Shenzhen’s local government has said Didi’s recent illegal deployments of Didi Bike (青桔单车) and Street Rabbit E-bike (our translation, 街兔电单车) will be marked on the company’s credit score (诚信记录 chéngxìnjìlù), and related departments will follow up based on the city’s management policies.
Since May 15, nearly 9,000 Didi Bikes and Street Rabbit E-bikes had been seized, according to local media (in Chinese).
In March 2018, Didi submitted a delivery plan to the local government, promising to strictly follow local regulations, adding that if it violated its commitments, it would voluntarily withdraw from Shenzhen.
According to reports, Didi continued to illegally launch its bicycles in Futian, Nanshan, Luohu, Bao’an, Longgang, and Longhua districts. Between March 17 and April 1, over 7,000 Didi Bikes were seized. The government then removed an additional 600 Didi Bikes and 994 Street Rabbit E-bikes between May 5 and May 15.
In March, Didi Bike’s operations were suspended for a day in Shenzhen after the government claimed the company had disobeyed local laws.
In its “Implementation Plan for Shenzhen Internet Rental Bicycle Regulatory Management and Renovation Action Plan” (our translation, 深圳市互联网租赁自行车规范管理整治行动实施方案), Shenzhen’s transport commission has prohibited companies from adding more bicycles to the city’s streets since August 2017.
Didi Bike launched in January after it began replacing Bluegogo bikes in Chengdu, also announcing launches in Beijing and Shenzhen. It later expanded to Dongguan, Foshan, Nanchang, and Hefei.
This is not the first time the company has run into trouble in Shenzhen. Transportation authorities in the city, as well as in Guangzhou, urged to the company to sort Bluegogo’s deposit woes and operation issues before continuing operations.
Didi had not provided a comment at the time of publishing.