最近幾年，電子商務(wù)在世界各地蓬勃發(fā)展，而中國已經(jīng)成為全世界最大的電子商務(wù)市場。有機(jī)構(gòu)預(yù)計，中國2019年的網(wǎng)上零售額將增長30%，達(dá)到近2萬億美元（約合人民幣13.76億元），占到全球網(wǎng)上零售總額的一半以上。2009年至2018年，美國郵政局投遞的包裹數(shù)量翻了一番，達(dá)到每年62億個。與此同時，快遞交通安全、包裝垃圾回收等問題也開始凸顯。

Digital commerce is exacting a very analog toll on the streets of Shanghai. According to the city’s Information Office, there were 325 traffic accidents -- and five deaths -- involving delivery drivers during the first half of 2019.

數(shù)字商務(wù)正給上海的交通造成切實(shí)損失。根據(jù)上海市政府新聞辦公室的消息，今年上半年，上海市共發(fā)生涉及快遞、外賣行業(yè)各類道路交通事故325起，造成5人死亡。

China is the world’s biggest e-commerce market and more than 80% of those drivers were dropping off packages and meals for services such as Meituan Dianping and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Ele.Me. It’s a sign of how fast the market is expanding: For the whole of 2017, there were only 117 delivery-related accidents in the city.

中國是全球最大的電子商務(wù)市場。在上述事故中，超過80%的快遞員在為美團(tuán)點(diǎn)評和阿里巴巴旗下餓了么等公司投遞包裹和送餐。這標(biāo)志著市場的飛速擴(kuò)張：2017年全年，上海市僅發(fā)生了117起涉及快遞的交通事故。

Shanghai's data highlights a global problem: Cities are unprepared to absorb the physical impact of e-commerce. For now, most problems don’t yet rise above the level of annoyances. But the risks will grow quickly if developers and municipal leaders don’t start to account for e-commerce when developing urban regulations and infrastructure.

這一數(shù)據(jù)凸顯出一個全球性問題：城市還沒有準(zhǔn)備好應(yīng)對電子商務(wù)帶來的實(shí)際影響。目前，大多數(shù)問題暫時還只是有些惱人。但如果在制定城市法規(guī)和建設(shè)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施時，開發(fā)商和市政部門尚未開始將電子商務(wù)納入考量，風(fēng)險就會迅速增加。

As with many technological innovations, early boosters of e-commerce championed its environmental virtues. Digital shopping was portrayed as a healthier way to consume. Grouped deliveries would replace the individual trip to the shop, thereby reducing traffic and carbon emissions. Fewer brick-and-mortar stores, especially in suburban locations, would allow for more productive and sustainable uses of space, including by health care facilities and parks.

與眾多技術(shù)創(chuàng)新一樣，早期的電子商務(wù)推動者宣揚(yáng)電商更加環(huán)保。網(wǎng)上購物曾被描述成一種更加健康的消費(fèi)方式。分組送貨將取代個人前往商店購物，從而減少交通流量和碳排放量。實(shí)體店的減少將使人們能夠更加高效和更可持續(xù)地利用城市空間，包括增加醫(yī)療設(shè)施和公園，這在郊區(qū)尤為顯著。

champion ['t??mp??n]：vt.支持；擁護(hù)

brick-and-mortar store：實(shí)體店

The industry has grown exponentially since those early days, however. Between 2009 and 2018, the number of parcels delivered by the US Postal Service doubled to 6.2 billion annually. The mountains of cardboard in apartment trash rooms are proof: In New York, roughly four in 10 residents receive at least one delivery per week.

然而，從早期開始這一行業(yè)就在快速發(fā)展。自2009年至2018年，美國郵政局投遞的包裹數(shù)量翻了一番，達(dá)到每年62億個。公寓垃圾處理室里堆積如山的紙板就是明證：在紐約，大約四成的居民每周至少收到一份快遞。

exponentially [?eksp???nen??l?]：adv.以指數(shù)方式

And many packages are sent to offices rather than homes, during peak business hours. In Germany, freight transportation accounts for only 30% of all traffic but 80% of peak-hour inner-city traffic.

而且，很多快遞包裹都是在工作高峰時段遞送到辦公室而不是家里。在德國，貨運(yùn)只占全部交通量的30%，但卻占到市中心高峰時段交通量的80%。

In London, where congestion charges have reduced the number of private cars on the road during the day, delivery vans and ride-hailing services such as Uber have more than made up the difference. Researchers in Seattle found that roughly half of the trucks making deliveries downtown parked illegally, blocking and slowing other traffic.

