ofo退款人数超千万！创始人戴威：为欠的每一分钱负责
昔日风光无限的ofo小黄车，如今深陷押金兑付、供应商欠款等危机。
19日，ofo小黄车创始人戴威发布全员信。
ofo小黄车创始人戴威
戴威表示，曾想过解散公司、申请破产：
“我无数次想过……甚至是解散公司、申请破产。”
I’ve thought countless times… of even dissolving the company and applying for bankruptcy.
“公司今年一整年都背负着巨大的现金流压力。退还用户押金、支付供应商的欠款、维持公司的运营，1 块钱要掰成 3 块钱花。”
For the whole of this year we’ve borne immense cash flow pressure. Returning deposits to users, paying debts to suppliers, in order to keep the company running we have to turn every renminbi into three.
他在信中称，希望每一位ofo人都能认同并坚定信念：不逃避，勇敢活下去，为欠着的每一分钱负责，为每一个支持过ofo的用户负责。
超千万人排队退押金
目前，ofo退押金系统排队人数已突破1000万，这一数字还在持续上涨。
据中国日报报道：
Beijing-based Ofo Inc, the cash-strapped bike-sharing platform, has come under fire for stalling on deposit refunds, making it even harder to pedal to a foreseeable future.
总部位于北京的共享单车平台ofo，如今因资金紧缺、拖欠押金退款而引发众怒，前景渺茫。
stall：拖延
deposit: [dɪˈpɑzɪt] n.储蓄，存款； 保证金
refund: ['rifʌnd] n./vt./vi. 退还；偿还
As of Wednesday, Ofo has received more than 10 million online applications for deposit refunds.
截至19日，ofo已经收到超过1000万的退押金在线申请。
用户在ofo北京总部办理退押金 图源：路透社
此外，越来越多的用户在ofo北京总部排队退押金。
Thousands of angry users lined up in clusters at the company's Beijing headquarters during the past days, eager to know whether and when they will get their deposits back.
过去几天里，数千名愤怒的用户在ofo北京总部楼下排成长队，急于知道是否、以及何时能退回押金。
在ofo北京总部外排队的用户 图源：中国日报
ofo的押金共分为99元和199元两种。如果以99元/位计算，保守估计，ofo需退还押金总额超过10亿元。若以199元/位计算，那么ofo需要退还的押金总额更高。
To rent shared bikes, early users were asked to pay a 99 yuan deposit fee which was later raised to 199 yuan. Based on that, the total scale of refunds will amount to more than 1 billion yuan.
ofo发布的退押金政策提醒表示，所有退押金申请，无论线上线下，都将统一进行收集和审核，公司会按申请顺序退还押金。
In a Reminder of Deposit Return Policy released by Ofo on Monday evening, the company said all deposit refund applications, online or offline, will be collected and reviewed and the deposit will be refunded in order of application.
ofo在声明中称：
"Due to the large user base, there may be a significant surge in applications. Please have patience and wait it out, we promise to handle it appropriately."
ofo用户基数大，存在退押金申请激增的可能，请广大用户耐心等待，我们承诺依序妥善处理好退押金事宜。
2017年11月，ofo创始人戴威曾称用户已超2亿，因此退款人数或许还将上涨。
The company claimed 200 million users in November last year, meaning deposits could amount to as much as 20 billion yuan.
讨债人群如此庞大，网友表示，“这可能是我一生中排过最长的队……”
还有机智的网友出谋划策，应该利用退押金页面的流量做广告营销。
另据央视新闻报道，不少地方的ofo办事处已人去楼空。
Ofo's offices in Jinan, Shandong province and Xi'an, Shaanxi province, were vacated last month, China Central Television reported on Monday. That caused fear to rise for some who thought the company was on shaky footing.
据央视新闻17日报道，ofo在济南、西安的办事处在上个月人去楼空。这使得人们对于ofo危在旦夕的担忧更深一层。
盛极而衰，ofo何以至此？
今年以来，美团并购摩拜单车，滴滴托管小蓝车，阿里扶持哈啰出行，唯有ofo小黄车形单影只，话题不断。
Mobike was bought out by food delivery giant Meituan in April this year at an enterprise value of roughly $3.7b, while fellow bike-sharing rival Bluegogo was brought back from bankruptcy after it was acquired by ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing in January for an undisclosed amount.
但据《新京报》报道，即便是背靠大树的摩拜单车与哈啰出行，目前也并未盈利。
是什么让共享单车行业盛极而衰？各家媒体和业内人士总结出了以下几点原因。
■ 业务量巨大和成本高昂
彭博社20日发文称，该行业的过度竞争行为，让大部分企业成为炮灰。
As dozens of competitors jumped into the fray, fomenting a glut and pricing war that ultimately killed off all but a handful of players.
