Chinese ride-hailing firm DiDi take new action to support community during Coronavirus outbreak

Ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing, also known as DiDi, is taking new action to support doctors, communities and drivers as China continues to fight the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan.

Currently, DiDi drivers in China are requested to wear masks, disinfect their vehicles regularly and take additional protective measures while in service. DiDi driver-managers are distributing supplies throughout the country.

DiDi’s special community service fleet with 1,336 volunteer drivers is now offering free transportation to citizens of Wuhan in coordination with local communities. In Wuhan and Shanghai, volunteers have also put on the ground special fleets for medical workers.

As of 2 February, DiDi’s drivers have provided free transit services to 5,019 and 4,500 certified doctors and nurses in Wuhan and Shanghai, respectively. Similar support efforts are in the planning process for other cities in need. DiDi has put aside a special funding of over £2million for protective medical supplies and allowances for these fleets.

A daily allowance of £32.75 (up to approximately £3,300 in total) is made available for any DiDi taxi, ride-hailing, designated driving or Hitch service who is hospitalized for the virus. A special fund up to £54,500 will also be made available for special cases.

Under the coordination of Xiaoju Automobile Solutions (XAS), a DiDi subsidiary, 94 leasing companies and 26 insurers have agreed to extend leases and waive the February payment for ride-hailing drivers.

The offer applies to all drivers who have rented cars from XAS’s leasing partners in 16 cities in Hubei, including Wuhan and Huanggang. XAS is also working with 3,000 leasing firms, 27 financial institutions and 37 insurers to take the relief program national.

DiDi is also opening up its DiDi Cloud computing capabilities for free to support research and relief projects against the Novel Coronavirus by medical and relief organizations, including the company’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) cloud servers, Server Load Balancer and Elastic IP, etc.

Image credit: DiDi