A passenger scans a health code provided by a car-hailing driver in Beijing on Monday, the first day that Beijing required car hailing services to register the health codes of passengers. Photo: Liu Caiyu/GT

China's Ministry of Transport summoned 11 ride-hailing internet platforms on Monday, urging them to rectify their operations in responding to legitimate issues such as infringement of the legitimate rights of employees and passengers, and resolve hidden security risks, as part of the latest government efforts to protect the rights of consumers while creating a healthy and sustainable environment for the sector.

Among the companies were Didi Chuxing, Gaode and Meituan Dache, all major players of the domestic ride-hailing industry.

After sorting through the results of industry monitoring, calls and letters from the public, and media reports, some platforms were found to still have some problems, and they had failed to fully implement their corporate responsibilities, a statement issued by the ministry said on Monday.

The transport ministry urged the companies to thoroughly investigate and resolve potential stability risks so as to ensure the stability of the industry.

Platform service providers must further improve the openness and transparency of their business strategies and their customer service system, while safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of employees and their vast consumers, the statement read.

Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute of the Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times on Monday that the latest meeting came as some issues such as excessive collection and use of consumers' data lingered in the business operations of some ride-hailing platforms.

"Some platform companies collect more consumer data than they actually need and some of this may involve infringement of individuals' privacy," Dong said.

To further ensure the protection of consumers' rights, the meeting said that in the event of a security incident, corresponding aggregation platforms are required to perform their responsibility of paying in advance in accordance with the law, and jointly dealing with the accident with the car-hailing platform involved.

Experts said that the meeting serves as a good reminder to industry participants to discipline themselves and not attempt to get around the law and regulations.

"The meeting also showcases the government's determination to regulate the industry to make sure that all industry players can run their business based on fair competition," experts said.

Several ride-hailing conglomerates including Didi Chuxing have received legal penalties and warnings from the authorities over a series of corresponding issues since the beginning of this year amid the government's efforts to purify the platform industry, and the market environment has seen improvement as a result.

From 476 million orders in April to 695 million orders in July, the online car-hailing market across the country continues to rebound, and the industry itself has witnessed remarkable progress.