Uber’s Low-Tech Twist to Its Model
優步改善嘟嘟車服務品質
By Nida Najar

NEW DELHI – Auto rickshaws are the mangy donkeys of Delhi transport, glorified golf carts that are a cheaper open-air alternative to taxis, and whose drivers enthusiastically embrace Delhi’s perpetual, honking traffic chaos. Few use their meters without a fight.
嘟嘟車（亦即自動三輪車，或稱動力三輪車）是德里交通的癩驢子、華麗版的高爾夫球車，它是計程車便宜和露空的替代品，嘟嘟車司機熱情擁抱德里永無止盡、喇叭聲不斷的交通亂象。幾乎沒有一個司機會不先爭辯一番就心甘情願地按表計價。

Now Uber, the app-based car service that made its name matching technology with luxury, is trying to expand its ultramodern business model from cars to Delhi’s auto rickshaws. “Autos are pretty much the lifeline of Delhi,” said Gagan Bhatia, the general manager of Uber Delhi. “The product was always there, we are just making it more convenient and more Uber.”
現在，以應用程式（app）叫車，靠著把科技和奢華結合配搭而打響名號的「優步」（Uber），試圖把它的超現代商業模型從汽車延伸到德里的嘟嘟車。優步的德里分公司總經理加甘．巴提亞說：「嘟嘟車就像德里的生命線，這種產品一直都在那兒，我們只是讓它變得更便利和更像優步。」

“More Uber” in this case means making do with what exists. The three-wheeled vehicles are light on shock absorption to cushion rides over potholed streets. And seatbelts are not an option, leaving riders gripping their seats for security. But the company is trying, at least, for a new emphasis on niceties that have rarely been part of the auto rickshaw experience.
就這個例子而言，「更像優步」意味的是以現有的條件將就著做。這種三輪車行駛在坑坑疤疤的街道上，減緩顛簸的避震能力相當薄弱。而且車上沒有安全帶，讓乘坐的人只能抓緊座椅以保安全。然而，這家公司至少在努力強調一些過去幾乎不屬於坐嘟嘟車經驗的好品質。

“They tell us to say ‘namaste,’ “ a common Indian greeting, said Baljeet Kumar, 35, a driver or “autowallah.”
35歲的司機（印度文是autowallah）巴爾吉特．庫馬爾說，「他們告訴我們要說『namaste』（梵語，意思是「我向你的神性頂禮致敬」）」，一種印度常用的問候語。

Until now, his job demands had less to do with polite conversation than with the cunning it takes to navigate streets filled not only with cars and buses, but also cows and peddlers.
在此之前，他的工作要求與講究禮貌的交談關係不大，要緊的是在不只塞滿汽車和巴士，還有牛和小販的街道上穿梭所需要的機靈。

Uber encourages drivers to use their meters, and pays its drivers an additional 40 rupees, or just over 60 cents, per ride on top of the fare, according to drivers. It also encourages drivers to live by the three-rider limit and to use GPS on the smartphones it provides rather than the usual method of finding directions to an unknown address – shouting to passers-by to see if they know the way.
嘟嘟車的司機們說，優步鼓勵司機使用計程表，每趟再多付給司機40盧比，相當於60美分多一點。同時優步也鼓勵司機遵守最多載三人的規定，並且使用公司提供的智慧型手機上的全球定位系統（GPS），而不是前往陌生地址的一貫找路方法－對著路人大吼，問他們知不知道路怎麼走。

For Uber, the new service, which started in April, is part of an effort to expand quickly in a country that it says is already its second largest market, but where it faces stiff competition. Ola, an app-based competitor that operates in 100 Indian cities to Uber’s 11, offered auto rickshaw rides months ago.
對優步來說，今年四月開始的這項新服務，是在這個國家快速擴展所做的努力之一，優步說印度已是它的第二大市場，但面臨嚴峻競爭。以app叫車的競爭對手Ola在印度100個城市營運，優步只有在11個城市，而Ola幾個月前就開始提供嘟嘟車的服務了。

Uber is also fighting its way back from a public relations disaster. Last year, a passenger in Delhi alleged that her Uber driver raped her, and the company faced criticism for its screening procedures. The city banned app-based taxi services, but Uber has continued to operate by offering rides in Delhi without taking a commission, until what they describe as the regulatory ambiguity is resolved.
優步也正奮力從一場公關災難中脫身。去年，德里的一名乘客指控她的優步司機性侵她，公司篩檢司機的程序也因而受到批評。德里當局禁止app叫計程車服務，但優步繼續在德里營運，提供載人服務，但暫時不收手續費，直到該公司所謂監管規定不明確的問題解決為止。

Even apart from that episode, the marriage of Uber and auto rickshaw has had its share of problems. Mr. Kumar said that most of the drivers in his training class of 60 had no idea how to use the app on the Samsung smartphones they were given. “It’s all in English,” he said. Ola has its driver interface in Hindi and other regional languages. Plus, many auto drivers he knows are reluctant to sign up, wondering how Uber makes money. They wonder if Uber will one day take their vehicles, he said.
即使沒有這段插曲，優步和嘟嘟車的結合也有不少問題。庫馬爾說，他受訓的這一班有60名司機，大部分不知道如何使用公司給他們的三星智慧型手機上的app。他說：「全部是英文。」Ola的司機使用印度文和其他方言的手機介面。而且，他認識的許多嘟嘟車司機不願意簽約，想知道優步如何賺錢。他說，他們想知道會不會有朝一日，優步拿走他們的車子。

The company is not making money from the auto rickshaws in Delhi, putting its emphasis on signing up new drivers. Mr. Bhatia would not divulge the number of auto rickshaws that have joined the service, other than to say “not enough.”
這家公司還沒有從德里的嘟嘟車賺到錢，目前把重點放在簽下新的司機。巴提亞沒有透露已經加入服務的嘟嘟車有多少部，只說：「還不夠多。」

Despite its difficulties, Uber has had some successes. On three recent auto rickshaw rides booked through Uber, the drivers did not attempt the normal litany of reasons for not turning on their meters (“Madam, there’s lot of traffic.” Or, “Madam, it’s Sunday.” Instead, they started the ride by quietly clicking on their meters
儘管有諸多困難，優步卻已獲致一些成功。最近透過優步預約的三趟嘟嘟車，司機不再嘗試搬出不按表的理由苦苦哀求。（「夫人，交通太塞了。」或「夫人，今天是星期天。」相反地，他們默默按下計程表，開始這趟行程。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/world/asia/uber-adds-a-low-tech-twist-to-its-modern-business-model-in-india.html

2015-05-19聯合報/G5版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 田思怡譯 原文參見紐時週報七版右