【新闻趣摘】当卡车司机遇上"货运版滴滴"，这届老司机们一边刷手机接单美滋滋，一边看着缩水的工资条哭唧唧。从等传呼机到玩转五块屏，从拉水果到运吉他，科技让方向盘前的世界天翻地覆——只是油费涨得比AI发展还快，运费跌得比空载卡车还猛。肯尼亚小哥们倒是乐开花：自从用上"货运拼多多"，连乌干达线路都卷成白菜价了！（友情提示：看完这篇，您手机里那个叫"卡车司机联盟"的微信群可能要炸锅）
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**Trucking's uneasy relationship with new tech**
**卡车运输业与新技术间的爱恨情仇**
2 days ago Share Save Sam Gruet Technology Reporter Reporting from Vancouver Share Save
【发布于2天前】科技记者萨姆·格鲁埃 温哥华报道
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**Getty Images Digital trucking apps look to minimise trucks without cargo**
盖蒂图片社 数字货运应用致力于减少空载卡车
When Jared first started out in trucking more than two decades ago, he didn't anticipate he'd be on tour with a country music star, hauling guitars, amps, and other pieces of on-stage equipment."It just happened, right place, right time," the Canadian driver, who prefers not to use his surname, explains from behind the wheel of his towering lorry.
二十多年前刚入行时，加拿大司机贾里德（化名）没想过自己会载着吉他、音响等舞台设备，成为乡村歌星的巡演专属司机。"纯属机缘巧合，"这位不愿透露姓氏的司机在擎天柱般的卡车驾驶室里说道。
"I've done 5,000 miles in a month and a half, but there's a lot of breaks this year." But during time off between driving to shows in New Jersey, New York, Toronto and Nashville, Jared will be scanning multiple screens in his cabin – a laptop, tablet and two smart phones – to secure more work.
"一个半月跑了5000英里，但今年演出空档很多。"在往返新泽西、纽约、多伦多和纳什维尔演出的间隙，他总在驾驶室里盯着笔记本、平板和两部手机多个屏幕抢单。
All made possible by new technology. It's a world away from his early career, when he was transporting fruit and wine, he explains."Back in the day, you had to sit by a payphone if you're on the road and start calling people you've worked with and then you'd have a pager.
这一切都拜新技术所赐。与他早年运输水果葡萄酒的岁月天差地别。"过去在路上得守着投币电话联系老主顾，腰间还别着传呼机。"
"Today, you just turn on your devices and scan through possible work. It's all digital and you get paid instantly. It's much better for business." The change has been driven by"Uberised" platforms, digitally matching truckers with companies which need to move freight.
"现在打开设备就能刷单，全数字化操作且即时到账，生意好做多了。"这场变革由"优步化"货运平台推动，它们像打车软件般 digitally 对接司机与货主。
The phrase was coined due to the similarity to the ride hailing app. While Jared agrees it has made things easier, the truck driver says it has led to wages falling."During Covid, the average was $3 (£2.24) per mile, today on some loads from Toronto to Los Angeles that is $1.10 per mile." Not to mention, he says, the rising cost of fuel.
尽管贾里德承认接单更便捷，但运费直线下跌："疫情期间每英里3美元，现在多伦多到洛杉矶某些货每英里仅1.1美元。"更别提节节攀升的油费。
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In Canada, eight major platforms including Uber Freight, have emerged to digitise the market for freight. Like the taxi app, they are capitalising on a fragmented market dominated by smaller players, with 2023 data suggesting that more than eight in 10 trucking and freight firms in Canada employ fewer than five people.
加拿大已涌现包括Uber Freight在内的八大数字货运平台。它们正抢占这个由小型经营者主导的碎片化市场——2023年数据显示，该国超80%货运公司员工不足5人。
Christopher Monette, from Teamsters Canada, told the BBC that the Canadian Trade Union representing over 130,000 members including truckers, has"deep concerns around the efforts to 'Uberise' the trucking sector".
加拿大卡车司机工会代表克里斯托弗·莫内特向BBC表示，这个拥有13万会员的工会对"货运优步化"深感忧虑。
"Wages in Canada have remained largely stagnant for the past 25 years, and the rise of gig-style work stands to make things even worse," he argues, adding that"larger, often unionised carriers who invest in safety, training, and decent working conditions are most at risk".
"过去25年工资基本停滞，零工经济兴起让情况雪上加霜。那些重视安全培训、提供体面工作条件的大型 unionised 运输公司最受冲击。"
"Truckers don't need another app. We need stronger protections and bigger paycheques." When asked, Uber Freight did not directly address the issue of wages and prices.
"卡车司机不需要新APP，我们需要的是更强保障和更厚工资单。"Uber Freight未直接回应运费问题。
Instead, a spokesperson said:"Flexibility, transparency, and choice are built directly into our platform.
