Shanghai taxi firms launch rival booking app

Shanghai's big four taxi companies have launched a new cellphone-based booking service designed to compete with third-party apps.

Developed by Shanghai Qiangsheng Taxi Co, "Shanghai Taxi" is a WeChat account that has been in use since last year. It was designed to handle the overspill from the firm's dispatch hotline at busy periods.

Under the cooperation deal, which is being promoted by the city's traffic authorities, the software has now been linked to the dispatch centers of the Jinjiang and Haibo taxi firms, with Dazhong Taxi set to join up before the end of the month.

Using the service, people can book taxis by typing in their address or using the location detect function.

Unlike the Kuaidi and Didi taxi apps, which are free, users of Shanghai Taxi are charged 4 yuan (64 US cents) for each booking.

The fee is equivalent to the charge made for booking a cab through a dispatch center.

One of the main selling points of the new service is that unlike Kuaidi and Didi, it doesn't require users to give a destination, nor does it ask them to say whether or not they will pay a tip, which should help to prevent drivers from cherry picking fares.

The software, however, doesn't allow people to make advanced bookings, nor does it support payment by credit or debit card. All fares have to be settled in cash or using a transport card.

For taxi app user Wang Hui, the 4 yuan charge for the new service is off-putting.

"I'll continue to use Kuaidi or Didi as my first choice as they don't have the extra charge," the middle school teacher said.

"But I'll give Shanghai Taxi a try if I can't get a cab through either of the other two."

Wang said she lost some of her interest in Kuaidi and Didi after they cut the incentives for passengers.

She said she also sometimes gets frustrated with the apps, especially when cabbies refuse to take a fare unless they know they will be given a tip.

Professor Chen Mingyi from Shanghai University of Technology said the promotion of Shanghai Taxi was a sign that the new third-party apps were having a major impact on the city's cab firms.

"Though Kuaidi and Didi have canceled their subsidies for passengers, they still have an advantage over Shanghai Taxi because they don't charge for their services," she said, adding that the apps have been a wake-up call for the city's taxi companies.

"In the past, they had everything their own way, which led to a lack of innovation," she said.