2014年经济学人

公共汽车

Buses

Up to speed

Copying the capital is even harder than it looks

FEW Britons feel passionate¹ about buses. Unlike the railways, they spur few protests or angry letters in local newspapers. On August 26th IPPR, a left-leaning think-tank influential² in Labour circles, attempted to change this. Buses “seem to be the forgotten aspect of public transport”, the authors of a new report sighed. But their proposed prescription³ is almost as doddery as an old Routemaster.

In London, bus use is soaring. Some 7m journeys are made there each day, on a bus network that is highly regulated by Transport for London (TfL), a body that oversees⁴ public transport in the city, as well as many roads. But outside the capital the deregulated bus network can be patchy, with multiple ticketing systems and buses prone⁵ to get stuck in traffic, and use is falling.

The sharp contrast between London and the rest suggests to IPPR that large transport bodies similar to TfL ought to be set up, particularly in big metropolises⁶. This would allow both better co-ordination and more effective lobbying of the Treasury⁷. Since TfL was created in 2000 London’s bus network has been pumped with cash. Although it has fallen back slightly, net public support to London’s buses, at 809m in 2012-13, is still far higher than the amount doled⁸ out to other big cities.

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 only just 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-growing population that shuns⁹ cars. Bus use is rising even though they are no longer particularly cheap. Fares are now, by one measure, some of the highest in Britain. Since 2005 they have increased by 23%, only slightly less than in other metropolitan¹⁰ areas.

Buses are doing well in a few other spots, too. As the report notes, they are popular in Oxford¹¹ and Brighton, congested cities with high parking fees. In East Kent 29m passenger trips were made on buses run by Stagecoach¹², Britain’s biggest bus operator, in 2011, up from 14m in 2003. Punctuality is improving in many areas. Routes have been cut back outside London—but many of them were publicly subsidised ones squeezed by austerity.

Rather than try and replicate¹³ TfL, local authorities might be encouraged to impose stricter parking regulations and work harder with bus companies to improve service. Concessionary fares, overseen¹⁴ by individual councils, could be simplified and targeted at the poor far more efficiently¹⁵. But in some areas it would be wise to accept that bus use will just continue to decline, says David Leeder, a bus expert. In regions such as north-east England, where unemployment is the highest in the country, car ownership has traditionally been low. But it is starting to catch up as the economy recovers. That is more bad news for buses.

1 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

5 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

6 metropolises   

n.一国的主要城市（不一定是首都）( metropolis的名词复数 )；中心；大都会；大城市

参考例句：

• That season, you ride it, all metropolises achieve what one wishes! 那时节，您骑上它，一切都会如愿以偿！ 来自互联网
• Carl has carried the banner in infernal metropolises. 卡尔曾经在那些地狱般的大都市流浪街头。 来自互联网

7 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

8 doled   

救济物( dole的过去式和过去分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• The food was doled out to the poor. 食品分发给了穷人。
• Sisco briskly doled out the United States positions on the key issues. 西斯科轻快地把美国在重大问题上的立场放了出去。

9 shuns   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We must not reproach her, or she shuns us. 我们可不要责备她，否则她要躲避我们。 来自辞典例句
• Any of them shuns, impedes, or attempts at inspection. 一规避、妨碍或拒绝检查。 来自互联网

10 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

11 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

12 stagecoach   

n.公共马车

参考例句：

• She's getting off the stagecoach.她正在下马车。
• The stagecoach driver cracked the whip.驿站马车的车夫抽响了鞭子。

13 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

14 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

15 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。