Ep. U: Ubike

08/10/2021

(想聽2021年10月8日的廣播節目可以點開上面音符圖案的檔案 If you'd like to listen to the original 10/8/2021 radio episode, please click on the above music note to play the file)

Ahh, Ubike (or Youbike). Bike sharing has been around for quite a while. Can you guess where the earliest bike sharing programs started? If you guessed Amsterdam, you would be correct! It started there in 1965, but only lasted a month because people stole the bikes or threw them into rivers. And I think that before the internet and smartphones, most bike sharing programs had that same problem. But since we now have a way to use computers to register users and follow the bike with GPS, bike sharing has become popular in lots of cities around the world.

Even though Ubike wasn't successful in the beginning either, the great thing about Taiwan's and Taipei's governments is that they didn't give up. They made improvements to the system, adding stations near MRT lines and I remember how bike lanes started appearing all over Taipei at the time. Now Ubike is famous and popular all over the island. Some cities use different systems, for example Tainan has tbike, and some areas are changing. For example Changhua, the central Taiwan county mentioned in the song, used to have Ubikes (they had Ubikes when I wrote and recorded the song), but since Ubike upgraded to 2.0, Changhua changed to an electric bike sharing system called Moovo.

But no matter the system, it is true that bikes are a popular way to travel and exercise in Taiwan. In fact, two of the biggest bike companies in the world, Giant and Merida, come from Taiwan, and Ubike's bikes are actually made by Giant. In the years since Ubike started, Taiwan's local and central governments have done a great job of making it easier and safer to ride in Taiwan. Bike lanes can be found in many places across the island, and there is even a special bike route called Taiwan Cycling Route 1 that allows bicyclists to make a round-island trip using roadside bike lanes, small roads and specially-built bike paths. I haven't done it yet, but it's one of the special things that I look forward to doing in Taiwan in the future.

Until then, I'll continue to enjoy riding around town using the convenient Ubikes (Remember to look at the bottom of the post for the song chords!)

啊，Ubike （或Youbike）．共享單車已經有一段時間了．你能猜出最早的共享單車項目在甚麼地方開始嗎？如果你猜阿姆斯特丹，你是對的！它在那裡始於1965年，但只維持了一個月，因為市民偷了腳踏車或把腳踏車丟進河裡．我想，在我們還沒發展網路和智慧型手機之前，很多共享單車項目應該都遭遇這種問題．但是，由於我們現在可以使用電腦來註冊用戶並通過GPS跟蹤車子的路線和停放位置，因此共享單車已經在全球很多城市流行起來．

雖然Ubike剛開始也不太成功，但台灣和台北的政府很棒之處在於他們沒有放棄．他們對系統進行了改進，在捷運附近增加了車站，而且我自己也記得當時台北到處一直出現新的腳踏車道．現在Ubike在全島上已經變得很有名也很受歡迎了．有的城市採用不同共享單車系統，像是台南的tbike，也有一些地方開始改變．比如歌中提到的台灣中部彰化縣，以前用的是Ubike（我寫歌錄歌的時候他們還在用Ubike），但自從Ubike升級到2.0後，彰化改成了用電動共享單車系統Moovo．

但無論是用甚麼系統，在台灣，腳踏車確實是一種流行的旅行和鍛鍊方式．事實上，全球最大腳踏車公司之二，捷安特和美利達，就是來自台灣，而且Ubike本身用的腳踏車是捷安特製造的．自Ubike成立以來的這些年裡，台灣地方和中央政府在讓台灣騎行變得更容易和更安全方面做了很多工作．勸導很多地方都有腳踏車道，而且我們甚至還有一條特別的腳踏車道叫環島1號線，讓騎腳踏車的人可以利用路邊的腳踏車道、小路以及特製的腳踏車道．我個人還沒騎過，但它是我期待未來在台灣做得特別的事情之一．

在那之前，我還是會繼續享受使用方便的Ubike在城市騎行的樂趣！（記得看網頁最下面的地方就可以找到歌曲的和絃囉！）

Ubike Song Lyrics歌詞

You are our Ubike　你是我們的Ubike
Taiwan's great Ubike　台灣偉大的Ubike
You make things faster　你讓事情發生比
Than just walking　走路更快
You'll always be there　你會一直在
With stations plenty　提供足夠車站
Oh dear Ubike, our　哦，親愛的Ubike，我們的
Bike sharing king　共享單車王

The other day dear,　前幾天，親愛的
I had to go out, *uh*　我不得不出去　*唉*
But by then I was out of time *oh no*　但到那時我已經沒時間了　*哦不！*
I swiped my Easy Card　我刷了我的悠遊卡
And grabbed a yellow bike　然後抓了一台黃色的腳踏車
And got to school right on time *Yay!*　然後準時到校　*耶！*

You are our Ubike　你是我們的Ubike
Taiwan's great Ubike　台灣偉大的Ubike
You make things faster　你讓事情發生比
Than just walking　走路更快
You'll always be there　你會一直在
With stations plenty　提供足夠車站
Oh dear Ubike, our　哦，親愛的Ubike，我們的
Bike sharing king　共享單車王

So if you're going　所以如果你要去
To central Taiwan *Yes?*　台灣中部　*嗯？*
or anywhere up to 特north *I am!*　或任何北邊的地方　*我就是！*
From Changhua County, up to Taipei　從彰化縣一直到台北
Rent a Ubike and go forth! Go forth!　租一台Ubike然後出發吧！