Chinese rideshare platform Didi launches in Adelaide today. It began operating in Australia in May 2018 in Geelong, and has since been introduced to Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Perth.
In addition to its expansion into Adelaide, the service is launching in Canberra and 18 regional towns in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
Didi offers three services in Australia: Express, Share (carpooling) and Max (seven-seater vehicles). The app will launch in Adelaide with the Express and Max services.
Riders who sign up now will get 30 per cent off their first 10 rides (discounts are capped at $20 per trip). In addition, users will receive six 50 percent off vouchers (capped at $20 each) to be used during the peak hours of 4pm to 8pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday across the first three weeks of launch.
Didi – China’s largest rideshare company – launched in 2012, and in 2016 it acquired Uber China for US$35 billion. The service now has more than 550 million riders around the world, including in Mexico, Brazil and Hong Kong. It claims to be up to 10 per cent cheaper than its competitors.
The company received criticism in China last year for a new “safety policy” banning women from using one of its services late at night. When it launched its low-cost Hitch service, it placed an 8pm curfew on women (men could use it until 11pm) in response to several sexual assaults and the murder of two women, reported the ABC. The company backed down from the decision shortly after.
