[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Several cities in China have announced new rules for ride-sharing services [00:08.36]that critics say may put the companies out of business. [00:14.44]China's ride-sharing industry has been growing fast in recent years. [00:23.01]The largest service there is Didi Chuxing. [00:29.32]Uber, the American-based service, was Didi's main competitor until August, [00:39.45]when it signed a deal to sell its Chinese operations to Didi. [00:46.92]The deal is worth about $35 billion. [00:52.88]China officially legalized car-sharing services in July. [01:01.36]At that time, the Ministry of Transport established rules for such services. [01:10.45]Those rules are set to take effect in November. [01:17.36]Now, local governments in a number of Chinese cities [01:23.25]have begun proposing their own rules. [01:27.92]The proposals would set restrictions on the kinds of vehicles [01:35.28]that can be used and who can drive them. [01:40.08]The main requirement is that drivers of ride-sharing services [01:47.50]and their vehicles be registered. [01:52.35]In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, [01:57.69]this means drivers will need to have a permanent household registration. [02:05.52]In other cities, such as Shenzhen and Hangzhou, [02:12.56]drivers will be required to have a temporary home. [02:18.16]In addition, the registered vehicles would have to be sedan models [02:26.49]with larger-than-average space inside. [02:31.80]Didi criticized the local rules in a recent statement. [02:38.68]The company said they would force "the vast majority" of its drivers and cars off the road. [02:49.21]"Millions of online ride-sharing drivers may be about to lose their jobs and paychecks, [02:59.28]which would mean millions of families may lose an important income source," [03:07.04]the statement said, according to The Wall Street Journal. [03:12.61]All in all, the local restrictions would be a lot like those for taxi drivers. [03:21.92]Zhao Zhanling is a researcher at the Intellectual Property Center [03:29.44]of China University of Political Science and Law. [03:35.23]He told VOA the new rules could make all the country's ride-sharing services fail. [03:44.44]He said the vehicle size requirements alone [03:49.76]could put 80 to 90 percent of drivers out of business. [03:56.77]According to Didi, less than 10,000 of its 410,000 drivers in Shanghai [04:06.56]would meet the permanent household requirement. [04:11.39]One Uber driver told VOA the way the new laws are set up [04:18.56]will make it "impossible for me to stay in business." [04:24.17]The driver's hometown is near Beijing, in Hebei province. [04:32.28]He now works in the Chinese capital during the day and drives for Uber at night. [04:41.64]Zhao Zhanling called the permanent household requirement [04:48.25]"unconstitutional" and "in violation of the nation's employment policy." [04:56.53]Didi has said ride-sharing services [05:02.04]are still new "technological creations" that need to be nurtured. [05:09.20]The company called on Chinese officials [05:13.81]to "give local and non-local residence-holders equal rights to work." [05:21.18]It said this will be the only way to provide citizens [05:26.57]a more convenient, effective and free transportation system. [05:34.20]I'm Bryan Lynn.