The air is laced with cigarette smoke and Cantonese profanities as half a dozen taxi drivers hang out by their fire-engine-red cabs on a quiet corner of the gritty Prince Edward neighborhood of Hong Kong.

在香港破旧的太子区一个安静角落里，几名的士司机围绕在他们的红色出租车旁边，空气中弥漫着香烟烟雾和粤语脏话。

It is the afternoon handover, when day shift drivers pass their taxis to those working the night shift. They are surrendering wads of cash to a taxi agent, a matriarchal figure who collects rent for the vehicles, manages their schedules and dispenses unsolicited advice about exercising more and quitting smoking. The drivers wave her off.

那是白班司机把的士交给夜班司机的下午交班时间。下班的司机把大沓的现金交给一名的士代理，这名看上去权力不小的女性负责收取的士租金、安排司机的日程表，还主动建议他们锻炼和戒烟。司机们向她挥手道别。

There may be no harder task in this city of more than seven million than trying to change a taxi driver’s habits. Often grumpy and rushing to the next fare, cabbies in Hong Kong have been doing things their way for decades, reflecting the fast-paced, frenetic culture that has long energized the city.

在这座有700多万人口的城市，也许没有比试图改变的士司机的习惯更困难的事了。香港的士司机往往脾气暴躁，急着接下一个客人，几十年来一直按照自己的方式行事，反映出长期以来为香港注入活力的快节奏忙碌文化。

But taxi drivers are under pressure to get with the times. Their passengers are fed up with being driven recklessly, treated curtly and, in many cases, having to settle fares with cash — one of the strangest idiosyncrasies about life in Hong Kong. The practice is so ingrained that airport staff often have to alert tourists at taxi ranks that they need to carry bills.

但的士司机们正面临着与时俱进的压力。打车者受够了司机的鲁莽驾驶和粗暴对待，而且经常不得不用现金支付车费——这是香港生活中最奇怪的特征之一。这个做法如此之根深蒂固，以至于机场工作人员经常不得不提醒出租车站的游客需要随身携带现金。

一名司机在机场排队时清洁自己的出租车，摄于去年8月。香港的官员们在去年夏天开展活动，呼吁的士司机更礼貌。的士司机们去年12月在香港太子区交接班。的士车行发现很难吸引年轻司机来干这个行业。

The government, both because of the complaints and to revitalize tourism, has tried to rein in taxi drivers. Officials ran a campaign over the summer urging drivers to be more polite. They imposed a point system in which bad behavior by drivers — such as overcharging or refusing passengers — would be tracked and could result in the loss of licenses.

政府设法加强对的士司机的管理，既是因为投诉，也是为了振兴旅游业。去年夏天，官员们开展了一场活动，呼吁司机更礼貌。他们还推出了司机违规记分制，对多收费或拒载等不良行为进行追踪，这有可能导致司机被吊销执照。

In early December, the government proposed requiring all taxis to install systems to allow them to accept credit cards and digital payments by the end of 2025, and to add surveillance cameras by the end of 2026.

去年12月初，政府提议，要求所有的计程车在2025年底前安装接受信用卡和数字支付的系统，并在2026年底前安装监控摄像头。

Predictably, many taxi drivers have opposed the idea of closer supervision.

不出所料，许多的士司机反对加强监管的想法。

“Would you want to be monitored all the time?” said Lau Bing-kwan, a 75-year-old cabby with thinning strands of white hair who accepts only cash. “The government is barking too many orders.”

“你愿意总被监控吗？”75岁、白发稀疏的的士司机刘炳钧（音）说，他只收现金。“政府发号施令太多了。”

Hold On to Your Seats

抓牢把手

The new controls, if put in place, would signal the end of an era for an industry that has long been an anomaly in Hong Kong’s world-class transportation system. Every day, millions of people commute safely on sleek subways and air-conditioned double-decker buses that run reliably.

新的管理措施一旦实施，将标志着出租车行业一个时代的终结，长期以来，在香港世界水平的交通系统中，出租车显得格外与众不同。每一天，在香港有数百万人乘坐造型优美的地铁和可靠的双层空调巴士安全地上下班。

Riding in a taxi, by comparison, can be an adventure. Step into one of Hong Kong’s signature four-door Toyota Crown Comfort cabs and you will most likely be (what is the opposite of greeted?) by a man in his 60s or older with a phalanx of cellphones mounted along his dashboard — used sometimes for GPS navigation and other times to track horse racing results. Pleasantries will not be exchanged. Expect the gas pedal to be floored.