数十家竞争企业卷入这场争夺战，引发了供过于求的价格战，最终导致除了少数玩家之外的所有人一败涂地。
Long before that, observers had pointed out flaws in the industry model apart from unsustainable discounts. The cycles tend to be easy targets for thieves and vandals, and require massive manpower to maintain and re-distribute.
很久之前，除了不利于可持续发展的折扣外，观察者就指出该行业模式的缺陷：这些自行车往往容易被小偷和破坏者盯上，并且需要大量的人力来维护和重新分配。
vandal：（尤指公共财产的）故意破坏者
《金融时报》称ofo最初的错误是它的定价也太便宜了，他们没有充分考虑到产品破损等方面的问题，很多共享公司已经吸取了教训。
Scooter start-ups such as California-based Bird and Lime say they have absorbed many of these lessons, even if the same challenges of vandalism, safety and regulation are now re-emerging on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles and beyond.
加利福尼亚初创公司Bird和Lime这样的踏板车公司表示，他们已经吸取了很多教训，尽管如此，破坏、安全和管理等现象在旧金山、洛杉矶和其他城市的街道上还是没有杜绝。
Bird无桩式共享电动滑板车
Lime共享电动车
■ 共享单车行业已达到饱和点
市场研究机构易观出行（Analysys）行业分析师孙乃悦认为，在多年的高速发展之后，中国的自行车租赁热已达到饱和点（a saturation point）。
Since January this year, the growth has slowed in terms of the number of monthly active users. And we may see hotter competition among major participants in first-tier and second-tier cities.
自今年1月份以来，每月活跃用户数量增长放缓。一线城市和二线城市的主要品牌之间的竞争将更加激烈。
咨询公司罗兰贝格（Roland Berger）大中华区合伙人王欣说，目前共享单车行业进入了淘汰阶段。这要求企业要具备更好的运营能力，以及对高质量产品的更多投资。
■ 经营模式粗放，盈利模式不成熟
王欣指出，前期迅速的扩张占用了企业的精细管理和运营的精力：
Major bike-sharing participants like Ofo invested heavily in the rapid market expansion and left less room for refined management and maintenance, making it difficult to drive to a sustainable future.
主要的共享单车品牌，比如ofo，在其迅速的市场扩张中投入了大量资金，以至于留不下多少空间来进行细致的管理和运营，这使得这些企业很难实现可持续性发展。
《金融时报》援引科技产业分析师Horace Dediu的评论称，企业发展的速度超过了他们学习的速度：
A lot of the mistakes occurred because they had so much capital. The money was buying growth. It was a land grab. As a result they didn’t stop to learn.
很多错误都是因为他们拥有太多的资本。他们用这笔钱买来了增长，抢占了市场，却没有停下来学习。
业内人士认为，共享单车行业的巨大震荡将为共享经济参与者以及互联网企业家敲响警钟，有助于未来产生更健康的商业模式。
《金融时报》20日发表的评论文章《ofo的崩盘为投资者提供教训》称，ofo危机来源于其在开始的时候就没有弄清这种烧钱的扩张模式是否科学：
他们还没有弄清楚这一想法在商业上是否可行，就让共享单车创业公司迅速发展起来
This breakneck expansion masked the fact that Ofo never figured out whether its original idea was commercially viable.
这种飞速扩张掩盖了一个事实——ofo从未搞清楚它的最初想法在商业上是否可行。
同时，路透社也指出，ofo的案例也警示了未来的科技公司：
路透社：中国共享单车公司ofo面临“巨大的”资金困难，其CEO称会坚持下去
Ofo... has become something of a cautionary tale about the rapid debt-fueled boom and bust of new technology enterprises in the country.
ofo已经成为一个具有警示意义的案例：中国新型科技公司由债务快速驱动下的大起大落。
目前ofo负面消息缠身，外界不少声音认为ofo在“苟延残喘”，但中国政法大学知识产权研究中心特约研究员李俊慧对《每日经济新闻》记者分析道：
ofo长时间没有新的融资进展的消息，可能处于资金相对紧张的状态，但是说ofo“苟延残喘”又有些夸大其词。ofo选择合并或被并购也是一种选择吧，或者进一步收缩战线，提高运营效率，熬过冬天或许能迎来春天。
尽管当下共享单车危机重重，但孙乃悦预测，共享单车的刚需依然存在，其未来不会停止发展的步伐。
Bike-sharing actually provides a choice for users' short trips, catering to their specific demand. Despite the current crisis, bike-sharing industry will continue to grow in the future.
自行车共享实际上为用户的短途旅行提供了一个选择，迎合他们的具体需求。尽管面临当前危机，共享单车产业在未来将继续增长。
编辑：左卓
实习编辑：陈月华
来源：中国日报 央视新闻 金融时报 路透社
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