无人驾驶汽车反而让道路更加拥挤

无人驾驶汽车反而让道路更加拥挤

自动驾驶汽车将引领移动、安全和便捷的新时代，然而越来越多人选择这一智能车辆的同时，可能造成对公共交通的放弃。道路将变得更加拥挤。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

congestion拥挤；拥塞；淤血[kən'dʒestʃ(ə)n]

exploit开拓；剥削；开采[ɪk'splɒɪt; ek-]

rail station火车站；铁路车站

reinforce加强，加固；强化；补充[riːɪn'fɔːs]

rein控制；驾驭；勒住[reɪn]

envisages正视，面对；想像[ɪn'vɪzɪdʒ; en-]

Driverless cars heading for a jam,says transit group（390 words）

By Robert Wright,Transport Correspondent

Growing adoption of self-driving vehicles risks aggravating urban congestion if it promotes the use of cars over buses and trains,a public transport body has warned.

The International Union of Public Transport sets out two scenarios for the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles in a policy brief. Under one,public transport operators exploit the technology to reinforce services. Autonomous vehicles might serve as on-demand shuttles to bring people to rail stations or bus stops,it suggests.

In the alternative scenario,the widespread private ownership of autonomous vehicles worsens congestion substantially.

Caroline Cerfontaine,a manager for transport and urban life at UITP,said the unregulated spread of autonomous vehicles would mean more traffic.“More people would choose to drive in an AV because it’s an attractive choice,”Ms Cerfontaine said.

Some enthusiasts for the technology claim that,because AVs should make more efficient use of road space,they will create fewer congestion problems. Public transport provision could then be scaled back.

However,sceptics insist that efforts to rein in private vehicle use will be just as critical following the advent of AV technology.

Ms Cerfontaine said scenarios developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggested AVs would still cause congestion.

“A car is still a car,”she said.“It’s not as space-efficient as public transport. There is simply no alternative that can absorb the sheer volume of people that need to be moved.”

The paper goes on to say,however,that,if AVs are deployed mainly on a shared basis operating in fleets,about 80 per cent of motor vehicles now used in cities will no longer be needed. Vehicles will be far more heavily used.

The paper envisages two potential scenarios for widespread deployment of shared vehicles. In one,the vehicles compete with public transport,as services such as Uber and Lyft do at present. The paper says that will increase the number of miles travelled on roads and take journeys away from public transport,walking and cycling.

In UITP’s preferred scenario,public transport providers and operators of autonomous vehicles will co-operate,with AVs able to operate more efficiently and cheaply in some rural and suburban areas,funnelling passengers to efficient,mass-transit modes for most of their journeys.

No public transport option could replace all car trips,Ms Cerfontaine said,and public transport operators should co-operate with car-sharing services.