相比之下，打车可以说是一种冒险。乘坐香港标志性的四门丰田皇冠舒适型的士，你很可能会遇到一名60岁左右男司机，受到的待遇可以说是“迎接”的反义词，他的仪表盘上放着一排手机，有时是用于GPS导航，更多的时候用于追踪赛马结果。他们从来不与乘客寒暄。一脚把油门踩到底是常见的做法。

You will then reflexively grab a handle and try not to slide off the midnight-blue vinyl seats as you zip and turn through the city’s notoriously narrow streets. Lastly, before you arrive at your destination, you will ready your small bills and coins to avoid aggravating the driver with a time-consuming exit.

然后，随着的士在香港狭窄地出名的街道上飞驰和急转弯，你会本能地抓住座位边上的把手，尽量不从深蓝色的乙烯基座位上掉下来。最后，在到达目的地之前，你得准备好小额钞票和硬币，以免因为下车太慢而激怒司机。

“When they drop you off, you have to kind of rush,” said Sylvia He, a professor of urban studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who, like many residents of this city, feels conditioned to walk on eggshells around a cabby. “I don’t want to delay their next order.”

“他们把你送到目的地时，你得赶快下车，”在香港中文大学从事城市研究的教授何颖说。她和这座城市的许多居民一样，习惯了在的士司机面前小心翼翼。“我不想耽误他们的下个订单。”

上个月的一个清晨，刘文宏在大角咀区做上班准备。他把时间尽量用在开车上，这样才能每月挣到2万港元。刘文宏的士上的电子支付设备。香港政府正在建议所有的士都安装接受信用卡或数字支付的系统。

To many cabbies, the impatience and brusqueness are a reflection of their harsh reality: When they are scraping by in a business with shrinking financial rewards, no time can be wasted on social niceties. Lau Man-hung, a 63-year-old driver, for instance, skips meals and bathroom breaks just to stay behind the wheel long enough to take home about $2,500 a month, barely enough to get by in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

对许多的士司机来说，不耐烦和粗鲁是严酷现实的反映：他们在一个收入不断减少的行业勉强维持生计，没有时间浪费在社会礼节上。例如，63岁的司机刘文宏（音）不吃不喝，不上厕所，只为了能多开一会儿车，这样每月才能挣2万港元，在世界上生活成本最高的城市之一，这种收入只能勉强能维持生计。

“Some customers are too mafan,” said Mr. Lau using a Cantonese word that means causing trouble and annoyance. “They like to complain about which route to take. They tell you to go faster.”

“有些乘客太麻烦，”刘文宏说，“麻烦”是粤语，意思是他们给他带来问题和烦恼。“他们动不动抱怨该走哪条路。叫你开快点。”

An Industry’s Fragile Economics

一个行业的脆弱经济

Driving a cab used to be a decent way to make a living. But business has gotten tougher, made worse by the fallout of mainland China’s economic slowdown. The city has had trouble reviving its allure with tourists, while its bars and nightclubs, once teeming with crowds squeezed into narrow alleyways, now draw fewer revelers.

开出租车曾是个不错的谋生手段。但生意变得越来越难做，中国大陆的经济放缓让情况变得更糟。这座城市难以恢复对游客的吸引力，以前曾经挤满了人的位于狭窄小巷的酒吧和夜总会现在吸引不到多少狂欢者。

Even before the downturn, some owners of taxi licenses were struggling. Taxi licenses are limited by the government and traded on a loosely regulated market. Some owners suffered huge losses after a speculative bubble drove prices up to nearly $1 million for one license a decade ago, then burst.

甚至在经济下滑之前，一些的士牌照持有者就已在苦苦挣扎。数量受政府限制的士牌照在监管松散的市场上进行交易。十年前的一个投机泡沫曾导致的士牌价涨到每个723万港元，泡沫的破灭使一些车主蒙受了巨大损失。

Today, licenses are worth about two-thirds of their decade-ago high. Many businesses and drivers who own licenses are focused more on recouping losses than on improving service.

如今的的士牌价大约只是十年前最高时的三分之二。许多拥有牌照的企业和司机更关心的是收回成本，而不是改善服务。

Tin Shing Motors, a family-owned company, manages drivers and sells taxi license mortgages and taxicab insurance. Chris Chan, a 47-year-old third-generation member of the company, says Tin Shing is saddled with mortgages bought when licenses were worth much more.

天诚车行是一家管理司机、提供的士牌照抵押贷款和的士保险的家族企业。公司的第三代成员克里斯·陈（音）47岁，他说，的士牌价高得多时的购买牌照抵押贷款让天诚背上了沉重的债务。

出租车在香港国际机场接客，摄于去年夏天。机场工作人员经常需要在出租车站提醒游客，许多的士只接受现金。天诚车行的经理克里斯·陈在他的香港办公室里，摄于去年8月。他说，利润率已经下降，Uber是竞争日益激烈的原因之一。

To chip away at that debt, Mr. Chan needs to rent out his taxis as much as possible. But he struggles to find drivers. Many cabbies have aged out, and young people have largely stayed away from the grueling work. Profit margins have dwindled, he added, especially with the cost of insurance almost doubling in recent years. Uber, despite operating in a gray area in Hong Kong, has also taken a chunk of customers away.

