A venture firm and a major taxi company last Monday began a trial of passenger-carrying autonomous¹ taxi services with an eye on launching the full service around 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympics and the Paralympics.

上周一，一家风投公司和一家大型出租车公司开始试运行搭载乘客的自动驾驶出租车服务，目标是到2020年左右，东京主办奥运会和残奥会时能全面推出这一服务。

ZMP Inc, a Tokyo-based developer of autonomous driving technology, and Hinomaru Kotsu Co, said they are the first in the world to offer autonomous taxi services to fare-paying passengers in the test.

总部位于东京的自动驾驶技术开发商ZMP和日之丸交通称，他们是全球率先在测试中为付费乘客提供自动驾驶出租车服务的企业。

In the trial, a minivan equipped with sensors² and other autonomous technologies makes four round trips a day between commercial facilities in Tokyo's Otemachi and Roppongi districts.

试运行中，一辆装有传感器和其他自动驾驶技术的迷你厢式车，每天将在东京大手町和六本木区的商业设施间往返四次。

The autonomous taxi will start, stop and turn the vehicle, but a driver and an assistant will be on board to ensure safety.

这辆自动驾驶出租车将会启动，停驶和转弯，但车上将配有一位司机和一位助理以确保安全。

Passengers solicited³ in advance will unlock the door and make payments through a smartphone app, paying 1,500 yen⁴ for a one-way ride.

提前叫车的乘客将可打开门锁，并通过智能手机应用付费，单程价格为1500日元。

A 45-year-old male passenger from Tokyo's Toshima Ward⁵ who got on the first autonomous taxi said, "It was such a natural ride that I almost forgot it was a self-driving car. I felt the advancement⁶ of technology."

来自东京丰岛区的一位45岁的男性乘客乘坐了第一辆自动驾驶出租车，他表示：“此次乘车体验非常自然，以致于我几乎都忘记它是一辆自动驾驶汽车了。我感受到了科技的进步。”

Autonomous driving services are viewed as a way to address the shortage of drivers in Tokyo and the increasing demand for taxis by foreign visitors to Japan.

自动驾驶服务可解决东京司机短缺以及外国游客对日本出租车需求增加等问题。

Hopes for self-driving taxis are also high in rural areas, where taxi companies face serious labor shortages, according to experts.

据专家介绍，在出租车公司面临严重劳动力短缺的农村地区，人们对自动驾驶出租车的期望也很高。