The London Congestion Charge
Beijing isn’t the only city with traffic problems.You can get stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in the world.The worst problems occur in cities which are growing fast,such as Sao Paolo in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria.But even cities in developed countries such as the US suffer.Los Angeles,which was built with the motor car in mind,and is famous for its six-lane highways,is now the USA’s most congested city.
In Europe most capital cities were planned and built before cars,and city centre traffic jams have been part of daily life for a long time.The situation in central London,where drivers spent fifty percent of their time in queues,became so bad that the local government decided to do something about it.In February 2003 the Mayor of London,Ken Livingstone,introduced a “congestion charge” – a tax for cars entering the centre of the city.
The idea is simple:every car coming into the centre has to pay $5 a day.Drivers can pay the charge at any of 10,000 pay points in the capital before 10 pm.As the cars come into the centre,video cameras record their registration numbers,and these are checked with a list of drivers who have paid the charge for that day.People who do not pay the charge will face a fine of $80.
Most Londoners are not happy with the idea.They agree that London has a traffic problem,but the congestion charge is expensive,and limits their freedom…
But does the congestion charge work?A survey carried out at the end of 2003 suggests it does.After only six months,traffic coming into central London was reduced by about 30 percent.More people used public transport to get to work,and bicycles were suddenly very popular.What’s more,central London shops did not lose business even though there were fewer cars.
But there are a few people who think the charge should be much higher,for example rich businessmen who work in the city centre and can easily afford it.This would keep even more cars out of central London,and the roads would be nearly empty.However,there are no plans to increase the charge.
伦敦的交通拥挤费
北京不是唯一的城市交通问题.你可以停留在交通堵塞在世界任何地方.最严重的问题发生在城市的迅速增长,如圣保罗在巴西和拉各斯在尼日利亚.但即使是发达国家的城市,让我们痛苦的是.洛杉矶建铭记汽车,是著名的半年车道公路,现在却是美国最拥挤的城市.
在欧洲很多国家的首都城市规划和建设的前车,与市中心交通拥堵已成为日常生活的一部分很长一段时间.情况在伦敦市中心,那里的司机花百分之五十的时间在队列,变得很坏,当地政府决定做些事情.在二月2003个伦敦市长肯·利文斯通,介绍,“拥堵费”–税车进入城市中心.
这个想法很简单：每车进入中心已支付5美元的一天.司机可以支付费用在任何10000个点在下午10点前的资本.当汽车进入中心,摄像机记录登记号码,而这些检查与名单上的司机谁交费的那一天.人谁不支付费用将面临罚款80美元.
伦敦是最不开心的想法.他们一致认为,伦敦有一个交通问题,但拥挤收费昂贵,并限制了他们的自由…
但拥挤收费工作?进行的调查在2003年底提出了它.仅六个月后,进入伦敦市中心的交通减少约百分之30.更多的人使用公共交通工具去工作,和自行车突然很受欢迎.更重要的是,虽然汽车更少了但伦敦市中心商店依旧兴隆.但很少有人认为收费要高很多,例如丰富的商人谁在城市中心,可以承受得起.这会使更多的汽车从伦敦市中心,和道路将几乎是空的.然而,目前还没有具体的计划来增加收费.
