Is Deleting the Didi App the Right Thing to Do?

China's biggest ride-hailing company, Didi Chuxing, is suspending one of its services for the second time this year after a driver was accused of raping and killing a female passenger. 

The detailed content: Didi Passenger’s Tragic Rape and Murder Could Have Been Avoided

On the afternoon of August 26, the Ministry of Transport, together with the Ministry of Public Security of Beijing and Tianjin, jointly conducted an interview with the company in response to the incident of the girl in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province who was killed on August 24.  The company was ordered to immediately carry out a comprehensive rectification of the shuttle business and accelerate the promotion. In the process of compliance, the safety bottom line is strictly adhered to, the carrier's responsibility for safety and stability management is effectively implemented, passengers' travel safety and legitimate rights and interests are guaranteed, and relevant rectifications are announced to the public in a timely manner.

According to the report released by the police, the above-mentioned incident is greatly related to Didi's operation after undertaking inadequate responsibility.

Xu Yahua, director of the Department of Transportation Services, pointed out in the interview that in early May this year, flight attendant Li ordered a carpool with Didi in Zhengzhou in the east-central province of Henan and was brutally killed by her driver. In just three months, '8·24' Wenzhou occurred again. Vicious incidents like these have surfaced widespread concerns nationwide. 

Two vicious incidents that infringe passengers' lives have exposed great management loopholes and safety perils with Didi. The implementation of corporate responsibility is not in place, thus seriously threatening users’ travel safety and legitimate rights and interests, and the consequences are atrocious.

Photo credit: cyzone.com

In this regard, the Ministry of Transport has required Didi to effectively implement the main responsibility of enterprise safety management, change their working methods with more commitments and less reforms, strengthen rectifications, standardize their operations, and protect passenger safety and social stability. 

First, we must strictly abide by the safety bottom line, strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations of national safety production, strictly implement the responsibility of safety production, and put passenger safety first. We must seriously investigate the recent security incidents and seriously deal with relevant responsible personnel. The Ministry of Transport will pay close attention to the investigation and handling of the incident. Those who have been dereliction of duty due to investigations by the public security department will be referred to the relevant departments in accordance with the law. 

Secondly, it is necessary to immediately release the travel information on the premise of the travel service provider's own travel demand, select the vehicle by the same person on the travel route, share part of the travel cost or free mutual aid for the purpose of profit, and share the vehicle per day. The principle of “the number of times should be limited” is to comprehensively rectify the business of the windmill, block the loopholes in security management, and establish a long-term mechanism to ensure passenger safety. It is necessary to draw inferences from the above, learn from the lessons, and comprehensively check the security risks of the rectification network platform. Eliminate the operation of organizing illegal Internet-based vehicles in the name of a motorbike; from now on, no new unlicensed vehicles and personnel may be newly added, and the non-compliant vehicles and personnel that have been connected shall be expedited. 

Third, it is necessary to implement the carrier's responsibility for safety and stability management, actively cooperate with the public security department to handle cases, and at the same time strengthen the education management of access drivers. 

Fourth, it is necessary to operate strictly in accordance with the law, strictly in accordance with the policy requirements and local implementation rules, comprehensively promote the compliance of the network car, to ensure that the platform, vehicles and personnel are in compliance with relevant regulations; network car operating information data to be real-time, full, Really access the national network car monitoring information interaction platform and ensure data quality. The Ministry of Public Security has put forward requirements for the safety management, standard operation and strict compliance with local implementation rules of Didi.

The relevant responsible comrades of the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, where the company is registered, requested that the company should seriously reflect on the rectification, further implement the main responsibility of the enterprise's safety production, speed up the administrative licensing procedures for the network car platform, vehicles and personnel, and stop accessing. Compliance vehicles, personnel, and all non-compliant vehicles and drivers on the platform shall not disrupt the market order with prices below operating costs, strictly regulate the development of the shuttle business, and prohibit the use of the name of the passenger to engage in illegal network vehicles, perating services.

Photo credit: 0763f.com

During the meeting, a Didi representative spoke out by admitting he was to be blamed for the incident’s occurrence and felt embarrassed. Didi has a major responsibility that cannot be shirked and promised. 

First, it has been offline nationwide effective August 27. The company will re-evaluate their business model; 

Second, to complete the compliance operation work plan before September 1 and submit it to the relevant departments and accept social supervision. 

Third, to implement the safety production responsibility system, carry out self-inspection of safety hazards, and improve hidden danger monitoring. Mechanism, through online and offline means, to find out the problems existing in rectification; 

Fourth, rectify and upgrade the customer service system, increase the human resources and resources input of the customer service team; 

Fifth, develop the emergency alarm channel for the platform users, and improve the coordination with the public security organs. mechanism.

As for what Didi promised after the meeting, will these new measures they put into effect really work? 

Lots of netizens in China have deleted the Didi app from their phones which, in my opinion, is pointless. You may no longer have it on your phone, but the company will still continue to operate regardless and thus the issue of safety remains.

It’s obviously not the first time that such tragic deaths have been reported not just in China but across the globe. So why is this particular Didi story blowing up? Because it’s an app that is being used nationwide. As for us, we should offer more advice on how to prevent these types of tragic incidents from happening again, or a technology proposal for the ride-hailing company, instead of blaming them and being angry.

Technology has undoubtedly shaped our everyday lives and impacts our social welfare immensely, so why can’t a ride-sharing company like Didi use their expertise and resources to create a function that can send location data in real time to nearby police forces in case a passenger finds her- or himself in danger?

What do you think Didi should do with their app? 

What would you do to help save the next victim’s life? 

Share your advice in the comment section below.

Source: 人民日报

Supervisor: Crystal Huang

Proofread: Ed Bellin

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