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.
广州市政府计划推出一个与优步(Uber)类似的在线约租车平台，就在几周前，警方关闭了这家总部位于旧金山的专车应用在广州的办事处。
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“如约”将利用智能手机应用向顾客提供用车服务。然而，这项服务将由广州4家拥有出租车牌照的出租车公司提供，在优步被关闭之前，这些出租车公司面临来自优步的竞争。

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.
如约即将推出的时机在优步被警方突击搜查并取缔几周后，这引发了有关广州对于创建公平竞争环境这一承诺的疑问。
“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.”
“很难说广州针对优步的打击与这款新应用直接相关，但我认为，人们会很自然的把二者联系在一起，”广州互联网咨询公司艾媒咨询(iMedia)首席执行官张毅表示，“其用意似乎是为这款新的由政府管理的应用软件扫清道路。”
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.
主导中国经济很多领域的国有企业正面临来自灵活的互联网企业的竞争，后者可能会搅乱交通和金融服务等低效率市场。
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，由于禁止无证出租车业务，中国国内外的打车应用引起了中国很多城市执法机构的注意。
Additional reporting by Ma Fangjing
Ma Fangjing补充报道