Will Didi Dache Survive? Beijing's Plan For Taxi Apps

Just as taxi apps have begun to unfurl all over Beijing, the word on the street is the government is about to turn around and regulate them. And if you've been up to date with our coverage about the apps, this just might be a good thing.

Last week, we told you that the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport is going to reform Beijing's taxi system, but what we didn't know at the time was that these changes would include a "cleaning up" of taxi booking services that you can get on your smartphones, according to the Beijing Times.

Instead of having all those apps on the market vying for drivers' attention, the commission of transport hopes to weed out as many as possible and offer a "unified taxi-booking program" that will allow the government to help eliminate the "covert negotiation of fees" that apps like Didi Dache and Yaoyao Zhaoche currently have in place. As the system stands, most taxi booking services ask customers to pay extra money in exchange for having a better chance of snagging a cab during times of high traffic.

Morningpost.cn also reported that by June 1, taxi drivers who have a contract with a call center will be required to take at least two phone calls a day from the booking service.

How much are you willing to pay to get a cab? Would you want to see a monopoly on the taxi booking service, or have you had a good experience using one of the apps? Tell us in the comments section below.

Photo: Ernie on Flickr