Ride-Sharing App DiDi Chuxing Suspends Operation in Taiwan |"滴滴出行"來台不到1年 傳暫停服務

There have been rumors that, DiDi Chuxing, the biggest ride-sharing service in China, might suspend its service in Taiwan. The company's representative in Taiwan said that the map data in the mobile app is currently taking maintenance, and is not exiting Taiwan's market.


After one boosts up the DiDi Chuxing app, the interface shows the service is currently being adjusted and cannot be used. There have been rumor that the ride-sharing app has exited the market in Taiwan. The company's representative in Taiwan said that the service is only suspended at the moment. On the other hand, many drivers said they've stopped using the app since there is a severe shortage of customers.

It is a brand from Mainland China, therefore most people who used it were Chinese tourists. I've rarely seen Taiwanese customers using the app. Sometimes I only get one customer on the app in a dozen hours. I wouldn't take the customer because by the time I've seen that one, I would've gotten new passengers already.

The company behind DiDi Chuxing has maintained a low profile and has not clarified the situation. It only said that the mobile app is under maintenance. The company believe that it is absurd for people to speculate that it's exiting the market. Some scholars said that, back in February, a new app called DiDi Carpool was launched and it advertised a feature that allows car owners to share their ride service. The Directorate General of Highway fined the users of the app for illegal profiting. The total fine has exceeded NT$ 430 million. Some of the cases are still being appealed, of which the results will be announced at the end of December. Also, DiDi Chuxing is fundamentally different from Uber because it is funded by companies from China.

(The ride-sharing app) is funded from China. Some worry that using the ride-sharing app might increase the risk of leaking personal information.

Scholars said that DiDi Chuxing is operating on the idea of sharing economy. However, there are too many taxis in Taiwan, to the point where there's more supply than demand, which leads to heated competition. There are others factors that impedes the company from operating well in Taiwan, including lack of insurance, as well as the absence of proper tax and management infrastructure.