Over a year after two women were allegedly killed by their Didi drivers, the Chinese ride-hailing company announced Wednesday that it will resume its Hitch carpooling service in select Chinese cities.

From Nov. 20, the Hitch service will gradually be rolled out in Beijing, Harbin, and five other cities, but only for rides shorter than 50 kilometers. According to an official notice, the new iteration of Hitch will only be available to female users from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., with male passengers able to use the service until 11 p.m.

The policy — which Didi says is intended to protect female passengers — is part of a raft of new safety measures including stricter assessments of potential drivers, minimal passenger information available to drivers, and a revamped police alert system.

Didi suspended its carpooling service in August 2018 after female Hitch passengers in Henan and Zhejiang provinces were killed, allegedly by their drivers. Afterward, the ride-hailing company was slammed for safety measures that had failed to protect the two women and for a feature that allowed drivers to rate passengers based on their physical appearance. (Image: VCG)