Uber China claimed on Friday that it is operating legally in the country by providing carpooling services with private cars, after the U.S.-based company was accused of using "black cabs" by its local competitor on Thursday.
Huang Xue, a communication officer at Uber China, told the Global Times Friday that their "People's Uber" service is actually a carpooling service, which is different from car-booking, and it lets drivers pick up people nearby with their own cars. The driver and passengers then share the cost of the ride.
Huang said if the Chinese government issues regulations on "carpooling" services, they would operate accordingly.
But Zhang Xu, a market analyst with Analysys International in Beijing, said that judging from the operations of "People's Uber," this "carpooling service" should also be placed in the same category as car-hailing apps.
Like CAR Inc and Didi Dache, consumers can book a car through their mobile apps.
The growing popularity of car and taxi-hailing apps prompted the Chinese Ministry of Transport in January to order app developers to exclude private cars from their platforms and make sure that all vehicles used are owned by taxi or car rental companies to ensure passenger safety.
Huang added that their platforms only use private cars for carpooling services, as for other car-book services they provide on their app, like Uber-X, will only use cars from rental companies.
The number of Uber users in China is increasing primarily because of its heavily subsidized rides.
An online survey on news portal sina.com conducted after CAR Inc released an ad against Uber showed that 53 percent of over 31,000 netizens supported Uber while 33 percent said they agree with the CAR Inc ad's message, which said that the 'black cars' used by Uber are dangerous.
Many said that it's easier to get a car with Uber during peak hours while other taxis prefer not to operate in traffic jams. Uber said that they will do a thorough background check on drivers to ensure they have no criminal record.
One Uber driver surnamed Wang said that it took him two weeks to complete his registration on Uber, which requires drivers to have at least one-year's driving experience.
Uber, like other car-hailing apps, provides a way to connect market needs to providers and it's an inevitable trend, so the government should release policies and regulations to ensure their legal operations rather than cut them off, Zhang said.
Huai Jinpeng, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, admitted on Friday that car-hailing apps have a positive effect but the market lacks regulations and there are safety problems.
Some local governments have started to regulate car-hailing apps. Uber's offices in Chengdu and Guangzhou were visited by local police, who have started probing the private car service since May.
Other car-hailing services are also being closely watched by the government for using private cars. On June 3, Beijing police questioned Didi Zhuanche for its suspected use of private cars and drivers.
Huang did not reveal the market share of Uber in China. Uber founder Travis Kalanick told investors earlier that Uber has close to a 50 percent share in the non-taxi market in China, the Wall Street Journal reported.
