Unlocked!Pleasefastenyoursafetybelt!Let’sgo!
That’sthemessage32-year-oldwhitecollarworkerMaYizhenheardwhenhesatdowninthetwo-seathatchbackBenzSmartcar.MahadrentedthecarthroughanappcalledTOGOdevelopedbythenamesakeBeijing-basedtechcompany,whichlauncheditscarsharingserviceinthecityinAugust2015.TheeaseoffindingacarclosetohisworkplacewasablessinginBeijing’sconcretejungle.
“Itisevenmoreconvenientthantoownacarbymyself.It[TOGO]providesuserswitheasyrentandeasyparkservicesthroughitsapp,”MatoldChinAfrica.
Since2014,thesharingeconomyhasgrownrapidlyindifferentindustriesinChina,especiallyinhelpingcommuters.Theservicesoftravelsharingarebasedontheconceptofinformationspreadingandsharing.Usingmobileappsonasmartphone,peoplecaneasilylocate,findoutandreservedifferentkindoftransportationoptioninthenearestplaceandintheshortesttime.Examplesaretheintelligent“rent-a-bike”serviceprovidersMobikeandOfo,onlinecar-hailingserviceprovidersDidiandUber,andthenewlyemergedTOGO,whichprovidesacar2go-inspiredservice.Transportationsharingservicesprovidepeople,especiallyyoungpeopleinlargecities,moreoptionstogetaroundandalsoofferanewlifestyle.
Affordabletransport
Madescribedcarsharingasafashionable,simpleandconvenientexperience.“MyfriendsharedhisTOGOexperiencewithme,whicharousedmystrongcuriositytotry,”hesaid.
“Thecalculationofrentalfeesisbasedonhowlongthecarisusedandhowfaritgoes,”MatoldChinAfrica.Tousetheservice,usershavetopayadepositof1,500yuan($216)beforetheyrent,whichwillbefullyrefundedifusersdon’tcommitanytrafficviolationsordamagetothevehiclewhileusingthecar.Inadditiontopaying$0.27perkm,userswillpayafixedrateof$2.1forthefirst30minutestheyusethecarandanadditionalfeeof$0.04perminuteafterthe30minutes.
“Ittakesmehalfanhourtodrive10kmfrommyworkplacetohome.Theexpenseisabout34yuan($4.9)whichisreasonable.Moreimportantly,Ienjoydrivingacarbymyself.Itgivesmeasenseoffreedom,”saidMa,addingthatthegasisfreeandtheparkingfeeisrefundable.
Asofnow,TOGOhasmorethan100serviceareasacrossBeijingand300-pluscarscomposedmostlyofSmartFortwocars.KevinLuoofTOGO’sMarketingDepartmentsaidthattherewouldbe1,000TOGOcars,athree-foldincrease,byearly2017inBeijing.TOGOprovidesitsuserswitheasylocationandreservationoftheircarsthroughitsapp.Now,TOGOhasamassedmorethan30,000registeredusersinBeijing.Theseusersarecomposedofmostlyyoungwhite-collarworkers,likeMa,commutingbetweentheirhomesandbusinessdistrictsinthecity.
TravellingbysharingtransporttoolswithappslikeDidiandUberisnotonlyconvenient,com-fortableandlow-cost,butgreenandenviron-mentallyfriendly,whichisoneoftheissuesmanyyoungChineseareconcernedabout.“ThestreetsaretoocrowdedwithsomanycarsinBeijingandtheairisbad.Sharingvehicleshelpsreducetrafficcongestionandairpollution,”saidMa.
Accordingtothe2015BigDataReportonChinaIntelligentTravelreleasedbyDidiChuxing,China’slargestmobiletransportationsolutionproviderandoneoftheforerunnersofChina’ssharingeconomy,itscar-sharingappeliminatesatleast1.14millionvehicletripseveryyear,reducingthecountry’scarbonemissionsby13.55milliontons,whichisequivalenttotheecologicalcompensationprovidedby1.13billiontrees.
Sharingeconomyprospects
Theconceptionof“sharing”isnotnewforChinese.Inthe2016ReportontheWorkoftheGovernment,PremierLiKeqiangsaid,“Weneedtomovefastertodevelopnewtechnologies,industries,andformsofbusiness,boostthedevelopmentofasharingeconomythroughinstitutionalinnovations,createsharingplatforms,anddevelopemergingindustryclusters,suchashi-techandmodernserviceindustryclusters,thuscreatingstrongnewengines.”
Inrecentyears,thenumberofenterprisesandtheamountofventurecapitalandfinancinginvestedinthesharingeconomicfieldhaveexploded.In2015,thetotalfinancingofDidiChuxingexceeded22.9billionyuan($3.3billion).“Thesharingeconomycouldpushthecountry’seconomybycreatingdemand,increasingproductivityandentrepreneurialcompetence,”saidZhangXinhong,DirectoroftheInformationResearchDepartmentoftheStateInformationCenterofChina.
Besides,asharingeconomyprovidesalargenumberofemploymentopportunities,whichcaneffectivelyreduceemploymentpressurebroughtbytheeconomicrestructuring.Accordingtodatafromthe2016China’sSharingEconomicDevelopmentReportissuedbyStateInformationCenterandtheInternetSocietyofChina,in2016,thenumberofpeopleactiveinChina’ssharingeconomicsectorreachedabout50million,accountingforabout5.5percentofthecountry’stotalworkforce.
Accordingtoexperts,sharingeconomyshouldbefurtherpromoted.Itmakesfulluseofidleresourcesandofferspersonalizedservicesatalowercosttotheenduserandismoreefficient,accordingtoChengWei,BoardChairmanandCEOwithDidiChuxing.
MengYe,aseniorexpertatChinesee-commercegiantAlibabaGroup’sAliResearchInstitute,believesthatthesharingeconomydevelopmentwillcontinuetoexpandfromthesharingofunusedresourcestothesharingofidleresources.
Accordingtothe2016China’sSharingEconomicDevelopmentReport,in2015themarketsizeofChina’ssharingeconomyreached$282.6billion.Thereportpredictsthatinthenextfiveyears,theaverageannualgrowthrateofChina’ssharingeconomywillstandat40percent.In2020,thesharingeconomyisexpectedtoaccountformorethan10percentofChina’sGDP.
Commentsto
ThestreetsaretoocrowdedwithsomanycarsinBeijingandtheairisbad.Sharingvehicleshelpstoreducetrafficcongestionandairpollution.
MaYizhen,TOGOuserinBeijing