每日英語跟讀 Ep.K107: ‘My Turn to Get Robbed’: Delivery Workers Are Targets in the Pandemic
The delivery of restaurant orders and other goods has become a bigger part of daily life across the nation since the pandemic forced millions of people indoors. And in New York City the delivery workers have become a lifeline for people working from home and for vulnerable residents who have been warned against going outside.
自從新冠肺炎疫情迫使數以百萬計的人待在室內後，餐點等商品的外送服務在全美人民的日常生活中，分量變得更重了。而在紐約，對於在家工作者和被警告別外出的高風險居民而言，快遞員更成了他們的救生索。
On any given day thousands of men, and a growing number of women, can be seen crisscrossing city arteries, transporting takeout, groceries and medicine in plastic bags on top of their well-worn bikes.
每一天，數以千計男性和愈來愈多的女性騎著已經不新的電動自行車在紐約幹道上穿梭，把裝在塑膠袋裡的外送餐點、食品雜貨和藥品送到收貨人手中。
But their visibility has also made them targets for opportunistic criminals looking for a quick profit through robbery, as the unemployment rate has spiked into the double digits and economic desperation has grown in the city’s less affluent neighborhoods, which were already hit hard by the pandemic.
不過，隨著紐約較不富裕的地區受到疫情重創，失業率飆升到兩位數，人們需錢孔急，處處可見的快遞員便成了想靠搶劫快速得到錢的投機罪犯鎖定的目標。
Stolen electric bikes can be easily sold on the streets for cash or dismantled for their parts. The bikes can cost thousands of dollars and are vital tools for the workers, who often make less than $60 a day. Many have come to rely on the bikes, because they can go about 20 mph, enabling workers to travel farther and make more trips to increase their slim bottom lines.
偷來的電動自行車很容易在街上轉賣或拆零件變賣。新的電動自行車售價可能高達幾千美元，而且對一天經常賺不到60美元的快遞員來說不可或缺。許多快遞員依賴電動自行車，因為這種車時速能達到32公里，讓快遞員能送貨到更遠處，並接更多單以增加微薄的收入。
The theft of electric bikes doubled during the first year of the pandemic, rising to 328 in 2020.
在疫情流行的第一年，也就是2020年，電動自行車竊案翻倍至328起。
Investigators said robbers often use fraudulent credit cards to call in bogus orders and lure delivery workers to secluded locations. The delivery workers then are faced with two dire options: let go of the pricey bikes they need to remain employed or risk injury and even death.
辦案人員說，搶劫者常常用偽造或偷來的信用卡下個假訂單，把快遞員引到偏僻處下手，快遞員接著會面臨兩個極端選擇，不是放棄賴以工作的昂貴電動自行車，就是冒著受傷甚至死亡的風險把自行車追回來。
“We believe more often than not it is a setup,” said Rodney Harrison, the New York Police Department’s chief of department.
紐約市警察局總警監哈里森說：「我們認為這通常是設下的圈套。」
The northern section of Manhattan, Southern Brooklyn and the Bronx have seen the biggest spikes in robberies, investigators said. Most of the victims were threatened with sharp objects, guns and other weapons.
辦案人員指出，曼哈頓北部、布魯克林南部和布朗克斯的搶劫案增加最多。嫌犯多半拿銳器、槍枝等武器威脅受害者。
There were about 50,000 commercial cyclists in New York in 2012, the most recent year for which data is available, city transportation officials said. That figure has since soared, by some activists’ estimates, to about 80,000.
紐約市運輸官員說，根據既有最晚近的資料，2012年紐約有5萬人騎自行車送貨。一些社運人士估計，此後這個數字暴增到8萬左右。
In October, more than 1,000 protesters joined a demonstration outside City Hall organized by a collective known as Los Deliveristas Unidos to call attention to the robberies and other poor working conditions, including low pay, a shortage of protective gear, and a lack of places to rest or use a restroom.
去年10月，1000多人在紐約市政廳外參加「快遞員聯合會」的抗議，要求大眾關注快遞員易遭搶劫等惡劣的工作條件，包括低薪、防護裝備不足、缺乏休息處和洗手間等。
Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/5332541
每日英語跟讀Podcast，就在http://www.15mins.today/daily-shadowing 每週Vocab精選詞彙Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/vocab 每週In-TENSE文法練習Podcast，就在https://www.15mins.today/in-tense 用email訂閱就可以收到通勤學英語節目更新通知。