(Yicai Global) Dec 20 -- Hitch, the car-pooling service run by Didi Chuxing that facilitated two murders last year, is running comeback trials in the Chinese capital and four more cities after returning to five other regions last month.

The Beijing-based firm will also re-test the service in its Wuhan, Foshan, Nanchang and Changsha, Beijing Daily reported yesterday. The trials will begin on Dec. 23 with service hours between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., and trips limited to 50 kilometers within urban areas.

Controversy has shrouded the Hitch service since May last year, after a male driver appeared to have killed a female passenger and then himself. Courts ordered the driver's parents to pay compensation to the victim's family but did not posthumously convict the suspect.

Months later, another male driver robbed, raped and murdered a female passenger. Courts handed him a death sentence in February this year and conducted the execution in August.

Didi has been trying to repair its reputation and rolled out Hitch trials in Harbin, Taiyuan, Changzhou, Shenyang and Nantong last month, having suspended the service following the second death.

The rebound sparked controversy as women were limited to using Hitch between the hours of 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., whereas men could use it up until 11 p.m. The backlash resulted in Didi limiting both genders to the shorter hours.

Editor: James Boynton