Key Takeaways
- DiDi Chuxing is a major ride-sharing and delivery service in multiple countries.
- Offers varied services: Ride-hailing, taxi, bike-sharing, and food delivery.
- Utilizes AI for improved user experience and efficient transportation.
- Available in cities across Asia, Australia, and Latin America.
It’s rare that a ridesharing company other than Uber and Lyft has an 11 or 12-figure market valuation, but that’s precisely where DiDi Chuxing stands in the industry.
While many Americans still didn’t hear about the service, Didi Chuxing is one of the biggest providers of ride-hailing and food delivery services in Australia, East Asia, and Central and South America.
You’ve come to the right place if you want to learn about DiDi Chuxing’s ride-sharing service, taxi-hailing app, and food delivery service. See which cities you can use the service in, how it works, what it can give you, and more.
Overview of DiDi Chuxing
DiDi Chuxing, formerly known as DiDi Dache, is a Chinese company that provides mobility technology for the ridesharing and delivery industry.
By incorporating artificial intelligence to improve user experience, DiDi seamlessly comes through with its transportation performance, whether for food delivery or ride-hailing services.
Launched in 2012, DiDi was initially a smartphone-based ride-hailing app. Since then, it has grown through key acquisitions and mergers with other companies, and now it rivals Uber and Lyft.
An agreement involving the Chinese government meant that DiDi acquired 100% of Uber’s business in China in exchange for staying out of the American market. DiDi also invested $1 billion as part of the deal.
Right now, DiDi Xhuxing is split into two main divisions: its China Mobility division, and DiDi Global Inc.
With its mobile app, DiDi allows you to access a wide range of services:
- Private car rentals
- Bike sharing
- Chauffeur services
- Intra city freight
DiDi Chuxing’s range of services spans two major niches: ride-sharing and delivery.
Ridesharing in DiDi
With the DiDi Chuxing mobile app, it’s easy to book a ride within your city. The service prioritizes rider safety above all else and operates with a cashless policy, unlike companies like Uber.
DiDi Chuxing lets you enjoy low fares every day, get matched with a driver in minutes, and provides extra peace of mind with several in-app safety features.
You can also be content that the drivers are earning more of the fare, compared to delivery drivers on other platforms.
Like some other platforms, such as Uber, riders with disabilities can bring service animals along on trips.
How to Book a Ride on DiDi Chuxing
To book a ride on DiDi Chuxing:
- Launch the DiDi rider app
- Click on “Where to?”
- Choose your pickup and dropoff location
- Choose your preferred ride
- Review your trip details and click on “Confirm”
Once you’ve requested a trip, you’ll see a call icon at the bottom of the screen, which you can use to contact the driver you’ve been paired with. The company hides your phone number from the driver to protect your privacy.
What Happens on a DiDi Ride?
Before your ride starts, you can check out your driver’s star rating, profile picture, and name. All DiDi Chuxing’s driver-partners have compulsory safety training, including fatigue prevention courses, which helps you ride with greater confidence.
In periods of peak demand, dynamic pricing, similar to Uber’s surge pricing, may result in higher base fares.
At the end of the ride, you can rate your driver’s service between 1 and 5 stars. Ensure that you double-check the rating you click on, as you can’t change it after submitting.
To rate the driver:
- Click on the DiDi mobile app sidebar menu
- Click on “My Trips”
- Select the trip you want to rate
- Choose a rating anywhere from 1 to 5
- Click on “Submit”
After the ride ends, you’ll receive your trip receipt to your registered email. To view your receipts:
- Open the app menu
- Click on “My Trips”
- Choose the trip for which you wish to see the receipt
Canceling a Ride
To cancel your ride request, you have to click on the “Cancel Trip” button at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
Doing so incurs DiDi cancellation fees, and the amount charged and the cancellation policy vary depending on your city.
How Are Trip Fares Calculated?
Your DiDi trip fares are a sum of:
- The base fare, charged once you’ve started the ride
- Distance fare
- Time fare
- Short distance fee (applicable for trips less than 7 km in select locations)
Other charges may include:
- Tolls
- Changes to the base fare due to dynamic pricing
DiDi Delivery
Aside from its ride-hailing operations, the company runs a highly sophisticated on-demand delivery service provided by its driver partners.
Anyone, including businesses, can request DiDi Chuxing delivery services at any time without pre-booking.
