Taxi app pulled for better promotion  

专家：打车软件限制政策将对行业起促进作用

为了解决打车难问题，从官方到民间都各显神通。 由于实用性强且使用方便，打车软件很快被许多消费者接受，装机量节节攀升。与此同时，打车软件中的“加价叫车”功能也引发了外界不少质疑，更引起主管部门发难。多地出台政策禁止出租车司机禁止使用打车软件，在做客中新网视频访谈时，中国道路运输协会副会长兼秘书长王丽梅认为，这是一个促进，在完善的过程，并不是全面扼杀打车软件，而是为了更规范行业。而嘀嘀打车软件创始人程维也表示认同，打车软件的快速发展引起了有关部门的重视，规范这样的一个新的行业是必须的。

(ECNS) -- Both industry experts and taxi app developers agreed in a face-to-face talk that pulling the new taxi e-hailing app was aimed at better promoting the whole industry.

Local government bans of the apps don't mean e-hailing firms were shutting down, said Wang Limei, vice president of the China Road Transport Association, rather, it is aimed at better supervision and regulation. Services provided by the app, including pricing, are not controlled by the government at present, so it is natural for transport authorities to bring the app sector under government supervision, she said.

Cheng Wei, CEO of DiDi Dache, a taxi e-hailing app, said the taxi app sector needs government regulation, and it will face problems as well as cooperation, as a newcomer in the market.

Taxi apps will provide better services after it reaches an agreement with official dispatch centers and is included in the unified platform for taxi booking services, Cheng said.

Shenzhen halted the use of all taxi apps by asking drivers to uninstall the software. Then Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority said that adding premiums for such apps is not acceptable and that drivers who charge premiums by using taxi apps will be severely penalized.