美國(guó)的第一家無(wú)人駕駛出租車服務(wù)公司花了6個(gè)月的時(shí)間才迎來(lái)了第1000個(gè)顧客。這個(gè)跡象也表明，雖然一些公司正在圍繞無(wú)人駕駛技術(shù)打造業(yè)務(wù)，但它的增長(zhǎng)卻可能非常緩慢。

Alphabet旗下的無(wú)人駕駛汽車公司W(wǎng)aymo上周二宣布，它的網(wǎng)約車服務(wù)終于在鳳凰城郊區(qū)迎來(lái)了自己的第1000名顧客。該公司CEO約翰·克拉夫西克稱這是舉有里程碑意義的一刻，同時(shí)表示，該公司將允許亞利桑那州的部分Lyft用戶使用Waymo的網(wǎng)約車服務(wù)。Waymo目前是唯一一家在公共道路上運(yùn)載付費(fèi)用戶的無(wú)人駕駛公司，不過(guò)很多時(shí)候，它的無(wú)人駕駛汽車還是受人類安全員監(jiān)控的。

1000名顧客的成績(jī)，既奠定了Waymo在無(wú)人駕駛領(lǐng)域的早期領(lǐng)軍者地位，也突顯了該行業(yè)發(fā)展步伐的緩慢。作為有人駕駛網(wǎng)約車的市場(chǎng)領(lǐng)軍者，Uber在全球 擁有9000多萬(wàn)名用戶。

Waymo從2017年4月開(kāi)始接受乘客，一開(kāi)始Waymo采取了免費(fèi)試用政策，然后從去年12月開(kāi)始允許少量付費(fèi)用戶使用。乘客必須居住在服務(wù)區(qū)里——這個(gè)區(qū)域大約有100平方英里，包括錢德勒和鳳凰城東南的梅薩、吉爾伯特和坦佩等地的部分區(qū)域。此外，他們還得申請(qǐng)到一張Waymo的邀請(qǐng)函才能報(bào)名。

目前，由Waymo改裝的克萊斯勒太平洋面包車在該地區(qū)已經(jīng)是司空見(jiàn)慣了。在上月底的一次演示中，Waymo的兩名媒體官員和安全員用手機(jī)APP召喚來(lái)了一輛無(wú)人駕駛出租車，靠邊停在了錢德勒?qǐng)D書館附近的一個(gè)小巷里。一名Waymo的員工設(shè)定了目的地——4英里外一家商場(chǎng)的梅西百貨。

在乘客上車時(shí)，安全員將雙手放在膝蓋上，一言不發(fā)。他面前的方向盤上寫著一句警告信息：“不要觸碰方向盤或踏板?！比绻@樣做了，面包車就會(huì)靠邊停車。

在長(zhǎng)度為8英里的往返行程中，無(wú)人汽車駕駛得很平穩(wěn)，遇到紅燈會(huì)停車，加速減速也很均勻。左轉(zhuǎn)、會(huì)車等都是在無(wú)保護(hù)的情況下完成的。在右轉(zhuǎn)時(shí)，車子會(huì)慢慢向前挪動(dòng)匯入車流。如果不是親眼看見(jiàn)沒(méi)有人握著方向盤，任誰(shuí)都猜不到這是一輛無(wú)人駕駛汽車。

無(wú)人駕駛汽車與有人駕駛汽車最明顯的區(qū)別，就是Waymo的機(jī)器人程序會(huì)不厭其煩地提示車輛變道信息。

Waymo這一路的表現(xiàn)雖然堪稱完美，但也有幾點(diǎn)是需要注意的。一是Waymo選擇的時(shí)間是春天的一個(gè)晴朗的工作的上午，視線和路況都很好；二是它選擇的路線基本上都是寬闊的馬路，而且最高限速不超過(guò)每小時(shí)45英里。在叫車前，Waymo的工作人員走了好幾個(gè)街區(qū)，從一條繁忙的街道走到圖書館旁一條冷冷清清的小巷。這一路的交通都很順暢，行人也非常少。最令人意外的情況，也只是路上靠邊停了一輛卡車，但它旁邊也有兩個(gè)錐形的交通路標(biāo)保護(hù)著。

安全員仍然是無(wú)人駕駛汽車的“可靠配置”之一。31歲的錢德勒居民阿德里安娜·穆尼奧斯從去年8月份起成為了Waymo的用戶，她表示：“駕駛座那里總是坐著一個(gè)人，有時(shí)副駕駛上還有一個(gè)人。我期待著有一天，我進(jìn)去之后，發(fā)現(xiàn)車?yán)镆粋€(gè)人也沒(méi)有，那就太酷了?！?/p>

