Ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said Thursday it was changing the hours on its reinstated car-pooling service to give equal access to male and female passengers after critics slammed it for discriminating against women.

Safety reforms to "Hitch" -- separate from Didi's main ride-hailing platform -- were announced Wednesday following a suspension of the service after two female passengers were murdered by male drivers last year.

But the new rules cutting women off at 8pm while letting men use the service until 11pm drew a swift backlash.

"Because our considerations were careless, our communication was inappropriate, and we created trouble for everyone, we deeply apologise," the ride-hailing company said Thursday on its Twitter-like Weibo account.

Didi's ride-hailing services are used by hundreds of millions of customers in China.

But the company came under intense criticism after two young female passengers were murdered in two separate cases by drivers using the Hitch carpool service.

Didi apologised, suspended Hitch and strengthened its safety features.

Hitch's revamped service will be launched in seven cities this month, the company said Wednesday, and will offer users "safe, economical, friendly and environmentally friendly ways to travel."

As part of its new safety drive, Didi will also limit the length of journeys available on the carpool service to less than 50 kilometres (30 miles).

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Uber shares skid as losses widen
San Francisco (AFP) Nov 5, 2019
Uber shares skidded Monday after the ride-hailing giant reported widening losses in the just-ended quarter as it boosted investment in new services and features. San Francisco-based Uber reported a loss of $1.2 billion, up from a loss of $986 million a year ago. Uber revenue was up 30 percent to $3.8 billion in the quarter on growth in its shared rides service as well as its Eats restaurant meal delivery service and its Freight platform that matches shippers with truckers. "Our results this ... read more