'Generation Gap' is a monthly series where we ask two Beijingers from two different generations their thoughts on a random issue. This time we ask Hou, 25 and Guo, 41 about the safety of ride-hailing services.
How do you feel about ride-hailing services after the murder of a young female passenger by a man posing as a Didi Hitch driver?
Hou, 25
“I think what happened represents a big safety problem – and a wakeup call. I remember when Didi’s service had just launched and my mother was firmly against me using this kind of ride-hailing app. This was because similar incidents had happened before with car-sharing services. But since nothing bad had happened with Didi until May, people – and especially white-collar workers – got used to the service because of its convenience. Now, of course, many are not happy with what happened and will be more aware of the dangers. I hope Didi will work towards solving its security problem, as I think it’s already doing right now. I will definitely avoid using the Hitch service in the future and stick to the Express service instead. I believe a solution should be the implementation of more advanced technology but, knowing that even facial recognition failed, it’s hard for me to think of other solutions.”
Guo, 41
“I personally do not use Didi often because my company offers its own transportation service for its employees. But clearly Didi’s system is flawed. I believe they should allow customers to access the driver’s information. Actually, the standards to become a driver should be higher, and the kind of basic training required for other cab drivers should be applied to Didi Hitch drivers, too, and made more rigorous. In normal taxis these kind of events are less likely to happen, because they have to meet much more stringent criteria to be allowed to work. Didi must make sure that only a specific person has access to a specific car, through more efficient regulations. After what happened, I have no intention of using the service, nor would I let my children use it. But Didi won’t be damaged all that much, it’s simply too big and [the decision to use the service or not] comes down to each person’s standards.”
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