Uber China is taking a big hit after Chinese authorities have decided to increase their control in car-hiring companies like the U.S. firm. And they’re not the only ones in this situation, as local company Didi Kuaidi is also taken under surveillance.
According to Latino Fox News, it looks like the Chinese Transportation Ministry is trying to please the taxi sector, seriously affected by the externally-financed operators. To do that, the Chinese government will require these car-hiring companies to meet three conditions: a license to hire out vehicles, to have prices “fixed by the government or decided on the basis of the market” and to open offices in the country.
Main purpose: becoming legal
Nine entities from the Central Bank to the police will have to surpass Uber China for their business to be legal. But not only Uber will be verified with extreme caution. First car-hiring licensed via the Internet by the Shanghai government, Didi Kuaidi, will also endure the same conditions.
For Uber China to still be functional, the U.S. company will have to open conventional offices in China and will need to provide the authorities with information about their drivers (their I.D. and contact number). Car-hiring firms will also have to provide local authorities their customers data. Fines for not fulfilling these rules emitted by the Chinese gouvernment are quite high:up to 1 million yuan (about $157,000) or the cancellation of the violator’s license to operate in China.
But what’s the whole problem with Uber after all?
Another move “against” foreign car-hiring companies is temporarily extending to taxi-firms the “rights to operate” free from taxes and fees, meaning that they have extra “weapons” to fight against Uber and co.
Will these measures mean the end of an era for Uber China? Let your opinion known in the comment section below!
