Weather a bonanza for taxi services

China's largest mobile-based car-hailing company, Didi Kuaidi, said that since traffic controls were launched on Monday night in Beijing, the number of appointments for private cars has nearly doubled.

In addition, calls for regular taxis increased by about 80 percent in the morning peak hours, the company said.

Wang Rui, 27, who works as a clerk at a media company, said that it was more difficult to call a private car through the car-hailing app during peak hours, as Beijing saw its first red alert for air pollution on Tuesday.