China’s Ride-Hailing Industry: From Rapid Rise to Regulated Development

China’s ride-hailing industry emerged around 2010 and has developed a mature market structure after more than a decade, becoming a key industry that has transformed the way Chinese people travel. In the early days, platforms represented by DiDi Chuxing broke the monopoly of the traditional taxi industry with the advantages of mobile Internet technology, quickly accumulated users through subsidy models, covered major cities across the country in just a few years, and realized a travel revolution from “hailing on the street” to “booking via mobile phone”. Today, China’s ride-hailing market ranks first in the world in scale, with daily orders exceeding 100 million and serving over 500 million users, becoming an important supplement to the urban public transportation system.

In terms of market structure, DiDi Chuxing occupies an absolutely dominant position, becoming an industry benchmark with a market share of over 70%, covering full-scenario travel services such as Express, Premier, Luxe, Express Pool, bikes, and buses. At the same time, there are a small number of segmented platforms in the industry, such as Caocao Mobility focusing on high-end travel, Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeured Services focusing on regional markets, and Didda Car targeting the ride-sharing scenario, forming a competitive pattern of “one dominant player and multiple strong competitors”. It is worth noting that as the market matures, platform competition has shifted from early price wars to competition in service quality, safety guarantees, and technological innovation. For example, DiDi continues to optimize intelligent dispatching algorithms to shorten user waiting time, while strengthening driver access review and travel safety control.

The improvement of regulatory policies is the core support for the standardized development of the industry. In 2016, China’s Ministry of Transport issued the “Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Car-Hailing Operations and Services”, which first clarified the legal status of ride-hailing services and established a three-certificate management system of “platforms operating with certificates, vehicles operating with certificates, and drivers working with certificates”, ending the barbaric growth of the industry. Since then, local governments have issued detailed policies based on actual conditions, specifying requirements for ride-hailing vehicle wheelbase, displacement, driver household registration or residence permit, etc., to ensure passenger safety and regulate industry order. In recent years, regulatory focus has further shifted to data security and consumer rights protection, requiring platforms to collect and use user data in accordance with laws and regulations, disclose pricing rules, and protect passengers’ right to know and choose.

Technological innovation and green transformation have become new trends in the industry’s development. Currently, Chinese ride-hailing platforms generally apply technologies such as AI intelligent dispatching, big data analysis, and real-time location tracking to achieve efficient order matching and dynamic travel monitoring. At the same time, under the guidance of the “dual carbon” goal, the promotion of new energy ride-hailing vehicles has accelerated. Cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have clearly required that new ride-hailing vehicles must be new energy vehicles. Platforms like DiDi have also increased investment in new energy fleets, gradually replacing traditional fuel vehicles. In addition, the testing and application of autonomous driving technology in the ride-hailing field are advancing sTeadily. Some cities have launched demonstration operations of autonomous driving ride-hailing services, which are expected to further improve travel efficiency and safety in the future.

For foreign tourists, understanding the regulatory background and development status of China’s ride-hailing industry can help better understand service norms and safety guarantee mechanisms. For example, the platform’s strict access review of drivers (background checks, qualification certification), regular safety inspections of vehicles, and full-process audio and video recording during trips are all safety guarantee measures required by regulatory policies, which can make tourists’ travel more assured. As the industry continues to upgrade, the service standardization and intelligence level of China’s ride-hailing services will continue to improve, providing better travel experiences for Chinese and foreign tourists.