廣州將推官方打車應用

Guangzhou’s municipal government is planning to launch its own Uber-like online taxi hire service, only weeks after police closed the San Francisco-based transport app’s office in the southern Chinese city.

廣州市政府計劃推出一個與優步(Uber)類似的在線約租車平臺，就在幾周前，警方關閉了這家總部位於舊金山的專車應用在廣州的辦事處。

The new company, Ruyue (meaning “by appointment”), will offer rides to customers using a smartphone app. However, the journeys will be provided by the four taxi companies with licences to operate in Guangzhou, which had faced competition from Uber before it was shut.

新公司“如約”將利用智能手機應用向顧客提供用車服務。然而，這項服務將由廣州4家擁有出租車牌照的出租車公司提供，在優步被關閉之前，這些出租車公司面臨來自優步的競爭。

The timing of Ruyue’s looming launch — weeks after Uber was taken out by a police raid — has raised questions about the city’s commitment to a level playing field.

如約即將推出的時機在優步被警方突擊搜查並取締幾周後，這引發了有關廣州對於創建公平競爭環境這一承諾的疑問。

“It is hard to say for sure whether the crackdown against Uber in Guangzhou was directly related to this new app, but I think it is natural to make the connection,” said Zhang Yi, head of iMedia, an internet consultancy in Guangzhou. “It appears the intention was to clear the scene for the new government-run app.”

“很難說廣州針對優步的打擊與這款新應用直接相關，但我認爲，人們會很自然的把二者聯繫在一起，”廣州互聯網諮詢公司艾媒諮詢(iMedia)首席執行官張毅表示，“其用意似乎是爲這款新的由政府管理的應用軟件掃清道路。”

State-run companies that dominate many sectors in the Chinese economy face pressure from nimble internet companies that can disrupt inefficient markets such as transport and financial services.

主導中國經濟很多領域的國有企業正面臨來自靈活的互聯網企業的競爭，後者可能會攪亂交通和金融服務等低效率市場。

However, taxi hire apps — both Chinese and foreign — face attention from law enforcement agencies in many Chinese cities due to prohibitions on unlicensed taxi operation.

然而，由於禁止無證出租車業務，中國國內外的打車應用引起了中國很多城市執法機構的注意。

Additional reporting by Ma Fangjing

Ma Fangjing補充報道