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File picture shows London taxis blocking the Mall leading to Buchingham Palace during a protest by drivers against mobile phone app Uber (AFP Photo/Carl Court)
伦敦出租车堵住购物中心通往白金汉宫的通路，此时出租车司机正抗议打车软件 - 优步。（法新社图片/卡尔﹒科特）
Unlike many American startups, Uber was not founded in someone's garage, but was conceived instead on a cold night in Paris, when two tech entrepreneurs could not find a taxi.
与许多白手起家的美国公司不同，优步不是成立在某人的车库里；而是在巴黎的一个寒冬，两个打不到车的技术型企业家的金点子。
Uber chief Travis Kalanick and co-founder Garrett Camp were attending the technology conference Le Web in late 2008, where they were brainstorming ideas for a new venture -- in Kalanick's terms, "jamming" like jazz musicians.
2008年末，优步的首席执行官崔维斯﹒卡兰尼克和合作创始人格瑞特﹒坎普参加了Le Web互联网技术大会。在那里，他们构思出一种全新的产业 – 用卡兰尼克的话说，优步是灵光闪现的产物，就像爵士乐者的‘即兴表演'。
"There are two cities in the world that I think are the worst to get a cab -- Paris and San Francisco," Kalanick, now 38, said at a 2012 presentation in Chicago.
38岁的卡兰尼克在2012年芝加哥的优步介绍会上说：“全世界最难打车的两个城市，我认为是巴黎和旧金山，”
"The idea of pushing a button and getting a ride was a magical one," he said at another event.
他也在其他场合说过：“只要按一下按钮就能即刻享受接送服务，这是个很诱人的点子。”
The plan that began as a "timeshare limousine" service using luxury vehicles has allowed San Francisco-based Uber to grow into one of the world's largest startups, valued at some $40 billion, with operations in more than 200 cities in 54 countries around the world.
使用豪华轿车提供‘豪车租赁'服务的计划使旧金山起家的优步成长为世界上最大的创业公司之一，市值超过400亿美元，经营范围遍布全球200多个城市、54个国家。
But Uber's growth has also generated frictions with existing taxi operations, and posed challenges for regulators.
但在成长过程中，优步与现有的出租行业难免产生摩擦，同时也向行业管理者提出了新的挑战。
While the idea began as a way for Kalanick and his friends to get a high-class ride, Uber and its chief now see their venture as a crusade against an entrenched taxi industry that, according to the startup, fails to serve consumers.
一开始，卡兰尼克和他的朋友只是想获得高质量的接送服务；但现在，优步公司和领导人将其视为对抗出租行业的一次‘圣战'。根据优步的说法，这些势力庞大的出租车公司未能向客户提供很好的服务。
In cities around the world, the regulated taxi industry "feels threatened by our high quality service and quick response time," Kalanick said in a 2013 interview with AFP.
在全球各个城市，出租车公司“觉得受到优步高质量服务和快速响应的威胁”。这是卡兰尼克在2013年接受法新社采访时的原话。
In most areas, "the taxi industry is used to being protected by rules and lobbying efforts that shield them from competition," he said.
在大部分的地区，“出租公司已经习惯了受到行规和游说团体的保护，这使他们不必参与竞争。”
- Disruptive force -
- 破坏性的力量 –
Uber does not employ drivers or own its vehicles, but instead uses independent contractors with their own cars. As such it has become a key player in the "sharing economy", which allows the drivers to operate their own business, along with its risks and profits.
优步并不雇佣司机，也没有自己的出租车；取而代之的是使用独立承包商和他们的汽车。这样的话，优步将成为‘分享经济'中的一个重量级玩家，使司机能自行经营、承担风险和利润。
Taxi drivers hold a banner during a protest against the app Uber, in Madrid on October 14, 2014 (AFP Photo/Pedro Armestre)
2014年10月14日，在马德里的一次示威活动中，出租车司机举牌抗议优步软件。（法新社图片/佩德罗﹒阿姆斯特里）
A study commissioned by Uber and led by Princeton economist Alan Kreuger found Uber drivers "generally receive higher earnings" than taxi drivers -- about $6 per hour more in the United States -- but that comparison is difficult because Uber drivers must pay certain expenses.
优步和普林斯顿的经济学家奥兰﹒克鲁格发起的一项研究显示，美国优步司机比普通出租司机“通常收入更高” – 每小时时薪高6美元 – 但这种比较是困难的，因为优步司机必须支付某些费用。
The study concluded that "most driver-partners do not turn to Uber out of desperation or because they face an absence of other opportunities in the job market... but rather because the nature of the work, the flexibility, and the compensation appeals to them."
