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Han Yonghui is a cabbie in Beijing. After a taxi fare increase in 2013， he makes roughly 5，000 yuan （$823） a month， just about enough to feed his family.
Recently， Han started using cab-hailing mobile software to pick up customers who order taxis via smartphone. Benefiting from an increasingly fierce competition of rewards between two of the most popular apps for this purpose， he can receive up to 2，250 yuan （$370） extra every month by using both of them to collect subsidies.
Two of China’s biggest Internet companies—Tencent and Alibaba—are fighting a war within the lucrative mobile payment market by backing rival taxi-hailing apps—Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache.
In the fourth quarter of 2013， Kuaidi Dache held 46.7 percent of China’s taxi-booking app market and Didi Dache， 43.6 percent ， according to statistics from the Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.
In early January， the Tencent-backed app Didi Dache launched a campaign under which it will invest 200 million yuan （$33 million） to promote itself. Anyone who books a taxi through Didi Dache and pays the cab fare through the mobile payment platform of WeChat， a mobile messaging app developed by Tencent， will get 10 yuan （$1.6） off the fare. The driver also receives a 10 yuan subsidy for each ride.
Only a few days later， Kuaidi Dache， which has partnered with Alipay， Alibaba’s e-payment arm， announced a more generous offer： Users can get a rebate of 10 yuan for every taxi ride they pay for using Alipay Wallet， the mobile app of Alipay. Taxi drivers will get 15 yuan （$2.5） for each trip.
On February 10， Didi Dache reduced its subsidy to passengers from 10 yuan to 5 yuan （$0.8） per order. The sudden reduction of the subsidy has caused great client loss. As a result， the operator of Kuaidi Dache on February 17 resumed the 10-yuan subsidy for passengers. The same day， Kuaidi Dache increased its passenger subsidy to 11 yuan （$1.8）， citing its business slogan“forever 1 yuan （$0.16） more than the rival.”
As a response， Didi Dache adjusted its subsidy policy， giving passengers random subsidy amounts ranging from 12 to 20 yuan （$2 to 3.3） per order on the morning of February18. At 3：00 p.m. the same day， Kuaidi Dache increased its subsidy to 13 yuan （$2.1）.
“Personally I hope this war never ends. It’s very good for taxi drivers and passengers，” Han told Beijing Review.
For instance， the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said in February that each taxi is only allowed to be linked with one cab-hailing app. Cab drivers should prioritize driving safety before responding to smartphone messages. The commission said that it will team up with Beijing’s transport law enforcement corps to enforce the regulation.
The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority prohibits cab drivers from using taxi-hailing apps during morning and evening rush hours. The new regulation took effect on March 1.
The transport authority in Guangdong Province said that it would intervene with those taxi-hailing apps if they threaten driving safety or cause market disorder.
“Taxi-calling apps are a new thing. During its initial stage， we should observe carefully，” said Liu Xiaohua， Deputy Director of the Guangdong Transport Department. “However， whenever they cause driving dangers or market disorder， relevant government authorities are obliged to intervene.”
Recently， Han started using cab-hailing mobile software to pick up customers who order taxis via smartphone. Benefiting from an increasingly fierce competition of rewards between two of the most popular apps for this purpose， he can receive up to 2，250 yuan （$370） extra every month by using both of them to collect subsidies.
Two of China’s biggest Internet companies—Tencent and Alibaba—are fighting a war within the lucrative mobile payment market by backing rival taxi-hailing apps—Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache.
In the fourth quarter of 2013， Kuaidi Dache held 46.7 percent of China’s taxi-booking app market and Didi Dache， 43.6 percent ， according to statistics from the Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.
In early January， the Tencent-backed app Didi Dache launched a campaign under which it will invest 200 million yuan （$33 million） to promote itself. Anyone who books a taxi through Didi Dache and pays the cab fare through the mobile payment platform of WeChat， a mobile messaging app developed by Tencent， will get 10 yuan （$1.6） off the fare. The driver also receives a 10 yuan subsidy for each ride.
Only a few days later， Kuaidi Dache， which has partnered with Alipay， Alibaba’s e-payment arm， announced a more generous offer： Users can get a rebate of 10 yuan for every taxi ride they pay for using Alipay Wallet， the mobile app of Alipay. Taxi drivers will get 15 yuan （$2.5） for each trip.
On February 10， Didi Dache reduced its subsidy to passengers from 10 yuan to 5 yuan （$0.8） per order. The sudden reduction of the subsidy has caused great client loss. As a result， the operator of Kuaidi Dache on February 17 resumed the 10-yuan subsidy for passengers. The same day， Kuaidi Dache increased its passenger subsidy to 11 yuan （$1.8）， citing its business slogan“forever 1 yuan （$0.16） more than the rival.”
As a response， Didi Dache adjusted its subsidy policy， giving passengers random subsidy amounts ranging from 12 to 20 yuan （$2 to 3.3） per order on the morning of February18. At 3：00 p.m. the same day， Kuaidi Dache increased its subsidy to 13 yuan （$2.1）.
“Personally I hope this war never ends. It’s very good for taxi drivers and passengers，” Han told Beijing Review.
For instance， the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said in February that each taxi is only allowed to be linked with one cab-hailing app. Cab drivers should prioritize driving safety before responding to smartphone messages. The commission said that it will team up with Beijing’s transport law enforcement corps to enforce the regulation.
The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority prohibits cab drivers from using taxi-hailing apps during morning and evening rush hours. The new regulation took effect on March 1.
The transport authority in Guangdong Province said that it would intervene with those taxi-hailing apps if they threaten driving safety or cause market disorder.
“Taxi-calling apps are a new thing. During its initial stage， we should observe carefully，” said Liu Xiaohua， Deputy Director of the Guangdong Transport Department. “However， whenever they cause driving dangers or market disorder， relevant government authorities are obliged to intervene.”