The first Spring Festival to follow China`s revision of its regulations on drunk driving has stimulated the market for designated-driving services.

A new law, named the Regulation on the Application for and Use of Motorized Vehicle Driving Licenses, makes the suspension of a driver`s license into one possible punishment for a drunk driving conviction. The law first took effect on April 1, 2010.

The same year, hundreds of companies that hire out designated drivers began appearing in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Zhengzhou. But even with such an increase in numbers, the businesses found that the 24-hour hotlines they use to reserve drivers` time could scarcely keep pace with the demand for their services this Spring Festival.

Chen Dayong, who offers designated driving in Jinan, the capital of East China`s Shandong province, told China National Radio that his company got dozens of service requests on each of the seven days of the Spring Festival holiday.

"The period between 9 pm and 11 pm is the busiest," he said, adding that some of his drivers take two or three customers home in one night.

Drunk drivers now make up 90 percent of those who pay for his company`s services, he said.

Beijing, which registered 4.7 million motor vehicles by the end of 2010, has a need for about 3,000 designated drivers a day, according to the estimates of business insiders.

A Beijing-based auto club called 8 Year reported that the clients of designated-driving services are mainly public servants, company managers and revelers at night clubs.

While the increasing number of designated driving services has lowered the incidence of drunk driving, critics argue that the fledging industry will lead to unintended consequences and ought to be regulated.

What, they ask, will happen if customers lose their belongings while they are being taken home? Or what if there is a crash and the designated driver runs away? Where can customers file a complaint?

A Beijing resident surnamed Zhu said she used to hire designated drivers to take her home after she went out to parties, but she changed her mind about the service after a designated driver scratched her car and refused to pay for the damage.

Qiang Lei, vice-president of the Beijing Business Management College, said that clients of "designated driver services" are often drunk to the point of confusion, raising the possibility that any service agreement they signed will later become a cause for argument.

What`s more, no standards have been set to govern the fares charged by designated-driving companies. In Beijing, many services ask customers to pay by the mile, similar to cabbies. Others charge by the hour. Rates may also vary according to whether the location a designated driver must go to is within the city or outside.

Miao Yueru, a member of the Beijing Committee of Chinese People`s Political Consultative Conference, said last year that designated-driving businesses should be regulated. He called for the supervision of such enterprises to be entrusted to special departments established by traffic authorities.

Some cities have begun to act on similar lines. Shanghai started overseeing the registration applications of designated-driving companies in 2009, and Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China`s Sichuan province, issued an announcement in late 2010 about the registration and administration of the industry.