日本試行世界上第一輛無人駕駛出租車

A venture firm and a major taxi company last Monday began a trial of passenger-carrying autonomous taxi services with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics.

上週一，一家風投公司和一家大型出租車公司開始試運行搭載乘客的自動駕駛出租車服務，目標是到2020年左右，東京主辦奧運會和殘奧會時能全面推出這一服務。

ZMP Inc, a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu Co, said they are the first in the world to offer autonomous taxi services to fare-paying passengers in the test.

總部位於東京的自動駕駛技術開發商ZMP和日之丸交通稱，他們是全球率先在測試中爲付費乘客提供自動駕駛出租車服務的企業。

In the trial, a minivan equipped with sensors and other autonomous technologies makes four round trips a day between commercial facilities in Tokyo's Otemachi and Roppongi districts.

試運行中，一輛裝有傳感器和其他自動駕駛技術的迷你廂式車，每天將在東京大手町和六本木區的商業設施間往返四次。

The autonomous taxi will start, stop and turn the vehicle, but a driver and an assistant will be on board to ensure safety.

這輛自動駕駛出租車將會啓動，停駛和轉彎，但車上將配有一位司機和一位助理以確保安全。

Passengers solicited in advance will unlock the door and make payments through a smartphone app, paying 1,500 yen for a one-way ride.

提前叫車的乘客將可打開門鎖，並通過智能手機應用付費，單程價格爲1500日元。

A 45-year-old male passenger from Tokyo's Toshima Ward who got on the first autonomous taxi said, "It was such a natural ride that I almost forgot it was a self-driving car. I felt the advancement of technology."

來自東京豐島區的一位45歲的男性乘客乘坐了第一輛自動駕駛出租車，他表示：“此次乘車體驗非常自然，以致於我幾乎都忘記它是一輛自動駕駛汽車了。我感受到了科技的進步。”

Autonomous driving services are viewed as a way to address the shortage of drivers in Tokyo and the increasing demand for taxis by foreign visitors to Japan.

自動駕駛服務可解決東京司機短缺以及外國遊客對日本出租車需求增加等問題。

Hopes for self-driving taxis are also high in rural areas, where taxi companies face serious labor shortages, according to experts.

據專家介紹，在出租車公司面臨嚴重勞動力短缺的農村地區，人們對自動駕駛出租車的期望也很高。