为了减少债务，陈先生需要尽量将的士尽租出去，但他很难找到愿意租车的司机。许多的士司机已上了年纪，年轻人大都不愿意干这种艰苦工作。利润率已经下降，他还说，尤其是近年来保险的费用已几乎翻了一番。尽管Uber在香港处于灰色地带，但也抢走了一些乘客。

“It’s harder and harder to make money,” Mr. Chan said.

“钱越来越难赚，”他说。

At the bottom are the drivers, about half of whom are 60 and older. Many cannot afford to retire. They have to make about $14 an hour to break even after paying for gas and the rent of their vehicles. To them, cash in hand is better than waiting days for electronic payments to clear.

司机是这个行业最底层的人，其中大约一半已60出头。许多司机没有足够的钱退休。他们需要每小时挣110港元才能在支付了汽油费和的士租金后达到收支平衡。对他们来说，到手的现金比等上几天才能拿到的电子支付好。

A Blue-Collar Job Professionalizes

蓝领工作职业化

Tension between the public and taxi drivers plays out with mutual finger-pointing. When the government introduced the courtesy campaign last year, a driver told a television reporter that it was the passengers who were rude.

公众与的士司机的紧张关系表现在相互指责中。政府去年推出礼貌运动后，一名司机曾对电视台记者说，粗鲁的是乘客。

In many ways, Hong Kong’s taxi drivers embody the high-stress, no-frills culture of the city’s working class. Their gruffness is no different from the service one gets at a cha chaan teng, the ubiquitous local cafes that fuel the masses with egg sandwiches, instant noodles and saccharine-sweet milk tea. Servers are curt, but fast.

在许多方面，的士司机体现了香港工薪阶层高压力、只提供基本服务的工作文化。他们的生硬态度与随处可见的茶餐厅的服务没什么不同。这种当地的咖啡馆为大众提供鸡蛋三明治、方便面，以及甜腻的奶茶。服务员态度冷淡，但速度很快。

“People tend to have one bad experience and remember it for the rest of their life,” said Hung Wing-tat, a retired professor who has studied the taxi industry. “Consequently, there is an impression among the public that all taxi drivers are bad when most of them just want to earn a living. They don’t want any trouble.”

“人们往往会把一次不好的经历记一辈子，”研究过的士行业的退休教授熊永达说。“结果是，公众认为所有的的士司机都不好，但他们大多数人只是想谋生。他们不想惹麻烦。”

公众经常抱怨的士司机鲁莽驾驶和态度粗鲁。但一名专家说，公众的印象并不总是公平的。“大多数的士司机只是为了谋生。”的士司机的仪表盘上通常安装着多部手机，用于打电话、GPS导航，以及查看股票市场信息、或赛马结果。

Indeed, there are cabbies like Joe Fong, 45, who sees no value in antagonizing his customers and has tried to adapt to his passengers’ needs.

确实，也有像45岁的乔·冯（音）这样的的士司机，他认为激怒乘客对生意毫无帮助，并且努力适应乘客的需求。

“Why fight?” Mr. Fong said. “We need each other. You need a ride and I need your money.”

“为什么要吵架？”冯先生说。“我们需要彼此。他们需要打车，我需要挣他们的钱。”

Mr. Fong maximizes his income by splitting his time between driving a private car for Uber and a cab for a taxi fleet called Alliance. Mr. Fong has five cellphones affixed to his dashboard. He welcomes electronic payments, and he did not raise an eyebrow when Alliance installed cameras in all their taxis last year.

为了尽量多挣钱，冯先生除了为联业车行开的士，还用私家车在Uber接单。他的仪表盘上安装着五部手机。他欢迎电子支付，去年联业在车行所有的士上安装摄像头时，他一点也不感到惊讶。

“I’m not like those old guys,” said Mr. Fong, who drives one of Hong Kong’s newer hybrid taxis made by Toyota, which look like a cross between a London cab and a PT Cruiser. “The world has changed. You have to accept it.”

“我和那些老家伙不一样，”冯先生说，他驾驶的是香港较新款的士，是一款丰田生产的混合动力车，看起来有点像伦敦的出租车与PT Cruiser的杂交。“世界变了。人们需要接受变化。”

由于香港很难恢复对游客的吸引力，的士行业已变得越来越难干。