Users of China’s largest ride-hailing service visiting the US can now call up cars courtesy of Lyft Inc, as the two start-ups boost an alliance intended to curtail Uber Technologies Inc’s rapid global expansion.
Starting this week, any of Didi Kuaidi’s (滴滴快的) 250 million passengers are to be able to use the Chinese company’s app in the US to access Lyft’s pool of private cars, they said in an e-mailed statement.
In-app translation is to help smooth language wrinkles, and they can pay via Chinese services Alipay (支付寶) and WeChat.
Photo: AP
The reverse might soon become a reality. As early as this quarter, Lyft users might be able to use their apps to hail a taxi when in China, the statement said.
Didi and its San Francisco-based partner have been integrating services that span hundreds of cities across both nations and have now rolled out a trial version for the US.
“Just like any Internet product, the launch is on a phased schedule. Going forward, the opportunities are wide open,” Didi senior director of international strategy Li Zijian said. “Didi will be offering its private cars and Lyft will be offering its equivalent to private cars.”
The US is a popular destination for Chinese tourists, the most numerous on the planet. About 5 million people travel between the two nations every year, according to tourism data Didi cited.
Lyft and Didi are testing what amounts to the first major initiative from a global push to fight Uber. The two have teamed up with Southeast Asia’s Grab and India’s Ola.
Didi itself is stockpiling cash for the battle ahead. China’s largest ride-hailing service raised the target on its latest round of funding to more than US$1.5 billion, which could value the company at more than US$20 billion, a person familiar with the matter has said.
Both Didi and Lyft are to review their partnership on a regular basis to work out financial sharing arrangements and gauge its success.
“We have agreed to review it every few months and it would be fair to say that by year’s end, we will have a review of the product, of the experience and of the business,” Li said.
Didi expects to be able to serve about 30 million riders daily by the year’s end. It has a wider range of services than its partners — passengers can hail taxis, carpool with drivers and even hop on buses. Its partner, Lyft, debuted carpooling for the Bay Area last month.
“Going forward, we have the Lyft Line and the Didi Hitch and other types like taxis” to offer, Li said.
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