China has scrapped 18-year-old regulations governing taxi services, paving the way for the legalization of online ride-hailing services such as Uber. In a move aimed at leveling the playing field between old and new business models, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Public Security signed a document on March 16 that approved the scrapping of the previous regulation, which had been effective since 1998. It is not known when the new rules, which are also expected to abolish the high franchise fees paid by taxi drivers to their companies, will be released. Transport Minister Yang Chuantang said he hoped the new regulations, covering both taxi and car-hiring services, would be released “as soon as possible”. He said they would “reflect public opinion received last year”. “As a new invention, online ride-hailing services have been a good experience for consumers, and welcomed by some passengers. So our solution is to provide a legal way forward for the industry”, Yang said.

Didi Chuxing Technology, China’s largest car-hailing app operator, is now processing over 10 million orders a day, making it the second-largest online transaction platform in China after Alibaba’s Taobao. Didi Chuxing, which rebranded last September from Didi Kuaidi to represent its broader portfolio of services including carpooling, shuttle buses and more, saw its 250 million users complete a total of 1.43 billion rides last year, the company said. Its carpooling service Didi Express Pool saw over 1.57 million daily rides just three months after its launch in June. By the end of last month, the total number of people using this service in 15 of China’s biggest cities had passed 83.2 million, according to Didi. The cities include Beijing, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Chengdu in Sichuan province, and Guangzhou in Guangdong province, it said. Carpooling is becoming more popular among Chinese customers.