在倫敦，擁堵費(fèi)降低了白天上路的私家車數(shù)量，而貨車和優(yōu)步等叫車服務(wù)又使得路上車輛大增。西雅圖的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，在市中心運(yùn)送貨物的卡車中，約有一半違章停車，導(dǎo)致交通堵塞，車行緩慢。

Then there's China, where just one food-delivery company -- Meituan -- employs 600,000 drivers to serve 400 million customers annually in 2,800 cities. Drivers mostly use electrified two-wheelers that swerve through traffic and along sidewalks, and park pretty much wherever a delivery is to be made. The swarm of e-bikes clogging sidewalks has even prompted irate columns in media outlets that ordinarily cheer on China's e-commerce champions.

再來看看中國。在中國，僅美團(tuán)一家送餐公司就雇傭了近60萬名騎手，每年在2800個城市為4億多消費(fèi)者服務(wù)。騎手們大多騎乘兩輪電動車，穿梭于車流和人行道上，而且?guī)缀蹩梢酝Ｔ谌魏涡枰拓浀牡胤?。大量的電動自行車堵塞了人行道，甚至在通常為中國電子商?wù)巨頭們叫好的媒體上引發(fā)了憤怒的批評。

swerve[sw??v]：vi.轉(zhuǎn)彎；突然轉(zhuǎn)向

clog [kl?g]：v.阻塞

The problem is only going to get worse. In Seattle, home of Amazon.com Inc., a compound annual e-commerce growth rate of 20% between 2018 and 2023 is expected to more than double goods deliveries. The numbers for China are even more staggering: Online retail sales are projected to grow by 30% in 2019 and reach nearly $2 trillion, accounting for more than half of all global online retail sales.

這些問題只會變得更糟糕。在亞馬遜公司總部所在地西雅圖，預(yù)計在2018到2023年間，電子商務(wù)的復(fù)合年增長率將達(dá)到20%，貨物配送量將增長一倍以上。中國的數(shù)字更驚人：預(yù)計中國2019年的網(wǎng)上零售額將增長30%，達(dá)到近2萬億美元（約合13.76萬億元人民幣），占到全球網(wǎng)上零售總額的一半以上。

There are no easy fixes. Ticketing or towing delivery trucks for parking in bike lanes and blocking roads is emotionally satisfying for those inconvenienced, but will only address symptoms rather than underlying causes. To do that will require far more creative partnerships between cities, e-commerce companies and housing owners and developers.

沒有簡單的解決辦法。對于感到不便的人來說，給停在自行車道或堵塞道路的送貨卡車開罰單或是把它們拖走，可能會在情緒上得到滿足，但卻是治標(biāo)不治本。要從根本上解決問題，就需要城市、電子商務(wù)公司、業(yè)主和開發(fā)商之間建立更具創(chuàng)造性的伙伴關(guān)系。

For instance, New York and other cities have demonstrated that providing incentives for off-peak deliveries (or forbidding peak-hour ones) can help reduce urban congestion. More bike lanes and parking spots would cut down on accidents and traffic in developing-world cities such as Shanghai.

例如，紐約和其他一些城市已經(jīng)證明，鼓勵非高峰時段（或禁止高峰時段）送貨有助于緩解城市擁堵。在上海等發(fā)展中國家城市，更多的自行車道和停車位將減少交通事故和交通量。

Municipal governments should consider requiring new multi-unit developments to include space for delivery parking. They could work with e-commerce companies to set up lockers near transit hubs in order to reduce the number of delivery stops. Long-term, companies could look for opportunities to partner with one another on deliveries and consolidate individual shipments.

市政府應(yīng)考慮要求新建小區(qū)設(shè)置快遞停車位。小區(qū)還可以與電子商務(wù)公司合作，在轉(zhuǎn)運(yùn)中心附近設(shè)置快遞柜，以減少送貨途中的停車次數(shù)。從長遠(yuǎn)來看，電子商務(wù)公司之間可以找機(jī)會開展送貨合作，整合個人快遞。

Finally, public education campaigns could better inform consumers about the impact of e-commerce on the shared urban environment. More than a few customers might choose to forgo some individual convenience for a safer and less chaotic city.

最后，公眾教育活動可以讓消費(fèi)者更好地了解到電子商務(wù)對共享城市環(huán)境的影響。很多消費(fèi)者可能會為了更安全和更有秩序的城市而選擇放棄一些個人的便利。

forgo [f??'g??; f?-]：vt.放棄；停止

英文來源：彭博社

翻譯&編輯：yaning