Didi, Huaxiaozhu Are Fined After Drivers Test Positive for Covid-19
Lu Hanzhi
DATE:  Jan 11 2021
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Didi, Huaxiaozhu Are Fined After Drivers Test Positive for Covid-19 Didi, Huaxiaozhu Are Fined After Drivers Test Positive for Covid-19

(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing and its budget unit Huaxiaozhu have been fined by regulators after several of their drivers tested positive for the novel coronavirus and the two firms were found to not be properly enforcing Covid-19 pandemic control measures.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport slapped Didi with a fine of CNY1.07 million (USD165,127) and Huaxiaozhu with a fine of CNY340,000 (USD52,470) for 96 and 12 violations of epidemic control measures respectively, it said yesterday.

Drivers are not properly disinfecting and ventilating their vehicles, they are failing to wear masks or are not wearing their masks correctly or they have accepted passengers also not wearing masks, the regulator said. Since Jan. 1, it has apprehended 12 violations by car-sharing platforms, 109 by their drivers and 205 by taxis.

Nine thousand Didi and Huaxiaozhu drivers are tested for Covid-19 every day, the Beijing-based firm said on Jan. 4.

The capital city is stepping up its epidemic control measures for shared transport as neighboring Hebei province battles with a new cluster. From yesterday, all drivers must be vaccinated, must test negative, must have their temperatures taken and must wear masks. All passengers must scan their health codes on the Jiankangbao app in order to take rides.

Drivers from the city’s northeastern Shunyi district, which last month reported the first case of Covid-19 in the capital since July, have been suspended.

Both Didi and Huaxiaozhu, which Didi set up last July as a separate platform to target younger customers with better prices, ranked bottom among China’s major ride-hailing platforms in terms of the hiring of qualified new drivers, the Ministry of Transport said earlier. Only 5.7 percent of the new drivers registered by Didi in October had the right qualifications and only 3.2 percent at Huazhuxiao.

Yet despite the lax observance of the regulations, in November Didi and Huazhuxiao held the biggest and second biggest share of the country’s car sharing market.

Editor: Kim Taylor

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Keywords:   Hua Xiaozhu,Didi