Japan's crazy underground bike vaults 瘋狂日本地下腳踏車車庫
In Tokyo,
14% of commuting traffic is on bike, according to the Japanese Transport
Ministry.
根據日本交通部指出，在東京，有百分之14的人是以腳踏車作為通勤的工具。
But you'd
never guess it.
That's
because the Japanese capital is burying thousands of bikes in underground
parking vaults, in a bid to keep its sidewalks tidy.
但你永遠不會知道有這麼多人在使用腳踏車，為了讓人行道看起來乾淨整齊，東京將數千輛腳踏車藏在地下的車庫裡。
From
street level, an Eco Cycle looks like a small kiosk --a 560-square-foot hub
with a door that seemingly leads to nowhere.
從地面上看，Eco Cycle像是一個小小的亭子，560平方英尺的停車中心，有一扇像是同往無底洞的門。
In
reality, these stations are gateways to futuristic subterranean parking lots,
which each plummet nearly 40 feet into the ground and are home to hundreds of
tightly stacked bikes.
在現實生活中，這些車站是通往未來地下停車場的通道，直直往地下將近40英尺處，那裡同時是數百個緊緊相疊的腳踏車的家。
Storage
solution 儲存方法
In Japan,
78% of households own a bike, compared with 50% of those in Britain, according
to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center.
根據2014年皮尤研究中心的一項研究指出，比起英國人的百分之50，在日本有百分之78的家庭擁有腳踏車。
"It's
a blessing and a curse," says Chad Feyen, of The Cycling Embassy of Japan,
which is devoted to promoting cycling and improving bike infrastructure.
日本的自行車大使組織（宣傳自行車以及改善腳踏車相關設施的組織）Chad Feyen表示：「這件事一體兩面。」
"You
have a lot of cyclists, but you also have a lot of bikes clustered around Metro
stations. It can be dangerous, or at the very least take up space."
「騎自行車的人很多，這也表示會有很多人聚集在地鐵車站附近，這有安全上的考量，就算撇除安全性不說也非常的占空間。」
Eco Cycle
aims to encourage cycling, but free-up space on Tokyo's crowded streets.
Eco Cycle目標是要鼓勵人們騎腳踏車，也同時希望能夠為東京擁擠的街道多空出一些空間。
"In
Japan, there are many illegally parked bicycles in city centers," says
Tsunenobu Nozaki, manager of construction design and planning at Giken, the
Japanese company which invented Eco Cycle.
Giken 公司（設計Eco Cycle的日本公司）的建造設計與企劃經理Cycling Embassy表示：「在日本市中心，有很多人會違停腳踏車。」
"If
a bicycle park is far away from the cyclists' destination, no one will use it.
"
「如果腳踏車的停車場離自行車一族的目的地遠，就不會有人使用。」
Gone in 8
seconds 8秒內消失
Cyclists
can store or retrieve a bike at an Eco Cycle station in just eight seconds.
在Eco Cycle的腳踏車站，自行車一族可以在短短八秒存放或是取得腳踏車。
These
efficient subterranean parking lots also protect bikes from rain and theft,
while the seismic-resistant shaft is designed to withstand earthquake tremors.
這些高效率的地下停車場也能夠預防車子不被風吹雨淋還有被小偷偷走，另外其內部的防震軸心是特別設計用來預防地震的。
The first
time a cyclist uses one of these facilities, a smart locator device -- called
an IC Tag -- is fitted to the front of their bike, which correspondents to the
smart card they are provided with.
第一次使用這個設施的時候，一個名叫做IC Tag的智能定位器會被裝在腳踏車的前方，而這個定位器能夠與他們提供的智能卡片相互感應。
Cyclists
swipe their cards at a check-in booth to activate the loading mechanism. Their
bike then disappears through a small entryway and is lowered into the compact
storage system below.
自行車一族在check-in站逼一下他們的卡片就能夠啟動整個設施，接著他們的腳踏車會透過一個小型的入口通道同往在底下的壓縮存放系統。
An Eco
Cycle parking space costs about $25 a month, compared with over $700 a month
for car parking slot in Tokyo.
一個Eco Cycle停車位一個月要價25塊美金，而在東京一個停車位一個月要價超過700塊美金。
Subterranean
success地下的成功
Today,
there are 50 Eco Cycle stations across Japan, with a global expansion in the
works.
如今，全日本已經有50個Eco Cycle的停車站，也正往海外拓展。
"We
regularly receive inquiries from other cities," says Nozaki. "(We
plan to) license the design and manufacture of Eco Cycle so that local
manufacturers can design and build units in their country."
「我固定有收到其他城市的請求，（我們打算）授權Eco Cycle的設計與製造，好讓當地業者能夠自行在他們的城市進行設計與建造。」Nozaki表示。
However,
the design is not without its skeptics.
然而，還是有人對於這項設計抱持著懷疑的態度。
"I
think (Eco-Cycle) is a great idea and the technology is fascinating. But I
personally don't feel comfortable with my bike going underground," says
Feyen.
Feyen表示：「我相信（Eco-Cycle）是一個很棒的點子，而且科技是非常迷人的，但是我個人覺得讓自己的腳踏車放在地底下感覺不太舒服。」
"If
there's an earthquake or an emergency, and I want to get my bike out -- I want
my bike to be near me."
「如果有地震或是任何緊急狀況發生我想要取得我的腳踏車，我會希望我的腳踏車就在我的身邊。」
