<p class="title">China has ordered the suspension of carpool services offered by ride-hailing firms until tighter safety measures are implemented, seeking to ease fears after two users of sector leader Didi Chuxing's Hitch service were murdered.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Local governments across the country were ordered to review the backgrounds and qualifications of all drivers signed up with web-based carpooling and other private car-share services.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Drivers and cars deemed unqualified will be removed from such services by the end of this year, said a joint directive issued late Monday by the transport and public security ministries.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Service operators in the meantime must take a range of safety measures including strengthening alarm and rapid-response mechanisms to enable passengers to indicate when they are in danger.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They also will be required to establish 24-hour safety management and emergency response teams and must furnish real-time information on drivers and passengers to police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It did not specify how long the suspension would last. Car-pooling services such as Hitch pair up people moving in the same direction so they can share travelling costs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hitch is separate from Didi Chuxing's main ride-hailing service, which is not affected by the government suspension order.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing, used by hundreds of millions in China, came under intense criticism last month after a 20-year-old female passenger was raped and murdered by her Hitch driver in the eastern city of Wenzhou.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing faced boycott calls after it emerged that the company did not act on a complaint about the driver just one day before the killing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The episode fuelled pressure for greater regulation of carpooling services, which generally face less stringent requirements and oversight than regular ride-hailing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing was already under the gun after police said in May that a Hitch driver killed a 21-year-old female flight attendant whom he had picked up. State media reported she was stabbed at least 20 times and that the killer's dead body was later found in a nearby river.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following last month's murder, Didi suspended Hitch and has temporarily halted all late-night ride-hailing for a week beginning last Saturday while it implements safety measures.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing muscled Uber out of China in 2016 after a bruising turf battle. It now claims 30 million drivers and more than 550 million users across its various services. A Didi Chuxing spokesperson told AFP the company had no new comment on the government-ordered safety drive.</p>
<p class="title">China has ordered the suspension of carpool services offered by ride-hailing firms until tighter safety measures are implemented, seeking to ease fears after two users of sector leader Didi Chuxing's Hitch service were murdered.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Local governments across the country were ordered to review the backgrounds and qualifications of all drivers signed up with web-based carpooling and other private car-share services.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Drivers and cars deemed unqualified will be removed from such services by the end of this year, said a joint directive issued late Monday by the transport and public security ministries.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Service operators in the meantime must take a range of safety measures including strengthening alarm and rapid-response mechanisms to enable passengers to indicate when they are in danger.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They also will be required to establish 24-hour safety management and emergency response teams and must furnish real-time information on drivers and passengers to police.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It did not specify how long the suspension would last. Car-pooling services such as Hitch pair up people moving in the same direction so they can share travelling costs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hitch is separate from Didi Chuxing's main ride-hailing service, which is not affected by the government suspension order.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing, used by hundreds of millions in China, came under intense criticism last month after a 20-year-old female passenger was raped and murdered by her Hitch driver in the eastern city of Wenzhou.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing faced boycott calls after it emerged that the company did not act on a complaint about the driver just one day before the killing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The episode fuelled pressure for greater regulation of carpooling services, which generally face less stringent requirements and oversight than regular ride-hailing.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing was already under the gun after police said in May that a Hitch driver killed a 21-year-old female flight attendant whom he had picked up. State media reported she was stabbed at least 20 times and that the killer's dead body was later found in a nearby river.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following last month's murder, Didi suspended Hitch and has temporarily halted all late-night ride-hailing for a week beginning last Saturday while it implements safety measures.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Didi Chuxing muscled Uber out of China in 2016 after a bruising turf battle. It now claims 30 million drivers and more than 550 million users across its various services. A Didi Chuxing spokesperson told AFP the company had no new comment on the government-ordered safety drive.</p>