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Chinese ride sharing giant Didi employs millions of veterans (and they get a lot of five-star ratings)

Uber has also touted the number of ex-military drivers on its platform

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Chinese ride sharing giant Didi employs millions of veterans (and they get a lot of five-star ratings)
This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Didi Chuxing has announced that it employs 3.9 million military veterans as drivers -- a sizeable figure considering there are only about 750,000 Uber drivers total in the United States.

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In a report, the company -- sometimes referred to as the Uber of China -- said the total figure represents almost 7 percent of the 57 million veterans in China.

Didi says this figure is proof the sharing economy can help veterans find work once they have finished their military service, according to the South China Morning Post.
In addition to having trouble finding work once they return the civilian life, studies show those leaving the armed forces also face higher rates of mental health issues and homelessness.
But Didi is not alone. In 2014 Uber launched a program called UberMILITARY, which had hired some 50,000 drivers by April 2016.

Can’t get a ride on Didi? People are hitching rides in delivery vans

To put those numbers in perspective: Didi told Abacus it has some 30 million drivers active on its platform, meaning the number of veterans makes up 13 percent of its drivers.

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