You can expect minimum delivery fares of $6, which may vary based on city. With the “Share Trip” feature, the recipient can live-track your parcel to get it speedily delivered.
Making Delivery Requests
To request a delivery on DiDi Chuxing,
- Enter the dropoff location into the package destination in your mobile app
- Review the estimated delivery fare and click on “Confirm”
The app matches you to an available driver within minutes. You can view their car and driver details in the app, similar to booking a DiDi Chuxing ride.
You can add up to three drop-off locations for a single trip, which can help you save if delivering multiple packages at once.
You can also change the drop-off locations after the trip has started. Doing this can increase the delivery fee based on the delivery driver’s route.
DiDi delivery has a waiting time of 3 minutes for drop-off and pickup.
As the delivery driver picks up the package, ensure that you provide the recipient’s correct name for a more seamless service.
For enhanced privacy, the ride-hailing company doesn’t let you share the recipient’s name and number through the app until you physically meet the courier.
While the parcel is in transit, DiDi Chuxing’s technology lets you track it in real-time and share it with the recipient, helping to keep them in the loop.
Once the package recipient has received and confirmed the delivery, the fee will be charged using your preferred in-app payment method.
Tips For Using DiDi Delivery
Before you send off your first package with DiDi Chuxing, you should know that there are transportation restrictions when sending a package in terms of size, weight, quantity, and item type.
- Maximum number of items: 6 (bags/boxes)
- Maximum item volume: 60x60x60 cm
- Maximum weight limit: 20 kg per item
If you have to send fragile items, ensure that they’re thoroughly packed, as DiDi won’t take liability for any damage.
The delivery driver also has the right to refuse goods they deem dangerous, so ensure that your package doesn’t contain any prohibited material.
If you’re delivering alcohol, you’re better served by using another company like Instacart. DiDi Chuxing’s exhaustive list of prohibited items includes
- Tobacco and tobacco products
- Narcotics
- Radioactive materials
- Electronic surveillance equipment
- Flammable liquids
- Stolen or counterfeit goods
- Live goods, e.g., animals
What Makes DiDi Chuxing Stand Out?
The company’s popularity in the ridesharing and delivery services market is largely owed to these features:
DiDi Travel
DiDi Travel is a feature that lets you choose your driver!
Instead of being automatically paired with the nearest available driver, DiDi customers can accept different “bids” from multiple drivers and choose the one that suits their budget.
You can choose a DiDi driver based on their bid, average star rating, estimated arrival time, or vehicle type.
The choice is yours!
Split Fare
This feature lets you share the cost of a DiDi ride with your friends by sending a “Split Fare” invitation after making a ride request.
TripChoice
DiDi Chuxing’s status as a customer-friendly company extends to letting its users request female riders only.
Facial Recognition
True to its reputation for embracing AI technology, the DiDi app uses facial verification to help you match a picture of the driver to their approved profile picture.
This keeps you safe by ensuring that someone else isn’t driving.
Safety Features
The app has an SOS button that you can use to quickly contact emergency services or law enforcement if it ever comes down to it. Your location details will be shown in the app for seamless reference.
If you ever get paired with an unsatisfactory DiDi driver, you can request to be unmatched with them subsequently so that you never get rides with them.
Where Is DiDi Available?
The company’s transportation services are available across multiple cities in:
- Argentina
- Australia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Japan
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Panama
- Peru
Frequently Asked Questions
How Expensive Is a DiDi Chuxing Ride?
The transportation company makes its rides affordable by capping its driver service fee at 15%, which is less than what Uber and Lyft charge. The company’s strategy is to attract more customers for its driver partners by providing competitive pricing.
Does DiDi Chuxing Delivery Provide Insurance Coverage for Packages?
The company doesn’t provide insurance coverage or take any responsibility for the parcels and goods sent using its package transportation service.
Is There a Referral Bonus for New Users?
New users can get bonuses for sharing their referral code with family and friends, including a $5 voucher for each successful invite. They’ll also get a free $5 to use on their first trip.
Wrapping Up
DiDi Chuxing may not be well-known in North America, but its strong presence in other parts of the world makes it an exciting transportation alternative to Uber and Lyft.
The company promises cheaper transportation services, whether for ride-hailing, private car hailing, intra-city freight, or food delivery.
With its many customer-focused features and next-gen technology, DiDi will continue to appeal to customers worldwide.
