Name: 未來人們將如何出行？| 經濟學家》雜誌 (How will people travel in the future? | The Economist)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T08:04:26.000Z
Duration: 3 min 37 s

Hollywood movies have envisioned a future of hoverboards and flying cars.

在好萊塢電影的刻劃裡，未來我們會有飛天滑板、飛天車。

情態助動詞 B1

These imaginary machines might not be too far from reality.

這些想像出來的機器可能離現實不遠了。

By 2030 a quarter of shared passenger miles traveled in America's roads could be in self-driving vehicles.

到了 2030 年，美國公路四分之一的共乘里程數可能都來自於自動駕駛車。

It's believed eight out of ten people will be using Robo taxis in cities where available by 2035.

據信到了 2035 年，在有機器人計程車的城市裡，會有八成的人搭乘。

There will also be more emphasis on sharing journeys.

All this could reduce the number of cars on city streets by 60%, emissions by 80%, and road accidents by 90%.

這些努力可能讓城市街上減少 60% 的車輛、80% 的排放量以及 90% 的交通意外。

Or more accurately, passenger drones and helicopter hybrids.

或者更精確地說，是載客無人機以及直升機的混合體。

Uber is investing heavily in this technology.

Los Angeles, Dallas, and some states in Australia could see test flights within a couple of years.

洛杉磯、達拉斯，以及澳洲幾個州在幾年內都計畫進行飛行測試。

But these cross-city flights will require changes to air traffic control systems, which will probably take longer to develop than the flying vehicles themselves.

然而因應這些跨城市的航程，空中交通控制系統也要有所更動，比起飛行器本身，這可能會花上更長的時間預備。

Traveling across country could be far quicker too.

國內旅行所花費的時間將可能大幅縮短。

China is leading the world in high speed bullet trains that are capable of traveling over 400 kilometers per hour.

中國在子彈列車方面領先全球，可以達到 400 公里以上的時速。

By 2020, 80% of the country's major cities could be linked to the network.

到了 2020 年，中國 80% 的主要城市會被納入此系統，彼此連結。

But for high speed travel, the ambitious Hyperloop could leave bullet trains in the dust.

然而談到高速旅行，野心勃勃的超迴路列車可能會讓子彈列車望塵莫及。

It's an ambitious system in which pods move along tubes in the near vacuum.

這個大膽的系統是在接近真空的狀態，讓運輸艙通過管道。

The lack of air resistance means pods could reach speeds of over 1000 kilometers per hour.

去掉空氣阻力，運輸艙可達到每小時 1000 公里以上的速度。

Virgin wants to deliver a fully operational Hyperloop system by the mid 2020's.

英國維珍集團期待在 2020 下半年之前推出完整運作的超迴路系統。

The company claims it's Hyperloop pods could travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 30 minutes.

維珍集團聲稱屆時超迴路列車從洛杉磯到拉斯維加斯只需要半小時。

But the potential dangers of travel at such great speeds and the cost mean the Hyperloop will not be a reality for decades.

但考量到高速行駛的風險與成本，超迴路列車在數十年內可能都還無法實現。

In the air the makers of supersonic jets are promising to slash travel times too.

談到空中旅行，超音速噴射機製造者也正在努力縮短旅行時間。

Aerion wants to carry 12 passengers in luxury at 1.4 times the speed of sound.

製造商 Aerion 的目標是讓 12 位乘客在奢華環境中，以 1.4 倍音速前進。

About 60% faster than typical aircraft today.

比起現在市面上的飛機，這大約快了六成。

And rival Boom hopes to be flying its' supersonic airline by 2023, carrying 55 passengers up to 2.2 times the speed of sound.

而競爭對手 Boom 則預計在 2023 年前開始營運超音速航班，載客量為 55 人，速度是 2.2 倍音速。

Skeptics say these ideas are impractical and expensive, with many technical challenges to overcome.

有些人心存質疑，認為有一堆技術困難等著克服，這些想法既不實際又昂貴。

Despite this, tech and engineering companies are boldly taking up the challenges of passenger transit, promising to propel us into the future.

無論如何，科技與工程設計公司仍舊勇敢迎向這些運輸挑戰，推進人類走向未來。