Bike hire is all the rage in cities across the world, including London
where Santander sponsors the main scheme. In Beijing, firms such as
Mobike, Ofo, and Unibike are pioneering the techniques once used
by Uber to make cheap wheels easily available (see our report in Issue
45, p.58-61).
Ofo are now looking to expand internationally. They have shipped
500 bikes to the UK and conducted a trial in Cambridge at the end of
April where twenty bikes were deployed on the streets of the famous
university city.
The next prospect is the other top UK university city of Oxford
where several Chinese bike hire companies have been in touch with
the city council. “This is brilliant. The more people we can get on
bike-sharing bikes in Oxford, the better,” said city councilor and
chairwoman of the Oxford City Cycling Forum, Louise Upton. “But
it absolutely has to be well managed so it is not a nuisance to other
people,” she cautioned.
In Oxford there are already some local bike hire operators. A Chi-
nese competitor would increase choice and, provided the scheme is
run with consideration to the pressure on space in central Oxford, it
looks to have every chance of success.Society
Little yellow bikes
Top Story First Domestically-Made Aircraft Carrier Launched
China has launched its second aircraft carrier – and the first
one built entirely on its own. Fan Changlong, vice chairman
of China’s Central Military Commission, attended the launch
ceremony.
The 50,000-ton carrier, festooned in red flags and ribbons
and with a bottle of champagne smashed over its bow, slid from
a dry dock into the water at a shipyard ceremony in the north-
eastern port city of Dalian on April 26.
China’s first aircraft carrier, the Soviet-built Liaoning, whichit purchased from Ukraine, underwent extensive refurbishing in
the same port before being commissioned in 2012.
Development of the new carrier started in November 2013
and in-dock construction began in March 2015. So far, con-
struction on the main hull of the carrier has been completed,
and power, electric and other main systems have been installed.
Undocking and launch is the major link in the development
of an aircraft carrier, marking China’s important achievements
for this stage of development. The new carrier is expected to be
commissioned by 2020, after system and equipment commis-
sioning, outfitting and sea trials.
Like its predecessor, the 60,000-ton Liaoning, the new carrier
is based on the Soviet Kuznetsov class design, with a ski jump-
style deck for taking off and a conventional oil-fuelled steam
turbine power plant.
The design limits the weight of payloads its planes can carry,
its speed and the amount of time it can spend at sea compared
with US nuclear-powered carriers, reported Al-Jazeera.
However, Li Jie, an expert on aircraft carriers, noted that
despite the outward similarities to the Liaoning, the new carrier
has made various improvements both inside and out.
The new carrier’s larger landing area and optimised flight
deck functions, for example, improve the efficiency of dispatch-
ing shipboard aeroplanes. And its equipment – including ship-
borne weapons, radar, engine and electronic devices – are all the
latest domestically-made technology.