2015年经济学人 黑的士 阶级保护主义

 

Black cabs

黑的士

Rank protectionism

阶级保护主义

A distorted market is becoming even more intolerable

畸形的市场越发难以忍受

Licensed¹ to bill

授权开账单

ALONG with red letterboxes and telephone booths, London's black taxis are touted² as symbolic³ of the city. Fully⁴ 25,600 drivers trundle around the capital's streets. They are privileged: unlike minicabs, they can pick up passengers hailing in the street and run on a pricey meter system rather than a fixed⁵ fee. Nationally the average fare is ￡5.77 ($9.56) for two miles; in London it is ￡7.20. All cabbies are required to pass the “knowledge”, a test of all the roads within a six-mile radius⁶ of central London. If they take a daft route to their destination it is usually deliberate.

和红信箱、电话亭一样，伦敦的黑出租也被当成城市的标志。25600位司机在首都大街上开车四处游荡。他们拥有优先权：不像那些迷你的士，他们可以接到街边打的的乘客，提供较为实惠的以公里数计程的收费方式，而非支付固定数量的钱。全国打的平均费用是每两公里5.77英镑（9.56美元）；伦敦市是7.20英镑。所有的出租车司机都要通过一场设立在以伦敦市中心为中心、半径为六公里的所有街道的考试，以防他们选了一条绕远的路到达目的地，虽然他们往往是故意这么做。

But becoming a taxi driver is ever harder. In the 1970s the knowledge took around 23 months to complete. Last year it took 50 months. “You can get a PhD in the same time,” complains Malcolm Paice of CityFleet, a radio-taxi firm. Between 2009 and 2012 the number of taxi drivers increased by only 4% in London. Faced with such a high barrier to entry, more people are taking a shorter course that only allows them to drive black cabs in suburban⁷ areas, says Tom Moody⁸ of Transport for London (TfL).

但是要成为一名出租车司机越来越难。20世纪70年代，人们需要花费23个月完成等级考试。去年则需要50个月。计程车广播公司CityFleet的Malcolm Paice抱怨：“用同样长的一段时间，你都可以拿到博士学位了”。伦敦交通（TfL）的Tom Moody说，从2009年到2012年，伦敦出租车司机的人数增加了4%。面对考证的巨大障碍，越来越多的人都参加了只允许他们在市郊开黑的士的短期课程。

But in the same period the number of minicab drivers in London jumped by 19%, to 67,000. The scorn they receive from black-taxi drivers is little deserved. Liam Griffin, the boss of Addison Lee, a large minicab firm, says minicabs have become more comparable to black cabs since 2004, when regulations and criminal-record checks were introduced. All of the company's drivers take a six-week course and rely on satellite navigation systems—as do some black-taxi drivers. Their fares are around a third cheaper, Mr Griffin says.

同期相比，伦敦迷你出租车司机人数上升了19%，达到了67000人。他们并不该受到黑的士司机的蔑视。迷你出租车公司Addison Lee的老板说，自2004年规章制度、犯罪记录审查制度引入之后，迷你出租车已经和黑的士有可比性了。各公司所有的出租车司机都要完成卫星导航系统上一次为期六周的课程—一些黑的士司机也要如此。Griffin先生说，这样费用要便宜约三分之一。

Technology is further bulldozing the distinction between black taxis and minicabs. Fully 14,000 London taxis have signed up with Hailo, an app for ordering cabs that was introduced to London in 2011. Ron Zeghibe, Hailo's chairman, says that some drivers shun⁹ taxi ranks or “street work” in favour of punters who order through his service. Minicab companies have their own, similar, apps. One, from Greentomatocars, helped the firm nearly double in revenue in a year.

科技迫使黑的士和迷你出租车之间的区别更加明显。至少有14000辆伦敦出租车和Hailo签约合作，这个app于2011年被引入了伦敦，用以提供电招服务。Hailo的董事长Ron Zeghibe说，一些司机避免出租车等级化或者“街道工作”，用来支持那些通过该项服务预约的士的顾客。迷你出租车公司也有他们自己类似的app。一个名叫Greentomatocars的app使公司在一年之内的盈利翻了一番。

Yet the separation between the two kinds of taxis looks likely to stay. In April the Law Commission, an independent body, will release a report on the taxi trade. Many of its recommendations will boost minicabs outside London. Larger firms such as Addison Lee will find it easier to expand as licensing¹⁰ rules are simplified. But London's black cabs look likely to be protected. They will still be regulated by TfL; barriers to entry will remain high. Instead of nurturing¹¹ a dwindling¹² trade, this could have the opposite effect. Black cabs might soon become as quaintly¹³ archaic¹⁴ as telephone booths.

两种出租车之间的差距还有可能持续下去。4月，一个独立机构——立法委员会将会发布一项关于出租车贸易的报告。其中很多的建议都会有助于伦敦以外迷你出租车的发展。大一些的如Addison Lee公司将会发现，随着驾照规则的简易化，公司扩张也会相应变得容易。但是伦敦的黑的士也可能会受到保护。他们仍将归TfL管理；取得驾照的难度仍然很高。比起培养一个萎缩的贸易，这更可能会产生反作用。黑的士可能很快就会变的和电话亭一样古怪过时。

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。

7 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

8 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

9 shun   

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

• Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。
• This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。

10 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

11 nurturing   

养育( nurture的现在分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• These delicate plants need careful nurturing. 这些幼嫩的植物需要精心培育。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants. 这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

12 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

13 quaintly   

adv.古怪离奇地

参考例句：

• "I don't see what that's got to do with it,'said the drummer quaintly. “我看不出这和你的事有什么联系，"杜洛埃说道，他感到莫名其妙。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• He is quaintly dressed, what a strange one he is. 他一身的奇装异服，真是另类！

14 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。