VOA慢速英語(yǔ): 關(guān)注打車服務(wù)——“優(yōu)步”

Concerns Raised for Uber, Ride-Sharing Services

關(guān)注打車服務(wù)——“優(yōu)步”

Uber taxi drivers hold placards during a protest against the ban on online taxi services, in New Delhi, Dec. 12, 2014. (REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee)

The Indian government this week called for all unregistered taxi services to halt operations. The order came after the reported rape of a woman by a driver for the company Uber in the capital New Delhi. Uber uses a mobile app to link drivers and people seeking a ride.

這周印度政府呼吁暫停中止未注冊(cè)的出租車運(yùn)營(yíng)服務(wù)。首都新德里的“優(yōu)步”公司的一個(gè)司機(jī)強(qiáng)奸一名女性的報(bào)道后，政府發(fā)布這項(xiàng)命令。“優(yōu)步”是一款打車的APP。

The federal government in New Delhi ordered a halt to all taxis using ride-sharing apps because they do not meet local requirements. The government also has sent a notice to all states asking them to halt unregistered taxi services.

新德里的聯(lián)邦政府命令所有出租車暫停使用這款A(yù)PP共享打車工具，因?yàn)樗环袭?dāng)?shù)氐囊?。印度政府向各邦下達(dá)通知要求他們中止所有未注冊(cè)的出租車服務(wù)。

A statement from Uber said the company will “work with the government [of India] to establish clear background checks currently absent in their commercial transportation licensing programs.”

“優(yōu)步”公司發(fā)布聲明稱：愿意與印度政府合作，在商業(yè)交通執(zhí)照項(xiàng)目方面，建立明確的背景調(diào)查機(jī)制，以彌補(bǔ)現(xiàn)行這種體制缺失。

Transport Minister Ntiin Gadkari said the ban was not the answer saying the rules needed to be improved.

交通部部長(zhǎng)Ntiin Gadkari說(shuō)禁令不是管理體制需要提升的解決辦法。

The incident and resulting government action has brought attention to the issue of rules for mobile service businesses. The issue has grown more important with the expansion of what is called the “sharing economy.” The question is, “How should new companies entering an established market be regulated?”

該事件和政府做出的回應(yīng)使公眾關(guān)注移動(dòng)服務(wù)業(yè)務(wù)。這個(gè)問(wèn)題使“共享經(jīng)濟(jì)”的擴(kuò)展越來(lái)越重要。但問(wèn)題是“如何讓新公司進(jìn)入一個(gè)已經(jīng)成熟的市場(chǎng)被監(jiān)管？”

Uber has been expanding quickly. The company says it operates in over 200cities and over 50 countries around the world. Its fast growth has led financial experts to value the company in the billions of dollars. However, Uber’s expansion has placed it in competition with existing taxi services and caused some cities and countries to ban the ride-sharing service.

“優(yōu)步”發(fā)展的很迅速。優(yōu)步公司稱在全球50多個(gè)國(guó)家，200個(gè)城市有這款A(yù)PP服務(wù)。金融學(xué)家估計(jì)公司迅速發(fā)展的價(jià)值有數(shù)十億美元。但是，優(yōu)步的擴(kuò)展也與現(xiàn)存的出租車服務(wù)相競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，導(dǎo)致一些城市和國(guó)家禁止打車共享服務(wù)。

Uber has faced or is facing bans in Germany, Spain, India, and Thailand. In the United States, opposition to the ride-sharing service is widespread but uneven.

優(yōu)步在德國(guó)、西班牙、印度和泰國(guó)已經(jīng)面臨或正面臨禁令。在美國(guó)，反對(duì)乘車共享服務(wù)的人廣泛但不均衡。

In Pennsylvania, for example, UberX, a low-cost ride-sharing service from Uber can operate anywhere except the state’s largest city of Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, Uber Black, a more expensive limousine service from Uber, and other taxi services can legally operate with licenses from the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

例如，在賓夕法尼亞州，優(yōu)步X是優(yōu)步旗下一款低廉的乘車共享服務(wù)，這款服務(wù)除了在該州最大的城市費(fèi)城之外，在其他城市都有使用。在費(fèi)城，優(yōu)步Black 是更昂貴的一款豪華車服務(wù)，其它一些出租車服務(wù)可以從費(fèi)城停車管理局獲得合法的經(jīng)營(yíng)許可證。

In November, Philadelphia tried to sell medallions, which are licenses to operate a taxi in the city. News reports suggested many medallions were not sold because of Uber and similar competitors.

