劳动力短缺 日本的“外卖奶奶”开始送拉面了

在日本，点一份拉面外卖，送餐的可能不是外卖小哥，而是外卖奶奶。由于日本的老龄化正变得越来越严重，劳动力市场短缺，日本的老年人正成为送餐主力军。

As Uber looks to expand its food courier service in Japan, the rideshare giant has faced road blocks rarely seen on the home soil of the United States. But putting grandma and grandpa in running shoes seems to make sense.

随着优步寻求扩大其在日本的食品快递服务，这家拼车巨头面临着在美国本土罕见的障碍，但是让老年人穿上跑鞋送餐似乎行得通。

courier ['kʊrɪə]：n.快递员

Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg News his company's food-delivery in Japan, where rideshare is banned, has taken an alternative route to delivering food.

优步公司首席执行官达拉·科斯罗萨西告诉彭博社说，在禁止拼车的日本，优步公司的送餐服务采用了另一种递送方式。

Japan is a growing nation for food-delivery — still way far behind the US— and the country has a very low unemployment rate. With a growing demand for food delivery, more of the elderly population has applied to become couriers.

日本的食品配送行业发展迅速，但仍远远落后于美国，而且日本的失业率非常低。随着送餐需求的增长，越来越多的老年人加入快递员大军。

"The elderly are actually signing up for Eats couriers," Khosrowshahi said. "Eats has been a huge success for us in Japan. It is going to be a very effective introduction to the Uber brand."

科斯罗萨西说:“老年人真的在签约为优步外卖工作。优步外卖在日本取得了巨大的成功，是优步品牌业务引入的一个有效方式。”

The report states that 15,000 couriers already deliver food for more than 10,000 restaurants in Japan, but they only reach 15 percent of the country's population. That's far less than Uber Eats in the States, where it reaches roughly 70 percent of America's population.

报告指出，在日本，有1.5万名快递员在为1万多家餐馆送餐，但他们的服务只能覆盖到日本15%的人口。这远远低于优步外卖在美国服务的客户规模，约占美国人口的70%。

In Japan, the majority of current food deliverers bring the product via scooter or bicycle, but the older generation of applicants prefer to do it by foot.

在日本，目前大多数送餐员都是骑摩托车或自行车送餐，但老年送餐员更喜欢步行送餐。

scooter ['skuːtə]：n.小轮摩托车

With an unemployment rate of 2.4%, near quarter-century lows, Japan’s labor market is tight. The population is aging; adult diapers outsell baby diapers.

日本的失业率为2.4%，接近25年来的最低点，劳动力市场十分紧张。人口老龄化，成人尿布销量超过婴儿尿布。

"This is one area unique to Japan, and we are looking if we can expand to the rest of the world," Khosrowshahi said.

科斯罗萨西说:“这是日本独有的特点，我们正考虑是否能将老年人送餐服务扩展到世界其他地区。”

That plan includes increasing staffing levels in Japan by at least 30 percent over the next year, and these jobs aren't limited to grannies in sneakers. They also include sales, operations and account management. It's still a slow pace considering the San Francisco-based company has more than 22,000 employees.

该计划包括明年在日本增加至少30%的员工，而且这些职位并不仅限于老年送餐员，还包括销售、运营和账户管理。考虑到这家总部位于旧金山的公司拥有逾2.2万名员工，这一增长速度仍然很慢。

There are cab-hailing apps available, as well as Uber Black, a car-hire service that's only available in Tokyo for now.

日本有叫车应用，也有高级租车服务Uber Black，目前只在东京提供服务。

"It will take time, but we like what we see in terms of the potential of the market," Khosrowshahi said. "The innovations that we are going to make in taxi here are going to carry around the world."

“这需要时间，但我们喜欢我们所看到的市场潜力，”科斯罗萨西说。“我们在日本出租车领域进行的创新将会传遍世界。

Given Japan‘s strict regulations against ride-sharing, Uber has chosen to work with regulators. It rolled out a pilot program in 2016 to provide rides to seniors in the small coastal town of Tangocho, where an aging population was left with dwindling public transport services.

鉴于日本对拼车的严格规定，优步选择了与监管机构合作。该公司在2016年推出了一项试点项目，为爱知县沿海小镇的老年人提供乘车服务。当地人口老龄化严重，公共交通服务也在减少。

dwindle ['dwɪnd(ə)l]：vt.使缩小，使减少

Last year, Uber pivoted to partnerships with local taxi companies. It now has deals with eight cab companies in as many cities, including popular tourist destinations Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima.

去年，优步转而与当地出租车公司合作。目前，该公司已与8家出租车公司在8个城市达成协议，其中包括京都、大阪和广岛等热门旅游目的地。

pivot ['pɪvət]：v.以……为中心旋转，随……转移