2015考研英语阅读公共汽车

　　Buses

　　公共汽车

　　Up to speed

　　提升速度

　　Copying the capital is even harder than it looks

　　模仿首都易，实则苦难言

　　FEW Britons feel passionate about buses. Unlike therailways, they spur few protests or angry letters inlocal newspapers. On August 26th IPPR, a left-leaning think-tank influential in Labour circles,attempted to change this. Buses seem to be the forgotten aspect of public transport, theauthors of a new report sighed. But their proposed prescription is almost as doddery as anold Routemaster.

　　少有不列颠人对公共汽车表示愤怒的。不像铁路，他们很少在当地报纸上对公共汽车提出抗议或者向报社投寄发泄怒气的信件。在8月26日，公共政策研究所一个在工党圈内有影响力的左倾智库试图改变这种状况。在一则新报道中，有作者叹道公共汽车看来已经成了公共交通系统中被遗忘的一环。不过他们提出的建议基本上跟老司路者一样老掉牙了。

　　In London, bus use is soaring. Some 7m journeys are made there each day, on a bus networkthat is highly regulated by Transport for London , a body that oversees public transportin the city, as well as many roads. But outside the capital the deregulated bus network can bepatchy, with multiple ticketing systems and buses prone to get stuck in traffic, and use isfalling.

　　在伦敦，对公共汽车的使用飙升。每天约有7百万人次到此观光，故而公共汽车系统为伦敦运输局高效管理，这个组织管辖伦敦城内公共运输系统以及相当多的道路。不过在首都之外的公交网络，由于缺乏管理变得差强人意，相应的大量的售票系统和公共汽车在交通中发生拥堵，因而对公共汽车的使用量下降。

　　The sharp contrast between London and the rest suggests to IPPR that large transportbodies similar to TfL ought to be set up, particularly in big metropolises. This would allow bothbetter co-ordination and more effective lobbying of the Treasury. Since TfL was created in2000 Londons bus network has been pumped with cash. Although it has fallen back slightly,net public support to Londons buses, at 809m in 2012-13, is still far higher than the amountdoled out to other big cities.

　　伦敦及其他地区的强烈对比使得IPPR认为类似于 TfL 的大型交通组织应当建立起来，特别是在大都市。这有利于更好地协调合作以及更为有效地游说财政部以获得资金支持。自从2000年以来TfL 建立，伦敦的公交网络来钱如井喷，虽然现在有些许回落，但公共交通网络在2012~2013年间给伦敦公交共资助了八千九百万英镑，远高于给予其他大城市的资金拨款。

　　The bigger-body plan, though, is likely to remain a theory. Even in Manchester, the most go-ahead big city outside London, a combined authority representing local governments is onlyjust getting limited powers over transport. London is exceedingly unusual and hard to copy.It has a high-profile elected mayor, a large congestion-charging zone and a young, fast-growingpopulation that shuns cars. Bus use is rising even though they are no longer particularlycheap. Fares are now, by one measure, some of the highest in Britain. Since 2005 they haveincreased by 23%, only slightly less than in other metropolitan areas.

　　不过这种扩大组织的计划，很可能会停留在纸面上。即便像曼彻斯特这种除伦敦之外走在前列的城市，当地联合执政的政府对于交通运输业的管辖权力依然有限。伦敦过于特殊，难以复制。它有高调选举产生的市长，一大片拥堵收费的区域以及一群迅速成长起来的年轻、买不起车的人。尽管公共交通出行已经不是特别便宜了，但是对公共交通系统使用数量仍在上升。据一项调查表明，如今的公共汽车出行费用，有些在不列颠都是最高的。公交费用自 2005年以来已经增长了23%，仅次于其他大城市地区。

　　Buses are doing well in a few other spots, too. As the report notes, they are popular in Oxfordand Brighton, congested cities with high parking fees. In East Kent 29m passenger trips weremade on buses run by Stagecoach, Britains biggest bus operator, in 2011, up from 14m in2003. Punctuality is improving in many areas. Routes have been cut back outside Londonbutmany of them were publicly subsidised ones squeezed by austerity.

　　如报道中提到的，在牛津和布莱顿这些停车费用很高的拥挤的城市里，公共交通也十分流行。在东肯特，出行使用驿站马车公司公交车的人次由2003年的140万上升至2011 年的290万。该公司乃是不列颠最大的公交运营商。在诸多区域不准时的状况正在改善。伦敦之外的线路已经砍掉不少不过很多是由于财政紧缩政策而被排除出局的。

　　Rather than try and replicate TfL, local authorities might be encouraged to impose stricterparking regulations and work harder with bus companies to improve service. Concessionaryfares, overseen by individual councils, could be simplified and targeted at the poor far moreefficiently. But in some areas it would be wise to accept that bus use will just continue todecline, says David Leeder, a bus expert. In regions such as north-east England, whereunemployment is the highest in the country, car ownership has traditionally been low. But itis starting to catch up as the economy recovers. That is more bad news for buses.

　　与其尝试复制TfL模式，不如鼓励地方当局制定更为严格的停车条例并与公交公司共同致力改善服务。由个别理事会监督下的优惠收费项目可以简化，并有效地向穷困人员倾斜。公交研究专家戴维德李德说，不过在一些区域，接受公交车使用量减少也许是明智的。在诸如英格兰东北部的一些区域，那里是整个国家失业率最高的地方，私车拥有量从来很低。而当经济复苏的时候，私车拥有量也开始上扬。这对于公交车事业来说无异于雪上加霜。