11月，費(fèi)城試圖出售“大獎(jiǎng)?wù)?rdquo;——這是運(yùn)行費(fèi)城出租車的執(zhí)照。最新報(bào)道表明很多“大獎(jiǎng)?wù)?rdquo;并沒(méi)有出售給優(yōu)步和類似的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者。

Vince Fenerty is the director of the Philadelphia Parking Authority which regulates taxis in the city. He says UberX is unfairly, and illegally, entering the taxi service market in Philadelphia without following the same rules as companies that hold a medallion.

文斯·芬尼提是管制費(fèi)城出租車的費(fèi)城停車管理局的局長(zhǎng)，他說(shuō)優(yōu)步X如果不遵循持有“大獎(jiǎng)?wù)?rdquo;公司所遵循的規(guī)定，那進(jìn)入費(fèi)城出租車服務(wù)市場(chǎng)就是不公正、不合法的。

“We have a medallion cab system. No place else in Pennsylvania has a medallion cab system. So they’re not competing with someone who by statute had to buy a medallion to operate their business.”

“我們有一套出租車運(yùn)行體制，除了費(fèi)城，沒(méi)有別的地方有這種運(yùn)行體制。這種體制不與任何需要買(mǎi)“大獎(jiǎng)?wù)?rdquo;才能運(yùn)作經(jīng)營(yíng)的法規(guī)相競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)抗。”

Mobile applications let businesses sell directly to their customers. The so-called sharing economy takes this a step further. Individuals can rent things they own such as a car or an extra room to people anywhere using mobile apps. Even payment is taken care of through an app.

移動(dòng)應(yīng)用程序會(huì)直接向顧客出售他們的業(yè)務(wù)，所謂的共享經(jīng)濟(jì)只是采取進(jìn)一步的措施。個(gè)人可以把他們擁有的汽車或者多余的房間租給任何想要使用移動(dòng)APP的人。甚至租金也可以通過(guò)APP來(lái)獲取。

The issue is that these transactions are not regulated the way taxi services or hotels are. Critics say they can be unsafe. Vince Fenerty calls the unregulated taxi services “hacks.”

問(wèn)題是這些交易不像監(jiān)管出租車服務(wù)和酒店服務(wù)那樣。批評(píng)者稱這樣很不安全，文斯·芬尼提稱不受管制的出租車服務(wù)是“黑客”。

“They are basically running what’s called a hack taxicab service. A totally unregulated service which brings into question the safety of the passenger, the credentials of the driver and the mechanical workings of the vehicle. They submit to nothing.”

“他們運(yùn)行一種叫做‘黑客’出租車的服務(wù)。不受管制的服務(wù)會(huì)給乘客安全問(wèn)題、司機(jī)的資歷認(rèn)證以及機(jī)動(dòng)車輛的運(yùn)作帶來(lái)威脅，他們不屈服于任何人、事。”

Uber says on its website that every ridesharing driver is investigated using a criminal background check. The company says it reviews each driver’s motor vehicle record. But in the reported case in India, the company is accused of not performing a check of the driver’s criminal record.

優(yōu)步在網(wǎng)站上公布：調(diào)查的每個(gè)共享乘車服務(wù)的司機(jī)使用一種違規(guī)的證明。公司稱會(huì)復(fù)核每個(gè)駕駛員的機(jī)動(dòng)車記錄。但是印度報(bào)道發(fā)生的案例，公司被指責(zé)沒(méi)有履行到調(diào)查司機(jī)犯罪記錄這一點(diǎn)。

Uber started in 2009 in San Francisco, California. Its competitor Lyft also started in that city. But as ride-sharing businesses like UberX enter new markets, they increasingly face local public safety laws overseeing their service.

優(yōu)步于2009年在加利福尼亞州的圣弗朗西斯哥正式創(chuàng)立。競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手Lyft也在圣弗朗西斯哥創(chuàng)立。但是隨著優(yōu)步X進(jìn)入新市場(chǎng)，它們面臨越來(lái)越多的公共安全法規(guī)來(lái)監(jiān)督他們的服務(wù)系統(tǒng)。

This past week, the city of Chicago approved new rules to create a mobile app to assist taxi services licensed by the city. And New York is considering a similar measure as the answer to the new sharing economy.

過(guò)去一周，芝加哥批準(zhǔn)一些新規(guī)定，創(chuàng)建移動(dòng)APP來(lái)幫助城市的出租車服務(wù)獲得許可。紐約也在考慮采用相似的方式來(lái)處理新興的經(jīng)濟(jì)共享問(wèn)題。

I’m Mario Ritter.

我是馬里歐·瑞特______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

unregistered - adj. not entered on an official list or system of public records; not registered

app - n. short for application, a computer program often associated with mobile technology

licenses - n. an official document that gives the holder permission to have, use or do something

medallion - n. a large round medal, but in this story a way of giving someone permission to operate a taxi

transactions - n. business dealings where money, goods, or services change hands