用優步“打飛的” 你準備好了嗎？

還在爲堵車而煩惱？日前優步在紐約推出了直升機服務，所有蘋果手機用戶都可以直接下單打飛的，飛行時間8分鐘，單人單程200到225美元，雖然比打車貴，但比包機划算多啦！空中飛的時代真的要到來了嗎？

Uber is giving riders the option to skip the traffic jam and hail a helicopter to the airport instead, provided they can shell out the money.

優步用戶將有機會避開交通堵塞，乘網約直升機前往機場，只要他們能付得起錢。

The ride-hailing company expanded its helicopter service Thursday between lower Manhattan in New York City and John F. Kennedy International Airport, making it available to all Uber riders with iPhones instead of just those in the top tiers of its rewards program. Uber hopes to deploy it to Android users soon.

上週四（10月3日）主營預約叫車服務的優步公司將直升機服務推廣到了紐約市下曼哈頓區到肯尼迪機場的路段，相較於此前只針對積分最高的優步用戶，這次服務面向所有蘋果手機用戶。優步希望該服務不久後也能覆蓋到安卓手機用戶。

Uber’s helicopter ride will cost $200-225 one-way per person on average, but the price fluctuates depending on demand. Private helicopter flights, where customers charter an entire vehicle, typically cost thousands of dollars to fly to New York-area airports.

優步的直升機服務平均價格爲單程每人200到225美元（約合人民幣1429元到1608元），但是價格會根據需求而波動。私人包機飛到紐約地區的機場通常要花費數千美元。

charter[ˈtʃɑːrtər]: v. 包租

The move comes as helicopter use is growing in the region, with takeoffs and landings at New York City’s three major airports increasing 51% from 2015 to 2018, according to data from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

紐約和新澤西港務局的數據顯示，當前直升機使用在該地區日益增多，直升機在紐約市三大機場的起飛和着陸次數從2015年到2018年上升了51%。

Some helicopter companies are moving away from the exclusivity of chartered rides, selling by the seat instead of the entire helicopter, for what is essentially ride-sharing in the sky.

一些直升機公司正在拋棄包機的單一模式，轉爲按座位售票，在空中實現“拼機”。

Blade Urban Air Mobility, which offers shared helicopter flights from Manhattan to airports, the Hamptons and Nantucket, among other destinations, charges $195 to the airports each way. Its riders can book shared helicopter flights through a smartphone app less than an hour before takeoff. Voom, owned by plane maker Airbus, launched shared helicopter flights in San Francisco last week.

美國短途航空公司Blade Urban Air Mobility提供從曼哈頓到機場、漢普頓斯和楠塔基特島等路段的直升機共享服務，從各個路線到機場收費195美元。用戶可以在起飛前不到一個小時內通過智能手機應用來預約“拼機”。飛機制造商空客旗下的Voom公司上週在舊金山推出了直升機共享服務。

While Uber helicopters are far more expensive than public transit, and twice as much as some car services that can cost $100 or more during rush hour, the flight time between lower Manhattan and JFK is hard to beat: eight minutes. Uber cars will also pick up passengers on either end of the trip.

儘管優步直升機比公共交通要昂貴得多，一些打車服務在上下班高峯期可花費100美元甚至更多，而優步的價格是其兩倍，但其從下曼哈頓區到肯尼迪機場的飛行時間是難以超越的：8分鐘。在飛行前後優步網約車還將提供接送服務。

"We think that there are definitely customers for whom there’s a high value on time,” said Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate.

優步空中出租車的總裁埃裏克·艾利森說：“我們認爲網約直升機服務一定能吸引那些時間寶貴的客戶。”

Uber sees the helicopter rides as a step closer to achieving its goal to eventually deploy a much larger network of all-electric flying taxis, Allison said.

艾利森說，優步認爲，網約直升機的出現意味着距離最終實現全電氣化“飛的”大網絡的目標又近了一步。

Uber’s helicopters are owned and operated by a company called HeliFlite. The service is available weekdays from about 1 pm to 6 pm.

優步的直升機歸HeliFlite公司所有和運營。該服務在工作日的下午1點至6點開放。

Groups such as Stop the Chop have pushed to limit flights in New York, citing environmental and health impacts caused by helicopters, which contribute more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than cars. Helicopter noise complaints grew from 1,039 in 2018 to 1,589 in the first eight months of 2019, according to New York City’s 311 complaint line.

Stop the Chop等組織呼籲在紐約限制飛行，並列舉出直升機給環境和健康帶來的影響，指出直升機排放到大氣中的二氧化碳比汽車更多。根據紐約市的311投訴熱線，直升機噪音投訴從2018年的1039件上升到2019年前八個月的1589件。

"If we’re going to start being more mindful of the planet, that’s a good place to start, with helicopters, because 99% of the use of it is completely unnecessary,” said John Dellaportas, president of Stop the Chop.

Stop the Chop主席約翰·戴拉波塔斯說：“如果我們想要更關愛地球，直升機是個不錯的起點，因爲直升機99%的使用都是完全沒必要的。”