An Taxi-Hailing Apps Launches In Johannesburg-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.23]this is the Technology Report. [00:05.96]Getting a taxi ride in New York city [00:09.22]is as easy as standing along a street [00:12.05]and raising your hand high in the air. [00:15.15]In Johannesburg, [00:17.56]getting a taxi ride just got even easier, [00:20.78]thanks to a new software application. [00:23.99]SnappCab lets users call a taxi [00:28.66]simple by touching the screen of their smartphone. [00:32.18]Anton van Metzinger is the managing director of SnappCab. [00:37.43]He and two partners launched their smartphone app in September. [00:43.30]He explains how it works. [00:46.16]"You open the app. [00:47.57]And you literally with two clicks of a button [00:50.18]you can order a cab. [00:51.14]Using your GPS, you click the button, [00:53.49]you electronically hail the cab, [00:55.07]it connects you to the closest cabs in the area. [00:57.54]So I get the cab driver's name, [00:59.94]I get the cab driver's company ID he or she works for, [01:03.52]their vehicle registration details and the vehicle description. [01:06.89]So I know, as the passenger [01:08.24]I know exactly which cab is coming to me [01:10.26]and I can now track it on my smartphone," said van Metzinger. [01:12.51]When the vehicle arrives, [01:14.09]the app sends a message to the passenger. [01:17.46]When the ride is done, [01:19.34]He or she can either pay the driver directly, [01:22.76]or pay using the smartphone. [01:25.79]"We've been in the market only for about a month now [01:28.41]and we already see that the credit card payment option is very popular, [01:32.89]in fact more popular than we expected initially... [01:35.46]People are getting used to the idea of online shopping, [01:39.08]they're getting used to the idea of mobile. [01:40.68]We predict that a year down the line, [01:43.71]the majority of our transactions will be by credit card," said van Metzinger. [01:47.53]But critics say the move to financial transaction [01:50.79]through mobile apps has been slow. [01:53.36]Arthur Goldstuck is managing director of World Wide Worx, [01:58.43]he also marks as a writer who specializes in South African technology. [02:04.67]He says many South Africans are not get ready [02:09.75]to make online purchases by telephone. [02:12.91]He says they lack trust in the technology. [02:17.58]"There's a phenomenon in this country and probably across Africa, [02:20.90]that we call the digital participation curve. [02:23.63]And it shows that the average Internet user [02:26.78]needs to have been online for five years or more [02:28.99]before they're ready to start transacting online," said Goldstuck. [02:33.06]But there have been success stories. [02:36.38]An app called Powertime was launched in 2009, [02:41.11]it sells pre-paid, or pay-as-you-go electricity. [02:46.45]Before Powertime, power users would have to [02:50.46]go to a fueling station or store to buy pre-paid electricity. [02:56.14]"What I find that is working in South Africa, [02:58.61]is if you build an app that is relevant to the country [03:03.63]because it solves a local problem. [03:05.61]Kind of a local app for a local problem. [03:07.87]And I think that was part of the success of Powertime. [03:10.72]It was a very, very significant issue in South Africa [03:14.24]to buy pre-paid electricity,"said Lacour. [03:16.10]With the group of dependable customers, [03:18.71]Powertime has now moved into paying for other services, [03:22.64]like water bills and airtime for mobile phones. [03:26.91]There are an estimated 14.7 million smartphones registered [03:33.69]with South African telecom networks. [03:35.70]That number is sure to grow [03:38.72]as local smartphone prices drop below $100 [03:43.30]and as South African technology companies [03:47.27]began launching smartphones of their own. [03:50.58]And that is the Technology Report from VOA Special English. [03:56.47]I'm June Simms.