Bopomofo is still used in Taiwan in schools and until about 15 years ago, as a phonetic alphabet for teaching Mandarin to foreigners.
Pinyin never took root in local schools and the preexisting romanization systems (Yale, Wade-Giles, etc.) are confusing and contradictory and inconsistently used. Look up the history of "Peking" or "T'aipei" to get some insights into this.
You still see Bopomofo on computer keyboards in Taiwan, and it is a popular input system on mobile phones. I learned how to read it 20 years ago, but pinyin is so much easier, even without the tone marks.
Pinyin never took root in local schools and the preexisting romanization systems (Yale, Wade-Giles, etc.) are confusing and contradictory and inconsistently used. Look up the history of "Peking" or "T'aipei" to get some insights into this.
You still see Bopomofo on computer keyboards in Taiwan, and it is a popular input system on mobile phones. I learned how to read it 20 years ago, but pinyin is so much easier, even without the tone marks.