Didi Kuaidi to invest over $80m in shuttle service

SHANGHAI - Chinese taxi-hailing and ride-on-demand app developer Didi Kuaidi said on Wednesday that it will invest 500 million yuan ($80.55 million) for its shuttle service set to operate in more than 30 Chinese cities by year end.

Didi Kuaidi has already been running commuter shuttles in Beijing and the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen since July 16. Their routes were formulated based on travel needs riders submit online.

The service aims to improve the commuting experience for office workers, especially those whose travel needs are not met by existing public transportation.

It said users can now sign up for the shuttle service via Tencent's WeChat mobile messaging app and will be able to access the service through its own mobile app in two months.

The 500-million-yuan investment will be used for expansion in new cities, launching new shuttle routes and sourcing more quality vehicles to run the shuttle service, said Li Jinfei, a manager who runs the shuttle service at Didi Kuaidi.

The app developer does not own the shuttle buses used for the service, opting instead to use vehicles that sit idle at travel agencies and car rental companies.

Didi Kuaidi already dominates China's online taxi-hailing market and is competing with rivals Uber and CAR Inc for ride-on-demand service. The commuter shuttle is the latest addition to its transportation offerings as the company, with more than $3.5 billion in cash reserves, seeks to make a dent in what it sees as a $16.1-billion intelligent public transportation market.

The company announced earlier this month that it completed a fresh round of financing of $2 billion from existing stakeholders such as Alibaba, Tencent, Temasek and Coatue Management, as well as several new investors including Capital International Private Equity Fund and Ping An Ventures.