文本导读

Can bike-sharing in China turn a profit? Survivors Meituan, Ant-backed Hello try by raising fees

共享单车在中国能开始盈利吗？幸存者美团单车和蚂蚁集团旗下的哈啰单车试图通过提价来盈利

Chinese bike-sharing services that survived years of cutthroat price wars and a spectacular boom-bust cycle have decided to raise prices to try and turn a profit.

经历了多年激烈的价格战和壮观的繁荣萧条周期后，幸存下来的中国共享单车公司为了开始盈利决定提高价格。

After losses amounting billions of yuan and the collapse of a slew of brands, including the fall of unicorn Ofo in 2019, the three biggest remaining firms – Meituan, Hello and Didi Chuxing – have curtailed expansion plans to focus on profitability.

在损失了数十亿元以及一系列品牌（包括独角兽Ofo小黄车）倒闭之后，剩下的三家最大的公司——美团、哈啰和滴滴出行——缩减了扩张计划，以专注于盈利。

Meituan’s bike rental service, formerly known as Mobike, will raise the price for a seven-day membership to 15 yuan (US$2.2) from 10 yuan. Memberships for 30 days and 90 days will be priced at 35 yuan and 90 yuan, up from 25 yuan and 60 yuan, respectively.

美团的自行车租赁服务，前身为摩拜单车，将把7天会员的价格从10元提高到15元（2.2美元）。30天和90天的会员价格将分别从25元和60元提高到35元和90元。

重点词汇

1. bike-sharing: the practice of sharing bikes 共享单车

• Bike-sharing is a new choice for short journeys in cities.

2. cutthroat: not involving considering or worrying about any harm caused to others 激烈的；残酷无情的

• The advertising world can be a very cutthroat business.

3. boom-bust: a situation in which an economy or business regularly goes through periods of increased activity and success followed by periods of failure 经济繁荣与萧条

• We must avoid the damaging boom-bust cycles which characterized the 1980s.

4. a slew of: a large number or amount of sth. 大量，许多

• There have been a whole slew of shooting incidents.

5. curtail: to stop something before it is finished, or to reduce or limit something 缩减，限制

• Budget cuts have drastically curtailed training programs.
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延伸阅读

Hello, the mobility firm backed by Ant Group, has lifted its per-ride price to 2 yuan for the first 30 minutes, from 1.5 yuan, in certain cities.

蚂蚁集团旗下的出行公司哈啰在某些城市将前30分钟的单次骑行价格从1.5元上调至2元。

However, it seems that old habits die hard as both bike rental operators are offering discounts for monthly memberships. For example, Meituan’s monthly membership now costs 14.8 yuan while Hello’s is 10.03 yuan.

然而，旧习惯似乎很难改掉，因为两家自行车租赁运营商都在为月度会员提供优惠。例如，美团目前的月卡会员费是14.8元，而哈啰的月卡会员费是10.03元。

The bike-sharing industry has been hit by a shortage of raw materials, including steel, plastic and tires, which cost 10 per cent more in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, according to the China Bicycle Association.

共享单车行业受到了钢材、塑料和轮胎等原材料短缺的打击，根据中国自行车协会的数据，今年第一季度，这些原材料的价格比去年同期上涨了10%。

In addition to supply chain challenges, the bike-sharing business still struggles to make ends meet after years of intense competition that relied on discounts to gain market share.

除了供应链方面的挑战，共享单车业务在多年依靠折扣赢得市场份额的激烈竞争后，目前仍难以维持收支平衡。