VOA慢速英语: 关注打车服务——“优步”

Concerns Raised for Uber, Ride-Sharing Services

关注打车服务——“优步”

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.

这周印度政府呼吁暂停中止未注册的出租车运营服务。首都新德里的“优步”公司的一个司机强奸一名女性的报道后，政府发布这项命令。“优步”是一款打车的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.

新德里的联邦政府命令所有出租车暂停使用这款APP共享打车工具，因为它不符合当地的要求。印度政府向各邦下达通知要求他们中止所有未注册的出租车服务。

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.”

“优步”公司发布声明称：愿意与印度政府合作，在商业交通执照项目方面，建立明确的背景调查机制，以弥补现行这种体制缺失。

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

交通部部长Ntiin Gadkari说禁令不是管理体制需要提升的解决办法。

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?”

该事件和政府做出的回应使公众关注移动服务业务。这个问题使“共享经济”的扩展越来越重要。但问题是“如何让新公司进入一个已经成熟的市场被监管？”

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.

“优步”发展的很迅速。优步公司称在全球50多个国家，200个城市有这款APP服务。金融学家估计公司迅速发展的价值有数十亿美元。但是，优步的扩展也与现存的出租车服务相竞争，导致一些城市和国家禁止打车共享服务。

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.

优步在德国、西班牙、印度和泰国已经面临或正面临禁令。在美国，反对乘车共享服务的人广泛但不均衡。

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，在宾夕法尼亚州，优步X是优步旗下一款低廉的乘车共享服务，这款服务除了在该州最大的城市费城之外，在其他城市都有使用。在费城，优步Black 是更昂贵的一款豪华车服务，其它一些出租车服务可以从费城停车管理局获得合法的经营许可证。

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，费城试图出售“大奖章”——这是运行费城出租车的执照。最新报道表明很多“大奖章”并没有出售给优步和类似的竞争者。

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·芬尼提是管制费城出租车的费城停车管理局的局长，他说优步X如果不遵循持有“大奖章”公司所遵循的规定，那进入费城出租车服务市场就是不公正、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.”

“我们有一套出租车运行体制，除了费城，没有别的地方有这种运行体制。这种体制不与任何需要买“大奖章”才能运作经营的法规相竞争对抗。”

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.

移动应用程序会直接向顾客出售他们的业务，所谓的共享经济只是采取进一步的措施。个人可以把他们拥有的汽车或者多余的房间租给任何想要使用移动APP的人。甚至租金也可以通过APP来获取。

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.”

问题是这些交易不像监管出租车服务和酒店服务那样。批评者称这样很不安全，文斯·芬尼提称不受管制的出租车服务是“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.”

“他们运行一种叫做‘黑客’出租车的服务。不受管制的服务会给乘客安全问题、司机的资历认证以及机动车辆的运作带来威胁，他们不屈服于任何人、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.

优步在网站上公布：调查的每个共享乘车服务的司机使用一种违规的证明。公司称会复核每个驾驶员的机动车记录。但是印度报道发生的案例，公司被指责没有履行到调查司机犯罪记录这一点。

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.

优步于2009年在加利福尼亚州的圣弗朗西斯哥正式创立。竞争对手Lyft也在圣弗朗西斯哥创立。但是随着优步X进入新市场，它们面临越来越多的公共安全法规来监督他们的服务系统。

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.

过去一周，芝加哥批准一些新规定，创建移动APP来帮助城市的出租车服务获得许可。纽约也在考虑采用相似的方式来处理新兴的经济共享问题。

I’m Mario Ritter.

我是马里欧·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