Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing is resuming its operations in Wuhan, the epicenter of the global coronavirus pandemic. The move comes as city officials lift restrictions after months of stringent quarantine measures to mitigate the spread of the disease.
The company's various services, including its ride-hailing, taxi-hailing, carpooling, and designated driving services, officially resumed at midnight in Wuhan on Thursday this week. Didi Chuxing announced the resumption of its services in a statement that it published on Wednesday.
In its statement, the company exclaimed that the resumption of its service marks a new beginning in its renewed commitment to support China's urban life and mobility development. While it may be resuming operations, Didi Chuxing is not taking any chances this time around and is implemented a number of measures to protect its drivers and its customers.
The Beijing-based company announced that it will be carrying out rigorous hygiene protects and protective measures, which will be required for all of its available services. The move is an addition to the major national program implemented by the company in February, where it installed protective dividers on all of its cars to separate drivers from passengers to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
The company claimed that its decision to resume its service in Wuhan is a clear indication of its efforts to overcome the recent challenges to Chinese businesses and citizens. Didi Chuxing was forced to suspend its operations in the city earlier in the year after the Chinese government imposed strict travel restrictions, which led to an eventual lockdown of the city.
During that time, Didi Chuxing had launched a special transport service, which it had offered to medical and community workers for free. The company eventually expanded the service to 15 other Chinese cities, with over 160,000 drivers volunteering to help transport essential workers who were fighting in the front lines.
As the spread of the virus in Hubei province started to ease, usage of ride-hailing services in the region eventually rose. According to data from research firm Analysys, active users of the ride-hailing platform in China had increased by 17 percent month-on-month in March. The firm estimates that the ride-hailing market in the country has received by around 60 percent compared to the same month last year.
The rate of recovery is vastly different across different Chinese cities. Data showed that booking in top-tier cities had increased by as much as 32 percent in March, while growth in lower-tier cities was only around 16 percent over the same period. More people living in higher-tier cities have private vehicles, while those in lower-tier cities are most likely to use public transport.
