AS IT IS 2016-05-11 General Motors, Lyft Partner to Develop Driverless Taxis

AS IT IS 2016-05-11 General Motors, Lyft Partner to Develop Driverless Taxis

The American car-maker General Motors and Lyft Incorporated, a ride-sharing service, reportedly will start testing GM automobiles¹ as driverless taxis. 

The Wall Street Journal says the companies could be offering service “within a year.”

The newspaper said the tests will involve GM’s electric-powered Chevrolet Bolt. But it did not say where the first test will take place.

GM has reportedly invested $500 million in Lyft Inc. The partnership² is seen as a way to compete against Uber, another ride-sharing company.

GM also is planning to buy Cruise Automation Inc. for a reported $1 billion. The California-based company has been developing self-driving car technology for two years, the newspaper reported.

The move is seen as a way for the automaker to sell the Bolt. It will be available later this year in a market for electric cars that the Journal described as “soft.”

It is also seen as a way for GM to compete with U.S. technology companies interested in building driverless cars.

Both Tesla Motors and Alphabet Inc. have been developing such vehicles for years. Alphabet is part of the U.S. technology company Google.

Lyft reportedly is also developing driverless cars at its own research center in Pennsylvania. The company “is preparing for autonomous³ vehicles in its fleet by 2020,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

It added that improvements in driverless cars are hurt by “a patchwork⁴ of regulations that govern the use of autonomous vehicles and liabilities.”

The Wall Street Journal said Lyft will have drivers in the cars “ready to intervene” should something go wrong.

Words in This Story

taxis – n. cars that carry passengers to a place for an amount of money that is based on the distance traveled

soft – adj. gentle in manner; not strong

patchwork – n. something that is made up of different things

autonomous – adj. existing or acting⁵ separately from other things or people

liability – n. the state of being responsible for something

1 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

4 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。