(ECNS) -- The transport commission in south China's Shenzhen City has urged homegrown ride-hailing service providers and Uber to improve management after finding that thousands of drivers had criminal or drug addiction records.
An initial investigation by Shenzhen's public security department shows that 1,425 drivers working for ride-hailing companies had histories of drug addiction, and that one driver was a mental patient. It also found that 1,661 drivers had committed serious crimes.
Recruitment of drivers lacks rigorous checking, while ride-hailing drivers are repeatedly found to violate traffic rules and cause accidents, Xinhua reported.
Statistics from the municipal traffic police showed that about 756,000 traffic violations occurred in Shenzhen in 2015.
On March 26, drivers for Uber's China rival Didi Kuaidi were blamed for breaking a number of traffic rules in an accident that left two men injured, including driving under the influence and hit-and-run behavior, according to police.
Yu Li, a researcher at the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, said authorities will urge service providers to make corrections and strengthen management, with priority on checking driver identities.
The city also plans to introduce new measures to regulate ride-booking via the Internet.
