China’s craze for bike-sharing has brought more than 2m new bikes to its city streets. The brightly coloured bicycles, produced by companies such as Mobike and ofo, can be unlocked using mobile apps. Mobike’s models are even GPS-tracked.
中国的共享单车热潮已为其城市的街头巷尾增添了逾200万辆新自行车。摩拜单车(Mobike)和ofo等公司推出的这些色彩鲜艳的自行车可用手机应用解锁。摩拜的自行车甚至可用GPS追踪。
Unlike other sharing schemes around the world, China’s bicycles can be picked up and left anywhere, making them convenient for users but frustrating for city authorities.
与全球其他共享项目不同，中国的共享单车可在任何地方取用和停放，虽然方便了用户，但让城市管理部门感到头疼。
The bicycles are locked by the user after riding, and then unlocked by the next rider by using a mobile app and scanning a QR code on the frame.
用户骑完共享单车后将之上锁，下一个用户可使用手机应用扫描车身上的二维码解锁。
Last week the Shanghai city government issued draft guidelines for the bike-sharing economy. According to a state media report, the local transport authority also ordered six bike-sharing companies to stop adding new bicycles in the city, although Mobike and ofo denied that these talks occurred.
上周，上海市政府发布了指导共享单车市场的《意见》稿。据官方媒体报道，上海市交通委要求6家共享单车企业暂停在该市投放车辆，尽管摩拜和ofo否认被约谈。
Small wonder that Shanghai’s officials are concerned about the pile-up of bicycles on its streets: the city leads the world with 450,000 shared bicycles, nearly all of which appeared in the past six months.
Competition between rivals has been cut-throat: each has been producing more bicycles to gain the upper hand in a battle for market share reminiscent of the tussle between ride-hailing apps Uber and Didi Chuxing, before the US group conceded defeat.
上海市官员对该市街道上堆挤的自行车感到担忧，这并不奇怪：该市共享单车达45万辆，位居全球首位，这些单车几乎都是在过去半年里投放的。
China’s rapid adoption of bike-sharing also highlights the adaptability of its country’s consumers and companies alike. The top two bicycle-rental apps added more than 9m monthly active users in the final four months of 2016.
共享单车行业内的竞争异常激烈，每家公司都在推出更多的自行车，以求在争夺市场份额的角力中占取上风。这令人想起叫车应用优步(Uber)与滴滴出行(Didi Chuxing)之间的争斗，这场争斗后以来自美国的优步认输告终。
The boom in bike-sharing has been supported by foreign as well as local investors.
中国对共享单车的快速采用还突显出中国消费者和企业的适应能力。2016年最后4个月，前两大共享单车应用的月活跃用户增加了逾900万。
Ofo became the world’s first bike-rental unicorn after reaching a $1bn valuation after a fundraising round earlier this month, according to the company.
Mobike costs Rmb1-2 per hour, while ofo — so-called because the name looks like a cyclist from the side — costs Rmb0.5 per hour. In practice, both companies offer generous subsidies so that many rides are virtually free.
这股共享单车热潮得到了国内外投资者的支持。
Neither Mobike nor ofo has released projections of profitability. However, Chen Lin, assistant professor of marketing at China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, estimates that each Mobike requires just 2.3 trips per day to break even, assuming the user pays Rmb1 per ride.
据ofo透露，该公司经过本月早些时候一轮融资后估值达10亿美元，成为全球自行车租赁行业中的首家“独角兽”企业。
At least eight other Chinese bike-rental start-ups have begun their first big fundraising rounds, according to Ms Chen.
摩拜收费每小时1到2元人民币。ofo每小时收费低至0.5元人民币，它之所以叫这个名字，是因为ofo看起来像一个骑自行车人的侧影。实际上，两家公司都提供慷慨的补贴，因此许多骑行其实都是免费的。
摩拜和ofo都未公布盈利能力预期。不过，据上海中欧国际工商学院(CEIBS)市场营销学助理教授林宸估计，假设用户每次骑行都支付1元人民币，每辆摩拜单车每天只需2.3次骑行就能收支平衡。
林宸表示，最起码还有8家中国自行车租赁初创企业已启动首轮大规模融资。
译者/何黎
