(ECNS) -- Almost 70 percent of orders in the online car-hailing platforms cannot be withdrawn free of charge and Uber scored the lowest, found a survey by the China Consumers Association, with many users still charged when they cancel their ride.
The clause tries to alleviate the burden on drivers and ride-hailing platforms from cancelled trips, but imposes additional responsibilities on users, the association said.
Investigating officers used online car-hailing services 1,002 times from major players in the market including Didi Chuxing, Uber, Shenzhou Zhuanche and Yidao Yongche.
They placed orders online, rode in cars and paid using smartphones, finding that that most platforms provide good services online, but the taxi experience still need to be improved.
U.S.-headquartered company Uber scored 79.1, lagging its competitors, the survey said.
China has became the largest market for online-car hailing services, with about 400 million online orders placed last year. The services now cover more than 400 Chinese cities, with daily orders exceeding 10 million.
The association also said the online car-hailing industry has 21 problems that may infringe the interests of users, including apps may crash during use and information on cars that may be different from the data registered with the service, as well as drivers who do not know their way around a city.
The association suggested related government departments issue more regulations and strengthen supervision to ensure healthy development of the online car-hailing industry. In addition, users should also have a strong sense of self protection and avoid riding illegal cars or using non-standard services.