其发言人表示："我们平台主打灵活透明，司机可按偏好筛选线路、车型、货物类型等，选择立即接单或自主报价。"
"Carriers can search for loads based on their preferences, such as lane, equipment type, commodity, and schedule, and either book instantly at a listed price or submit a bid for a rate that better aligns with their needs. In the trucking industry a lane refers to a regularly travelled route.
（注：货运业中"lane"指常规运输路线）
"Our platform also uses real-time market data and AI-powered recommendations to help carriers make the most of their time on the road," the spokesperson said.
"平台还运用实时数据和AI推荐，帮助司机高效规划行程。"
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**Eric Beckwitt's firm is using AI to speed up complicated bookings**
埃里克·贝克维特的公司正用AI加速复杂订单处理
Vancouver-based Freightera is among the biggest players when it comes to digital trucking services in Canada. Co-founder Eric Beckwitt meets me at a point overlooking the city's sprawling port, where towering orange cranes move brightly coloured containers against a backdrop of snow-topped mountains.
总部位于温哥华的Freightera是加拿大数字货运巨头之一。联合创始人埃里克·贝克维特在可俯瞰港口的观景台接待了我，远处橙色起重机正将彩色集装箱吊过雪山背景。
When he started the company in 2014, there were no trucking apps for Canadian companies. The service he has developed allows drivers and customers to search 20 billion regular routes for hauling freight which, he says, can be done in"five or 10 seconds".
2014年创业时，加拿大尚无货运APP。如今他开发的系统能在"5到10秒内"搜索200亿条常规路线。
He points out that, unlike other platforms, Freightera does not set prices."At Freightera, carriers set their own price. We ask them what they need to be healthy and profitable on each lane, and they set the price."
他强调与其他平台不同，Freightera不定价。"司机自主报价，我们只询问各线路的合理利润空间。"
Mr Beckwitt says the service has been good for trucking. Before services like his came along, finding work, or even the best route, was like"finding a needle in a haystack", the Freightera boss explains.
贝克维特称该服务重塑了行业。此前找货找路线如同"大海捞针"。
"Carriers really appreciate Freightera's reliable demand for service, which has grown every year consistently, right through Covid, the inflation afterwards and the current freight recession, one of the largest running freight downtowns," he says.
"司机们看重我们稳定的货源需求，即便在疫情、通胀及当前货运业大萧条时期仍持续增长。"
The company is now developing AI to speed up complicated bookings:"Digging through the noisy, messy documents, fine print and inconsistent rules - things like missing paperwork, unexpected charges, or a routing issue that could throw off delivery."
公司正开发AI处理复杂订单："从杂乱文件、隐蔽条款和不统一规则中——比如缺失单据、意外费用或路线问题——提取关键信息。"
Mr Beckwitt also dreams of a completely automated freight industry,"40 years from now", where AI would control global freight.
贝克维特还憧憬着"40年后"全自动货运业：AI掌控全球物流。
"Automatically assigning cargo to networks with the lowest capacity and allowing complete transparency, tracking and even trading while they're in travel".
"自动匹配运力最低的线路，实现全程透明化追踪甚至途中交易。"
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**Getty Images Around three quarters of Kenyan freight is moved by trucks**
盖蒂图片社 肯尼亚约四分之三货物依赖公路运输
Digital trucking services are employed all over the world. Kenya heavily relies on road freight, so has embraced the new tech."Over 75% of inland freight is moved by road and in many cases it's the only mode of transportation available," says Jean-Claude Homawoo, co-founder of Africa's biggest digitised freight platform, LORI.
数字货运服务已风靡全球。肯尼亚因严重依赖公路运输而积极拥抱新技术。"超75%内陆货运走公路，且常是唯一选择，"非洲最大数字货运平台LORI联合创始人让-克洛德·霍马伍说。
Since launching in 2016, LORI has grown its network to 20,000 trucks. It doesn't own any vehicles but manages them digitally, trying to ensure that trucks don't stand idle or return home empty.
自2016年成立，LORI已联网2万辆卡车。该平台不拥有车辆，但通过数字管理减少空载。
In that time, he says,"there are certain routes like Mombasa to Kampala in Uganda, where we have loaded so many trucks that the price of a full truckload has fallen".
"像蒙巴萨到坎帕拉这样的线路，因大量卡车入驻，整车运费已下降。"
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If truckers are finding work that requires less driving around without cargo, then they should be using less fuel. And that could be helpful in cutting the industry's contribution to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
若卡车能减少空驶里程，将显著降低燃油消耗。这对减少行业碳排放至关重要。
Trucking accounts for more than half of CO2 emissions within trade-related transport, according to a 2022 McKinsey report.
麦肯锡2022年报告显示，公路货运占贸易相关运输碳排放超一半。
Mr Beckwitt is convinced that tech like his, is the answer."It's just so much more energy-efficient and so much more cost-efficient," he adds.
贝克维特坚信技术是解决之道："能效更高，成本更低。"
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**Getty Images Driverless trucks are being trialled across China**
盖蒂图片社 无人驾驶卡车正在中国多地测试
