Cruise Control | IIP Digital

定速而行

American pop-culture history is filled with romantic references to cars. They’re celebrated in songs and movies, with young people eager to acquire the symbol of adulthood, freedom and overall coolness. But for increasing numbers of teens and young adults, the automobile today has a different image: one shaped by the high cost of buying it, the hassle of learning to operate it, and the fact that it is just not that important to their social lives.

美国流行文化史中有大量与汽车有关的浪漫说法。它们在歌曲和电影中被加以赞美，成为年轻人渴望长大成人、获得自由和总体“酷”感的象征。然而如今，对越来越多的少年和年轻人而言，买车昂贵，学车麻烦，而且车对他们的社交生活已不那么重要，因此与汽车相联的形象已不同以往。

Is young America done with car culture? Some recent studies suggest that is the case. Teens and 20-somethings are delaying getting driver’s licenses, buying fewer cars, and covering fewer kilometers when they do drive.

美国年轻人是否脱离了车文化？最近的一些研究表明的确如此。十几岁和二十几岁的人正在延迟取得驾驶执照、购车人数减少，即便驾车，行程里数也在缩短。

And the cool factor? It’s not what it used to be. The toy of choice is more likely to be the latest version of a smartphone.

那么，降温因素是什么？今非昔比。现在选择的玩具更可能是最新版的智能手机。

“There’s been this cultural shift, ’’ said Tony Dutzik, analyst at the Boston-based Frontier Group. In an earlier generation, “car culture was a defining thing. Your social status as a young person was defined in part by the kind of car you had. Your level of freedom was defined by your ability to travel. A lot of that is less resonant for the current generation.”

位于波士顿（Boston）的新前沿集团（Frontier Group）分析师托尼‧杜齐克（Tony Dutzik）指出：“这是一个文化转型。对前一代人而言，车文化是个有决定意义的因素。一个年轻人的社会地位在一定程度上是由你拥有哪种车来界定的。你的自由度是由你旅行的能力来界定的。对当前一代人来说这不再那么重要了。”

Only half of teenagers get a driver’s license before turning 18, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, whereas closer to 70 percent did a few decades ago.

根据美国）车协会的交通安全基金会（AAAFoundation for Traffic Safety）的统计，仅有一半的青少年在18岁以前获得驾驶执照，而在几十年以前这个比例将近70%。

Young adults are increasingly moving to urban areas, where it is easier to get around without a car, Dutzik said.

杜齐克说，越来越多的年轻人正在迁往市区，没有车外出不很困难。

“It’s more acceptable now, for economic, health or environmental reasons, for people to ride bikes, walk or use public transportation, ’’ University of Michigan researcher Brandon Schoettle said.

密歇根大学（University of Michigan）研究员布兰登‧舍特（Brandon Schoettle）说：“出于经济、健康和环境的原因，人们骑自行车、步行或使用公共交通现在更得到认可。”

Colby Reese of Miami Beach, Florida, was 15 when he got his first car — “the first thing I wanted to spend money on.’’ He washed it every day, even though he wasn’t old enough to drive it. Now, the 36-year-old Reese is senior marketing director at DecoBike, a company that runs bicycle-share programs in Florida and New York. Such programs allow people to rent a bike at one location and drop it off somewhere else.

佛罗里达州迈阿密海滩（Miami Beach, Florida）的科尔比‧里斯（Colby Reese）15岁时得到他的第一部车——“我想花钱买的第一件东西。”他每天清洗它，尽管他还不到驾车的年龄。现在，36岁的里斯是佛罗里达州和纽约州（(New York）经营共用自行车业务的公司DecoBike的资深营销主任。这类营业方式可让人们在一个地方租自行车而在另一地方归还。

In California, where numerous bike-share programs exist, people find that they don’t need cars anymore to stay in touch, said Dave Snyder, director of the California Bicycle Coalition. “People crave connection, and as the ability to connect with smartphones and the Internet and Twitter grows, people don’t need to get into their cars and go to the local hangout, ’’ he said.

加利福尼亚州自行车联合体（California Bicycle Coalition）主管戴夫‧斯奈德（Dave Snyder）表示，在有很多共用自行车业务运营的加利福尼亚州，人们发现，他们不再需要靠汽车来保持联系。“人们渴望互相联系，而由于与智能手机和互联网以及推特的连接能力扩大，人们不需要驾车前往当地的老地方聚会。”

That’s supported by a Gartner study. The technology research firm finds that 46 percent of people aged 18–24 would choose Internet access over having their own car.

这一点得到加特纳公司（Gartner）一项研究的支持。这家技术研究企业发现，46%的年龄在18至24岁的人会选择有上网机会，而不是有自己的汽车。

22 percent of 20-somethings answered “never” to the state of Michigan’s question: When will you get a driver’s license?

在二十几岁的人口中，针对密歇根州（Michigan）提问“你将于何时取得驾驶执照”，有22%的回答是：“永远不会”。

Bike-Shares Take Off

共用自行车业务腾飞

Bike-share programs are in more than 500 cities in 49 countries, with a combined fleet of more than 500, 000 bicycles.

49个国家中的500多个城市有共用自行车业务，共有超过500,000辆自行车。

There are 79 bike-share programs in China, leading the world with 351, 070 bicycles.

中国有 79个共用自行车业务服务，拥有自行车351,070辆，在世界领先。