The congestion caused by ride-hailing 叫车软件造成的交通拥堵难题_BBC

The congestion caused by ride-hailing 叫车软件造成的交通拥堵难题

随身英语 The congestion caused by ride-hailing 叫车软件造成的交通拥堵难题

近些年来，通过用手机应用程序叫车上下班已经成为很多人常用的通勤方式。然而，随着使用这类软件的用户数不断增加，城市内的交通拥堵情况也变得更加严重：更多的车辆减慢了车流速度，从而导致道路交通瘫痪。我们可以怎样解决这个难题？跟随本集《随身英语》了解新出行方式的利弊。

课文内容 Vocabulary: traffic and transport 词汇: 交通运输

Have you ever taken a taxi? In the past, doing so meant finding one, flagging it down and telling the driver where you wanted to go, paying, and possibly, adding a tip. And while this still happens, it’s less common than it used to be. These days, it’s much easier to open a ride-hailing app. All of the boring stuff gets taken care of. It’s a perfect solution!

Except that it isn’t. A recent report from urban transport consultant Bruce Schaller, who spent the last four years studying traffic flow in New York, concluded that the use of these app-based journeys is causing traffic jams. The 81% increase in these city-based rides means that there are now five times more of them than the iconic yellow taxicab.

“It’s the shift in patronage from public transport,” he told the BBC. For whatever reason, people decide that it’s just too much hassle. “That means moving people from larger vehicles into smaller ones, which means more vehicles to move the same people. Therefore, more traffic.” In addition, the sheer number of cars now looking for a commuter means that they spend 45% of their time empty, just cruising for a fare, and inadvertently clogging up the city’s infrastructure.