Chinese ride-share provider DiDi Chuxing announced on Thursday that it has started testing a feature that would allow riders to name and shame operators of smelly cars - and even take them off the road.

Other features being tested include allowing pets, chartering a car for a set period or distance instead of per ride, and choosing a female driver - but only if the passenger is female as well.

All four options have completed the first phase of product development and are now undergoing testing in select cities in China. More users will later have the chance to try the features out in a wider beta phase, also restricted to the Middle Kingdom.

And while anyone in the trials will be able to request pet-friendly rides, or report stinky cars, only females who have completed real-name authentication will be allowed to order a car with a female driver.

The new features were chosen after Didi polled its customers in July, when it asked for features consumers wanted in its app. Almost a quarter (24.2 percent) voted for female riders to be able to choose a female driver. Banning vehicles with bad odors came in as the second most requested feature, with 17.8 percent of votes.

Among the requests that didn't make the cut were being able to set the temperature in the vehicle, and cessation of reminders to wear seat belts.

Both Uber and its Asian competitor Grab are testing features that allow female drivers to select only women as passengers. But as far as The Reg understands, there's no feature for the reverse - nor for odorless rides.

We've asked both rideshare companies to detail their efforts.

Didi has been ahead of the game in terms of tailoring its service to customer preferences: in 2018, the outfit made it possible for riders to confirm their drivers were verified members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Drivers were even reportedly provided with red stickers for their dashboards to display their status, and online "Love the party and love the country" training. ®

https://www.theregister.com//2024/08/23/didi_ride_hailing_china_new_features/