Preparing Cities for Robot Cars
为自动驾驶汽车做准备的城市
The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist's dream, years away from materializing in the read world. Well, the future is apparently now. The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads. The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars, and for companies to operate driverless taxi services. California, it should be noted, isn't leading the way here. Companies have been testing their vehicles in cities across the country. It's hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads. But however long it takes, the technology has the potential to change our transportation systems and our cities, for better or for worse, depending on how the transformation is regulated.
自动驾驶汽车的可能性通常看起来是未来主义者的梦想，距离真实世界里的实现还要好几年。然而，未来显然就是现在。今年四月，加州机动车管理局开始发放许可证，允许各公司在公共道路上测试真正的自动驾驶汽车。州政府还为企业出售或出租自动驾驶汽车以及运营无人驾驶出租车服务扫清了障碍。值得注意的是，加州在这方面并没有走在最前沿。各公司一直在全国各大城市测试他们的汽车。很难预测公路上何时能遍布无人驾驶汽车。但是无论需要多长时间，这项技术都有可能改变我们的交通系统和城市，至于是好还是坏，就取决于如何管理这种转变。
While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars(and rightfully so), policymakers also should be talking about how self-driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams, cut emissions and offer more convenient, affordable mobility options. The arrival of driverless vehicles is a chance to make sure that those vehicles are environmentally friendly and more shared.
虽然到目前为止大部分的讨论都集中在无人驾驶汽车的安全性上（确有道理），决策制定者也应该讨论自动驾驶汽车如何帮助减少交通阻塞、减少排放，提供更便捷、更实惠的灵活性选择。无人驾驶汽车的到来是一个机会，可以确保那些汽车对环境友好，有更多的共享机会。
Do we want to copy-or even worsen-the traffic of today with driverless cars? Imagine a future where most adults own individual self-driving vehicles. They tolerate long, slow journeys to and from work on packed highways because they can work, entertain themselves or sleep on the ride, which encourages urban spread. They take their driverless car to an appointment and set the empty vehicle to circle the building to avoid paying for parking. Instead of walking a few blocks to pick up a child or the dry cleaning, they send the self-driving minibus. The convenience even leads fewer people to take public transport—an unwelcome side effect researchers have already found in ride-hailing services.
我们想通过无人驾驶汽车复制甚至恶化现在的交通状况吗？想象一下，未来大多数成年人都拥有自己的自动驾驶汽车。这样他们就能够忍受在拥挤的高速公路上上下班的漫长而缓慢的旅程了，因为他们可以在路上工作、娱乐或睡觉，这也会鼓励城市的扩张。他们把无人驾驶汽车带到约会的地点之后，就让空车绕着大楼行驶，以此避免付停车费。他们不再步行几个街区去接孩子或者去干洗店，只要让无人驾驶的迷你巴士去就可以了。这种便利甚至会让越来越少的人乘坐公共交通工具——研究人员已经在叫车服务中发现了这种糟糕的负面效果。
A study from the University of California at Davis suggested that replacing petrol-powered private cars worldwide with electric, self-driving and shared systems could reduce carbon emissions from transportation 80% and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure and operations 40% by 2050. Fewer emissions and cheaper travel sound pretty appealing. The first commercially available driverless cars will almost certainly be fielded by ride-hailing services, considering the cost of self-driving technology as well as liability and maintenance issues. But driveless car ownership could increase as the prices drop and more people become comfortable with the technology.
加州大学戴维斯分校的一项研究表明，在全球范围内，用电动、自动驾驶和共享系统取代了汽油动力的私家车，至2050年，可以减少交通运输中80%的碳排放，并降低40%的交通基础设施和运营成本。更少的排放和更便宜的驾驶听起来很有吸引力。几乎可以肯定的是，考虑到无人驾驶技术的成本以及责任和维护问题，第一批商业化的无人驾驶汽车将在叫车服务行业诞生。不过随着价格的下降以及越来越多的人熟练掌握这项技术，无人驾驶汽车的拥有率可能会提高。
Policymakers should start thinking now about how to make sure the appearance of driverless
vehicles doesn't extend the worst aspects of the car-controlled transportation system we have today. The coming technological advancement present a chance for cities and states to develop transportation systems designed to move more people, and more affordably. The car of the future is coming. We just have to plan for it.
决策制定者应当开始考虑，如何确保无人驾驶汽车的出现不会加剧我们现今这个被汽车主导的交通系统的弊端。即将到来的技术进步为城市和各州提供了发展交通系统的机会，这些交通系统旨在承载更多的人、更加便宜。未来汽车就要来了，我们只需要做好准备。
