本导读
Baidu gets permits for first fully driverless taxi service in China
百度获得中国首个全自动无人驾驶出租车服务许可证
Tech giant Baidu announced Monday that it has obtained permits to operate fully autonomous taxis without any human assistants on board in two of China's megacities, marking a first for the country.
科技巨头百度周一宣布，它已获得在中国两个特大城市运营全自动无人驾驶出租车服务的许可证，这在中国尚属首例。
Baidu, which operates China's largest search engine, said it received the regulatory approvals for its autonomous ride-hailing service Apollo Go to operate on open roads during the daytime in Chongqing and Wuhan. The cities have populations of some 30 million and 11 million people, respectively.
运营中国最大搜索引擎的百度表示，其自动叫车服务平台萝卜快跑（Apollo Go）获得了监管部门的批准，可以白天在重庆和武汉两座城市的开放道路上进行运营。这两座城市的人口数量分别约为3000万和1100万。
The move represents a notable step forward for Baidu and a potential shift in China's comfort with the new technology. In other cities where the company's robotaxis operate, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Baidu is required to have a human safety operator present in the vehicle.
此举标志着百度向前迈出了显著的一步，也预示着中国对这项新技术的态度可能会发生转变。在其他允许该公司自动驾驶出租车运营的城市，包括北京、上海和深圳，百度被要求在车上配备一名人类安全操作员。
重点词汇
1. permit: an official document that allows you to do something or go somewhere 许可证，特许证
- She has managed to obtain a temporary residence permit.
2. megacity: a very large city, especially one with more than 10 million people living in it 巨型城市
- The landscape will just become one undifferentiated sprawling megacity.
3. ride-hailing: used for or involved in the activity of asking for a car and driver to come immediately and take you somewhere 约车，叫车
- Do you use a ride-hailingapp?
4. notable: important and deserving attention, because of being very good or interesting 显要的；显著的
- Getting both sides to agree was a notable achievement.
5. robotaxi: a self-driving car that operates as a taxi in an e-hailing service; also known as robo-raxi, self-driving taxi or driverless taxi, is an autonomous car operated for a ridesharing company 自动驾驶出租车
- Several companies are testing robotaxi services, especially in the United States and in China.
延伸阅读
The permits will allow Baidu to provide fully driverless robotaxi services in designated areas in Wuhan from 9 am to 5 pm and in Chongqing from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm local time. Service will be limited at first, however, with just five robotaxis operating in each city.
百度被许可在武汉当地时间上午9点至下午5点和重庆当地时间上午9点30分至下午4点30分，在指定区域内提供全自动无人驾驶出租车服务。然而，该服务一开始将会受到限制，每座城市只允许有5辆自动驾驶出租车进行运营。
In the United States, robotaxi offerings remain extremely sparse and ridehailing giants like Uber and Lyft have abandoned in-house self-driving taxi efforts.
在美国，自动驾驶出租车服务仍然极其稀少，优步（Uber）和来福车（Lyft）等网约车巨头已经放弃了公司内的自动驾驶出租车。
In June, General Motors-backed Cruise gained permits in California to charge a fare for driverless rides in San Francisco. In July, however, Reuters reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into a crash of a Cruise self-driving vehicle that resulted in minor injuries.
今年6月，通用汽车旗下的Cruise在加州获得了许可证，可以在旧金山对无人驾驶出租车收费。然而，今年7月，路透社报道称，美国国家公路交通安全管理局对一起由Cruise自动驾驶汽车造成的撞车事故展开了调查，该事故造成轻伤。
