2017年CRI Mobike, Ofo race for dominance in UK

Mobike, Ofo race for dominance in UK

Two major Chinese bike-sharing companies are in a fierce battle for market share in the UK.

The cities of Manchester and Salford recently saw the launch of 1000 mobikes while rival Ofo has launched a trial in Cambridge with plans for expansion.

However Singaporean rival oBike are the first to begin rolling out their bikes in London.

The traffic is heavy In east London even during the day… some beat the cues by using bikes. On this particular day many riders and pedestrians¹ are noticing a shiny new orange bikes parked up outside the underground rail station. Singapore's oBike has arrived in the city. Local people are intrigued².

"I think it will be good for the locals especially because not everyone can afford a bike and not everybody has a bike. A lot of people don't tend to get bikes incase of theft as well. The fact that this is there, it's like something you would share."

"I'll give it a try, I like the orange, it stuck out to me, it's got a nice design, that's always good, that's important."

Throughout July, obike are offering a reduced registration³ fee and free rides throughout the month to spread the word. The company would not comment on the scale of their investment, however UK manager Haroon Khan, says they aim to have hundreds of bikes in the capital by the end of the month.

"When we get to the end of his month, when we get to the end of next month even, there'll be more and more bikes and that's what people are looking for, can I find a bike, can I basically return it somewhere quickly and safely and that's what we're tackling and focussing on. "

London already has a bike sharing scheme… so called Boris bikes… introduced by former Mayor Boris Johnson and operated byTransport for London. Public money was used to establish this scheme and riders can use them between docking stations.

What's new for the UK consumer is the dockles bikes, which can be left anywhere public, located unlocked and paid by using a smartphone. And no public money is involved.

oBike is not the only Asian company offering dockless bike share schemes in the UK. China's Mobike recently introduced 1 thousand bikes in the northern cities of Manchester and Salford, while Ofo, also a Chinese venture, has a small prototype scheme operating in Cambridge with plans to expland there and in other UK cities. Recently both raised hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding rounds.

Dr Tim Schwanen is Director of the Transport Studies Unit at St Anne's College, Oxford⁴ University. He says these new companies are copying business models they've had success with in China, scaling up rapidly in the hopes that multi million investments now, will create a lucrative⁵ market in terms of user and advertising⁶ revenues in the future.

While there have been reports of vandalism and theft of both the London and Manchester bikes, Dr. Schwanen says the companies have factored this into their expectations. The Mobike scheme has been widely welcomed by cycling advocates like Nick Hubble of the Greater Manchester Cycling Campaign. He says Mobike has been great for getting people on bikes and highlighting the need for better infrastructure⁷ for cyclists… something he says Manchester lacks at present.

Without a clear culture of mass cycling and with variable weather, it's not clear if the British will take the various bike sharing schemes in the same way they have proved popular in Asian and European cities. It could be that different schemes come to dominate in different cities and regions. What is clear is that foreign investors⁸ believe there is a market to be created and intend to chase their share.

1 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

3 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会