Photo: Twitter / China Global Television Network
Didi Chuxing is China’s largest online ride-hailing platform, with over 30 million rides booked on a daily basis. One of its services is Hitch, which allows drivers to pick up passengers free of cost if they happen to travel in the same direction.
Didi Hitch has been indefinitely suspended after one of the drivers raped and killed his female passenger last week, The Verge reports. An internal investigation is underway, but Didi Chuxing has already owned to its share of responsibility in the tragic events.
The driver, identified as Zhong, is now in police custody. Though he had a clean record and had provided all documentation needed for registration on the platform, Didi failed to follow up a complaint in his name placed just the day before the murder.
On that occasion, one female passenger complained about him insisting that she sit in front with him, said he’d driven her to a remote location and then tried to follow her long after she’d stepped out of the car.
On Friday, Zhong picked a 20-year-old female passenger in Wenzhou. She sent a distress message at around 1 p.m. and then all contact with her was lost. However, Zhong wasn’t arrested until 16 hours later and officials from Didi instructed concerned family members to go to the police if they were worried about the woman.
A Didi spokesperson tells the media they failed to respond to this crisis situation in an adequate manner. So, Hitch has been suspended pending an internal investigation. Similarly, the service’s general manager and customer services vice president have been fired.
“[The] incident shows the many deficiencies with our customer service processes, especially the failure to act swiftly on the previous passenger’s complaint and the cumbersome and rigid process of information sharing with the police. This is too high a cost to pay,” Didi says.
This is the second time in a year when a female passenger is killed by a Didi driver.
The driver, identified as Zhong, is now in police custody. Though he had a clean record and had provided all documentation needed for registration on the platform, Didi failed to follow up a complaint in his name placed just the day before the murder.
On that occasion, one female passenger complained about him insisting that she sit in front with him, said he’d driven her to a remote location and then tried to follow her long after she’d stepped out of the car.
On Friday, Zhong picked a 20-year-old female passenger in Wenzhou. She sent a distress message at around 1 p.m. and then all contact with her was lost. However, Zhong wasn’t arrested until 16 hours later and officials from Didi instructed concerned family members to go to the police if they were worried about the woman.
A Didi spokesperson tells the media they failed to respond to this crisis situation in an adequate manner. So, Hitch has been suspended pending an internal investigation. Similarly, the service’s general manager and customer services vice president have been fired.
“[The] incident shows the many deficiencies with our customer service processes, especially the failure to act swiftly on the previous passenger’s complaint and the cumbersome and rigid process of information sharing with the police. This is too high a cost to pay,” Didi says.
This is the second time in a year when a female passenger is killed by a Didi driver.
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