到目前為止，穆尼奧斯已經(jīng)乘坐Waymo的無(wú)人駕駛汽車出行了15次，包括跟兒子一起乘坐Waymo去過(guò)星巴克、健身房和餐館。在工作日的時(shí)候，她一般自己開(kāi)車去鳳凰城上班，只有周末在服務(wù)區(qū)范圍內(nèi)活動(dòng)時(shí)才會(huì)乘坐Waymo。她覺(jué)得Waymo的駕駛風(fēng)格跟自己很像：“Waymo變道時(shí)會(huì)保持比較長(zhǎng)的安全車距，如果換成是駕駛風(fēng)格更激進(jìn)的司機(jī)，可能一打方向盤就拐過(guò)去了。”

在穆尼奧斯眼中，籠罩在無(wú)人駕駛技術(shù)上的神秘光環(huán)已經(jīng)開(kāi)始消退了。不過(guò)這或許也恰恰證明了Waymo正在潛移默化進(jìn)入亞利桑那人的生活。她表示：“我坐車的時(shí)候大多數(shù)時(shí)間都在打電話，它無(wú)非只是一輛帶我去某個(gè)地方的汽車而已?！?span>（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：樸成奎

The first major self-driving taxi service needed six months to reach 1,000 customers, another sign that growth may be slow as companies try to build businesses around autonomous vehicles.

Waymo, the self-driving project owned by Alphabet, announced on Tuesday that it has enrolled 1,000 customers for its ride-hailing service in suburban Phoenix. Chief Executive Officer John Krafcik touted the milestone while revealing plans to allow select Lyft users in Arizona to hail Waymo taxis. The Google off-shoot is currently the only self-driving company carrying paying customers on public roads, although often monitored by human safety drivers.

Crossing the 1,000 rider mark both solidifies Waymo’s status as the early leader in the autonomous race and underscores the plodding pace of advancement in the industry. Uber, the market leader in ride-hailing with human drivers, counts more than 90 million users worldwide.

Waymo began accepting passengers in April 2017, part of a free-to-use pilot program, and allowed access to a limited number of paying customers last December. Riders have to live in the service area—roughly 100-square miles including Chandler and parts of Mesa, Gilbert, and Tempe southeast of Phoenix—and apply for an invite from Waymo in order to enroll.

By now, the sight of Waymo’s retrofitted Chrysler Pacifica minivans has become commonplace in the area. In a demo late last month, with two Waymo press officials and a safety driver on hand, a robotaxi summoned by the app pulled over in a cul-de-sac near the Chandler library. A Waymo employee selected for the destination a Macy’s store at a mall, about four miles away.

The safety driver sat wordlessly, hands in his lap, as the passengers boarded. “Do not touch the steering wheel or pedals,” read a message on the wheel in front of him. If he did, the text warned, the van would pull over.

The robot drove smoothly during an eight-mile round trip, stopping at red lights, changing speeds evenly, and completing unprotected left turns and merges. The software nudged its way forward before making a right turn into traffic. Anyone who couldn’t see the untouched steering wheel might not have guessed that it was a self-driving car.

The most obvious difference from a human driver? The Waymo robot unfailingly announced lane changes.

The flawless performance comes with caveats: Waymo picked the time (mid-morning on a sunny weekday in spring) and the trip (a straight shot on wide avenues with maximum speeds of 45 miles per hour). Before hailing the car, the Waymo handler walked a couple blocks from a busy street to the little-used library cul-de-sac. Traffic was light throughout, and there were very few pedestrians. The closest thing to a surprise was a truck on the side of the road protected by a pair of traffic cones.

Safety drivers continue to be a reliable presence. “I’ve always had somebody in the driver’s seat, and then sometimes we’ll have an additional person [on the passenger side],” said Adriana Munoz, a 31-year-old Chandler resident who has been a Waymo rider since last August. “I’m looking forward to that time where I can just get in and there’s no one there. That’d be really cool.”

Munoz, who was made available for an interview by Waymo, has taken about 15 trips so far, going to Starbucks, the gym, and restaurants with her son. She commutes in her own car to Phoenix daily and prefers Waymo on weekends, for trips within the service area. The driving, she said, is mostly similar to her own: “They find that good open gap versus maybe somebody that’s more of an aggressive driver would actually take that left-hand turn.”

Perhaps the greatest testament to Waymo’s progress in Arizona is that, for Munoz, the magic of self-driving has already begun to fade. “Most of the time, I’m on my phone,” she said. “It’s just a car taking me someplace.”