Didi Kuaidi Gets License for Shanghai Private vehicle Bookings

Didi Kuaidi, China’s largest mobile-based car-booking services provider, has been given a formal license from transportation authorities in Shanghai for its ride-hailing services in the city.

Didi Kuaidi is the dominant ride-hailing app in China, although Uber recently closed a $1.2 billion deal to enter 100 more Chinese cities in the next 12 months.

Didi Kuaidi said Shanghai has given it license to book privately-registered cars for trips, a move that could pave the way for expansion of the service in the world’s most populous nation.

Sun Jianping, director of the commission, said that transportation management has always been a challenge for big cities.

With this, Didi became the first legally authorised online private vehicle booking platform in China, which will give it a jump-start over close competitor Uber.

Uber and Didi Kuaidi are locked in a turf war in China, investing billions of dollars to lure in riders with steep discounts and to subsidize the money earned by drivers.

Uber is actively preparing its application for a car-booking license as soon as possible, the company said in a statement Thursday.

The Shanghai municipal government said it will grant ride-on-demand licenses for companies that meet criteria including making their data accessible to regulators, having their servers in the Chinese mainland, and screening both vehicles and drivers. At the end of September, it released its API in China to allow local developers to integrate Uber car-hailing services into their own apps.

Shanghai’s policy governing Internet-based services will still be subject to the nationwide guidance to be announced by the transport ministry.