Police say the 21-year-old flight attendant from Henan was raped and stabbed to death on the evening of May 6 by a driver with Didi Chuxing, a Chinese ride-hailing platform, which resulted in a weeklong suspension of the company's carpooling service, known as Didi Hitch, for safety reevaluation starting on May 12.

On May 19, the ride-sharing company reopened its carpooling service, attempting to reassure passengers by introducing six new safety measures, including facial recognition for both drivers and passengers, privacy protection settings, safety assurance of nighttime rides , tips for self protection and the provision of accident insurance.

Didi's new carpooling service requires all drivers to scan their faces before confirming each ride order. Personal information and photos submitted to the system will remain private; passengers and drivers will receive only virtual images of each other when ride orders are validated.

Didi Chuxing asks every driver from all its platforms to pass a facial recognition test every day when they start service, and for every single trip for Didi Hitch.

While having their faces scanned, users are required to make a number of movements such as nodding, blinking, opening their mouths and shaking their heads, following the instructions of the app.

The carpooling service has been temporarily suspended from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. each day for safety concerns. Didi's app will send warnings to both passengers and drivers when rides are booked too close to the suspended hours.

Although the security measures carried out after the tragedy have received positive feedback, users have complained about the more complicated registration procedures. Many Didi Hitch passengers have turned to booking Didi Taxis and Didi Expresses alternative ride-sharing services offered by Didi Chuxing, but the sudden increase in orders has caused a scarcity of available drivers offering these other services.

Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Research Center on Communications Law at China University of Political Science and Law, said that instead of taking action on a case-by-case basis, policymakers should work out farsighted and sustainable laws to regulate the development of carpooling services, such as the maximum number of orders that ride-sharing drivers are allowed to receive in a single day and how laws across different cities should be carried out with consistency.

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