China’s online-service super-app Meituan Dianping has been in frequent contact with ride-hailing service providers recently and plans to increase taxi subsidies for users, Jiemian.com said, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
For the subsidy policy, there is no clear cap in terms of time and it will continue until the share is reached, a source said.
In January 2014, the two taxi-hailing apps in China, Didi, and Kuaidi, had grabbed market share by subsidizing passengers and drivers.
The subsidy lasted for four months until May 17 when they both announced the removal of the passenger subsidy policy.
The Jiemian report cited sources as saying that users could get a 20 to 30 percent discount on each hailing trip through the Meituan app.
Meituan cabs, on the other hand, aim to capture more than 10 percent of the market share in mainstream cities, the report said.
In February 2017, Meituan opened its taxi services in Nanjing; in March 2018, it opened its taxi service in Shanghai again; and in April last year, Meituan Taxi announced its access to travel service providers such as Caocao Chuxing, 01Zhuanche, and Shenzhou Zhuanche.
So far, Meituan's ride-hailing services have landed in 54 cities in China.
