CCTV9英语新闻：Shanghai gives official nod to taxi-hailing apps（在线收听）

Shanghai has launched its online taxi-hailing services platform. The city becomes the first in China to legalize car-hailing smartphone applications via an official public services function. 

160 million, that’s the number of people using the two biggest taxi hailing apps in China. The apps have had a huge impact… both on people and on the taxi sector.

Grace Yan is a white collar worker based in Shanghai. Using taxi-hailing apps has become part of her daily life.

“I’m going to meet my client now. Sometimes I use private car services, sometimes I call a taxi using my app. I think it’s still more convenient and pleasant for me to take a car rather than the subway, especially during rush hour,” she said.

But Grace has had a love-hate relationship with taxi-hailing apps.

“It’s not always an easy thing to hail a cab. Sometimes during rush hour certain taxis with no passengers won’t stop. And I found it quite annoying when drivers use the app while driving to a destination. It’s not safe,” Grace said.

To cope with these concerns, Shanghai launched a service platform merging the four largest local taxi companies and the two most popular taxi-hailing apps.

"We updated nearly 50,000 drivers’ information. It can help to filter clone taxis and verify their identities," said Zhang Chi, technology director of Shanghai Taxi Service Platform. 

"Another highlight is taxi drivers who already have passengers are no longer able to receive messages until the passenger has left the car. This can improve road safety. The light on the taxi will also change from green to red once it's taken."

“The platform I think is a good example of cooperation between the government and private companies. We both share our own resources and make it more useful and helpful to both sides as well as to the public," said Wang Xin, vice CEO of Didi Dache.

Authorities also plan to unveil a similar plan for private car services in the next few months.