INTRO
The American capital city is rolling out bike sharing.
China's largest bike-share company, Ofo, has rolled out it's wheels, with rival Mobile and others vying for business in a six month trial of dockless bike-sharing.
Washington already has Capital BikeShare - both those must be picked up and returned to special bike racks.
Our U.S. corrsepondent Priscilla Huff reports:
IN: "(natural sound) if you....
OUT: SOC
DUR: 2:41
****
TAKE NATURAL SOUND IN
If you are ready to put the pedal to the pavement
but don't own a bicycle,
in the American capital city, there are colorful new choices for sharing.
Chris Taylor introduces how dockless bike sharing works with Ofo's bright yellow two wheelers:
(UPSOT)
"And after a little while it should unlock. You can take it and go and you can park it anywhere you want."
TRACK
As part of a six month pilot scheme, the yellow Ofo bikes are one set of
at least five dockless schemes totalling 2,000 bikes hitting the road..
(UPSOT)
"Good luck! Remember to wear a helmet!"
TRACK
A rider could take a spin on their favorite color
Bright green Limebikes and Orange Spin bikes are operated by American companies.
And in the red corner is rival Chinese giant Mobike.
The rental share fee is paid via app - and once unlocked...
TAKE NATURAL SOUND UP
a rider could pedal down the newly constructed bicycle lanes or through the national parks.
But local residents are worried about badly parked bikes...even as the City Council tries to increase transportation options.
Sam Zimbabwe is the Chief Project Delivery Officer for the District of Columbia Department of Transportation
BITE
"We have to make sure that the companies know and are managing their supply. That their users know how and where to park a bike so its not blocking a sidewalk or blocking a business. So I think overall it's going to be successful it's going to add to the biking ecosystem that we have here but there's always growing pains with new things."
TRACK
Each start up company attracting millions of dollars of investment - they're battling it out to capture a what they hope is a lucrative US market.
Mobike claims to be worth around one billion US dollars, while Ofo says its company value is double that.
Rachel Song is the General Manager for Mobike U.S.
BITE
"More choices are always better and Mobike really put a lot of effort into the product itself.
TRACK
Chris Taylor of Ofo U-S says they're not worried about the competition.
BITE
"I don't think of Mobike as a competitor. I think of our competition as car ownership. We're focused on making a positive impact on the environment. I think any bike sharing is good for the city."
TRACK
Since 2010, Washington has had the Capital Bikeshare.
with more than 4100 bicycles, - the company says they've proven people want to pick up and drop off bikes at special stations.
But those stations are more expensive to maintain....making the rides more expensive, than dockless bike sharing.
while Capital Bikeshare says - they've also proven their bikes are sturdy and it's time for their program to expand as well.
Priscilla Huff...Washington
***ENDS***