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Black cabs
黑的士
Rank protectionism
階級保護主義
A distorted market is becoming even more intolerable
畸形的市場越發難以忍受
Licensed to bill
授權開賬單
ALONG with red letterboxes and telephone booths, London's black taxis are touted as symbolic of the city. Fully 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 fixed 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 radius of central London. If they take a daft route to their destination it is usually deliberate.
和紅信箱、電話亭一樣，倫敦的黑出租也被當成城市的標志。25600位司機在首都大街上開車四處游蕩。他們擁有優先權：不像那些迷你的士，他們可以接到街邊打的的乘客，提供較為貴的以公里數計程的收費方式，而非支付固定數量的錢。全國打的平均費用是每兩公里5.77英鎊（9.56美元）；倫敦市是7.20英鎊。所有的出租車司機都要通過一場設立在以倫敦市中心為中心、半徑為六公里的所有街道的考試，以防他們選了一條繞遠的路到達目的地，雖然他們往往是故意這么做。
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 suburban areas, says Tom Moody of Transport for London (TfL).
但是要成為一名出租車司機越來越難。20世紀70年代，人們需要花費23個月完成等級考試。去年則需要50個月。計程車廣播公司CityFleet的Malcolm Paice抱怨：“用同樣長的一段時間，你都可以拿到博士學位了”。倫敦交通（TfL）的Tom Moody說，從2009年到2012年，倫敦出租車司機的人數增加了4%。面對考證的巨大障礙，越來越多的人都參加了只允許他們在市郊開黑的士的短期課程。
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，倫敦迷你出租車司機人數上升了19%，達到了67000人。他們并不該受到黑的士司機的蔑視。迷你出租車公司Addison Lee的老板說，自2004年規章制度、犯罪記錄審查制度引入之后，迷你出租車已經和黑的士有可比性了。各公司所有的出租車司機都要完成衛星導航系統上一次為期六周的課程—一些黑的士司機也要如此。Griffin先生說，這樣費用要便宜約三分之一。
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 shun 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車之間的區別更加明顯。至少有14000輛倫敦出租車和Hailo簽約合作，這個app于2011年被引入了倫敦，用以提供電招服務。Hailo的董事長Ron Zeghibe說，一些司機避免出租車等級化或者“街道工作”，用來支持那些通過該項服務預約的士的顧客。迷你出租車公司也有他們自己類似的app。一個名叫Greentomatocars的app使公司在一年之內的盈利翻了一番。
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 licensing 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 nurturing a dwindling trade, this could have the opposite effect. Black cabs might soon become as quaintly archaic as telephone booths.
兩種出租車之間的差距還有可能持續下去。4月，一個獨立機構——立法委員會將會發布一項關于出租車貿易的報告。其中很多的建議都會有助于倫敦以外迷你出租車的發展。大一些的如Addison Lee公司將會發現，隨著駕照規則的簡易化，公司擴張也會相應變得容易。但是倫敦的黑的士也可能會受到保護。他們仍將歸TfL管理；取得駕照的難度仍然很高。比起培養一個萎縮的貿易，這更可能會產生反作用。黑的士可能很快就會變的和電話亭一樣古怪過時。譯者：張丹 校對：周雨晴
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