Preparing Cities for Robot Cars【城市准备迎接自动驾驶汽车】

Preparing Cities for Robot Cars

The possibility of self-driving robot cars has often seemed like a futurist's dream, 

years away from materializing in the read world.

自动驾驶机器人汽车的可能性貌似看起来常常是未来主义者的梦想，在真实世界里的实现还要好几年。

Well, the future is apparently now.

然而，未来显然就在当下。

The California Department of Motor Vehicles began giving permits in April for 

companies to test truly self-driving cars on public roads.

今年四月，加州机动车管理局开始发放许可证，允许各公司在公共道路上测试真正的自动驾驶汽车。

The state also cleared the way for companies to sell or rent out self-driving cars, 

and for companies to operate driverless taxi services.

政府还为企业出售或出租自动驾驶汽车以及运营无人驾驶出租车服务扫清了障碍。

California, it should be noted, isn't leading the way here. Companies have been testing their

vehicles in cities across the country.

值得注意的是，加州在这方面并没有走在最前沿。各公司一直在全国各大城市测试他们的汽车。

It's hard to predict when driverless cars will be everywhere on our roads.

很难预测公路上何时能遍布无人驾驶汽车。

But however long it takes, the technology has the potential to change our transportation

systems and our cities, for better or for worse,

但是无论需要多长时间，这项技术都有可能改变我们的交通系统和城市，至于是好还是坏，

depending on how the transformation is regulated.

就取决于如何管理这种转变。

While much of the debate so far has been focused on the safety of driverless cars(and rightfully so),

虽然到目前为止大部分的讨论都集中在无人驾驶汽车的安全性上（这确有道理），

policymakers also should be talking about how self-driving vehicles can help reduce traffic jams,

cut emissions and offer more convenient, affordable mobility options.