研究总结：“大部分司机选择优步的原因不是因为绝望，或无法在招聘市场上找到其他工作机会 … 而是优步这份工作的性质 - 更加弹性化的工作时间和更具吸引力的报酬。”
Uber allows consumers to use a smartphone app to locate a driver -- in some cities with several classes of service -- and instantly book a ride. The company motto vows to be "everyone's private driver".
客户可以使用智能手机上的优步软件来定位司机 – 在某些城市提供不同档次的服务 – 和及时订车。优步公司的口号是：“您的专属司机”。
Since launching in 2010, Uber has also been the prime example of a "disruptive" economic force. Taxi drivers in dozens of cities have staged protests against Uber, and regulators in many cities have sought to shut it down.
成立于2010年，优步成为了分享经济 - 这股“破坏性”力量的最佳范例。几十个城市的出租车司机已经发起了针对优步的抗议，许多城市的出租车行业管理者都已经试图终止优步的业务。
New Delhi banned Uber from operating in the Indian capital after a passenger accused one of its drivers of rape. South Korea indicted Uber's founder for operating illegally.
在一位乘客指控优步司机强奸后，新德里政府禁止了优步在印度首都的业务。韩国政府则指控优步的创始人非法营业。
Taxis wait on a road in downtown Seoul on January 22, 2015, as South Kore steps up its legal battle against Uber (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)
2015年1月22日，出租车正在首尔市中心的一条马路上待运。此时，韩国政府正发起一项抵制优步的法律诉讼。（法新社图片/郑研载）
The company has also seen its image tarnished by executives'gaffes, and concerns about privacy.
优步公司已经预见到管理者的失误对于公司形象的损害，并就隐私问题表示关切。
Critics argue that Uber has fallen short on issues such as liability insurance and criminal background checks. In December, Uber said it would step up its safety measures.
有评论指出，优步在租车保险和司机的犯罪背景调查方面还有许多不足。2014年12月，优步表示将设立安全措施。
John Breyault of the National Consumers League said firms like Uber "don't fall neatly into the regulatory buckets we've seen in the past century. So it's difficult to see how to deal with events like in what happened in New Delhi, and to know where liability lies."
美国消费者联盟的约翰﹒布雷亚特认为优步这样的公司“与我们在上个世纪见到的公司不同,优步公司的责任范围很难界定。所以，像德里发生的事（优步司机强奸乘客）如何处理，而公司又必须承担什么样的责任很难分清。”
Despite that uncertainty, Uber raised a fresh $1.2 billion in venture funding in December to push its market value to $40 billion, and it now looks to continue expansion around the world.
尽管有着种种不确定性因素，优步公司还是在12月时获得了12亿美元的创业基金，进一步推升其市场价值达到400亿美元。现在，优步仍没有停下全球扩张的脚步。
- Math and logistics -
- 数学和逻辑 -
While a number of taxi and ride-share apps are also competing in the market, Kalanick said Uber has succeeded because of its investment in technology.
随着一大票出租车和接送服务的软件参与到市场竞争中来，卡兰尼克认为优步获得成功的关键在于技术创新。
"People see they can push a button and a Town Car magically appears, but they don't realize all the math and logistics in making that occur," he told AFP.
他告诉法新社的记者：“人们发现，他们只要按下一个按键就会有一辆林肯出现在眼前。但他们没有意识到其中涉及的数学和逻辑原理”。
Kalanick says Uber has been a positive force, and in 2015 "will generate over one million jobs in cities around the world." He brushes aside criticism of its business model
卡兰尼克认为优步是一股正能量，在2015年“将在全世界创造近100万个岗位。”他对那些优步商业模式的批评不削一顾。
In Europe, where Uber faces numerous regulatory issues, Kalanick claims the company can take 400,000 cars off the road and create 50,000 jobs in the next year.
在欧洲，优步面临许多规范问题。卡兰尼克宣称优步公司明年将增加40万辆汽车并创造5万个工作岗位。
"When you do something successful, not everybody is happy, and the older the industry you are tackling, the more protected it is by corruption or by government or by both," he said at a 2012 event at Stanford University.
他在2012年斯坦福大学的一次活动中声称：“当你获得成功时，不是所有人都会高兴的。你面对的行业越悠久，腐败和（或）政府保护就越严密”。
"I'm not sure who gets hurt from this other than a particular incumbent industry."
“除了特定的现有产业（出租行业）之外，我不知道还有谁会受到伤害。”
