal taxi will do just fine.  Beijing taxi rates start at RMB 13 (RMB 14 between 11pm-5am), then RMB 2.30 per km (RMB 2.80 per km at night, RMB 3.5 after 15km).  Most drivers do not speak English — you’re lucky if they speak standard Mandarin — and many are illiterate, in case you’re wondering why they get angry when you stick an address in their face. So sometimes it helps to prepare your own GPS using Baidu Maps, or at least a map with your intended location. It might be worth investing in a “taxi book”, which has lists of destinations with their addresses in Chinese characters and Pinyin. The newer versions have maps too, and there’s even an app for i-Phone, called Beijing Taxi-Book.  Drivers tend to know major street names and landmarks such as tourist sites, but if you do encounter a clueless driver, try suggesting a nearby subway station to keep him on track.  Be warned that taxis might smell of third hand smoke! They usually only take passengers from the right side (for safety reasons), and most do not have seat belts (so don’t bother with the child car seat).  If you travel far, or use an expressway, the incurred toll fee will be added to your total cost (usually RMB 5-10) and you will receive the receipt for it.  If you prefer ordering a taxi the traditional way (for a RMB 5 tip), then call 96103 and press 8 for English service.

Taxi Vocabulary
Prefer to just hail a cab? If possible, have the Chinese address handy. At first, it’s helpful to have a contact number for someone who can guide the driver if necessary. Here are some useful phrases:

• I’m going _____.  Wǒ qù _____. 我去 _____。
• How much? Duō shao qián?多少钱？
• We’ve arrived. Dào le . 到了。
• Turn right. Zuǒ zhuǎn/guǎi. 右转／拐。
• Turn left. Yòu zhuǎn/guǎi. 左转／拐。
• Please give me the receipt. Qǐng gěi wǒ fāpiào. 请给我发票。
• Where are you going? Nǐ qù nǎr? 你去哪儿？

Dididache (Didi) 滴滴打车
Dididache, previously a taxi ordering service that merged with its American rival Uber in 2016, and has been providing us with everything we could possibly ask for in a car hailing service in one app.  The app is not only available on iOS, Android, and Windows interfaces, but has also been added into the WeChat platform, allowing users to order a car even without downloading their app.  The only caveat to the app is that it’s in Chinese.

How to use Didi on WeChat:
(note, you’ll need an active WeChat Wallet)
1. Click on the “Me” tab
2. Click on “Wallet” and you’ll see the option to “Order a Taxi” once you scroll down
3. Allow the app to find your location (click “OK”)
3. Fill in your locations (to and from)
4. Enter tip amount (optional)
5. The driver will call you to discuss the pick up

If you don’t want to pay via WeChat wallet, you can always pay cash and still get a receipt (fapiao), making it easy to order taxis for other people.

How to use the Didi app:
1. When you open the interface, select the type of service you want: Chūzūchē 出租车 (normal taxi), Kuàichē 快车 (private drivers), Zhuānchē 专车 (VIP version), Pīnchē 拼车 (carpool), or Dàijià 代驾 (driver drives your car for you)
2. Input pick up location by tapping into your GPS.
3. Input drop off location.
4. Wait for driver to call you.
5. Pay via app (unless it’s a legit taxi, in which case you could pay cash).

Payment method: Cash for licensed taxis, WeChat Wallet, and Alipay. Normally you have to go in and manually “pay” for the ride (and you won’t be able to request another ride until you’ve cleared your debts), but you can also set up “automatic payment” which will deduct as soon as the driver taps the arrive button.  For company reimbursement purposes, if you do not pay cash or you use Didi private car services, you can request receipts to be sent to you for free if the fare is above RMB 200.

Verdict:  Didi is the most convenient way to order a licensed taxi without having to add a tip. Since you’ve already inputted GPS locations and addresses, it also does not require much communication with the driver.  The Kuàichē function is significantly cheaper, especially since Didi regularly gives users vouchers and coupons.  While Kuàichē  cars can be domestic, or even electric, Zhuānchē has higher standards where drivers are often professional chauffeurs working on the side.  Pīnchē is the cheapest option of all as it is a legitimate carpool, but can be a slower alternative due to pitstops.

Photo: BFISHADOW and POELOQ (Flickr)

Editor’s note: This article had a section about Uber, but it was removed since the company had merged with Didi. This article originally appeared on pages 52 and 53 of the 2016 Home and Relocation Guide. Click here for your free online copy. To find out how you can obtain a hard copy, contact distribution@truerun.com.

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em? After trying unsuccessfully for more than a year to shut down or otherwise reduce the use of car-booking apps Didi Dache and Uber, two of Beijing’s largest cab companies are joining the fray by introducing their own app and on-demand car service, demonstrating they are totally missing the point as to why the other apps and the services to which they are linked are popular. 

Shouqi Yueche, named for the Beijing Shou Qi taxi company, gives "riders access to 500 cars that were previously officially licensed taxis but had struggled to find curb-side customers as more people book cabs online," reported The Financial Times. What the hell does that mean? You can’t book any old Shou Qi taxi, you have to use one of these 500? Again, that’s not the point.

The cars being used for the new service are black Nissan Sentras and Buick GL8s. Flagfall is RMB 16, plus RMB 2.8 per kilometer, and RMB 0.5 per minute of waiting time. The Shou Qi Group stated that the cars will have Wi-Fi, phone chargers, tissues, and in case of inclement weather, umbrellas.

Maybe these cars weren’t making money because they weren’t clean, or didn’t know where they were going, or didn’t pick up passengers when people attempted to hail them on the street. Is there a shortage of passengers in Beijing? Absolutely not. If taxis actually picked up passengers instead of just giving them the wave off as they search for someone who looks like they’re going to the airport, then maybe the apps wouldn’t be so popular.

This post first appeared on thebeijinger.com on September 21, 2015.