第2910期:The cost of car dependency

Driving: do we love it because it's quick and convenient, or is it just that we don't have a choice? Either way, commuting by car is becoming more common across the world. While this could mean that people are getting more mobility and freedom, could it have a cost?

驾驶：我们喜欢它是因为它快捷方便，还是只是因为我们别无选择？ 无论哪种方式，开车通勤在世界各地都变得越来越普遍。 虽然这可能意味着人们获得了更多的流动性和自由，但这会带来成本吗？

As the number of cars on the road increases, so does congestion. As more people travel by car, more road space is used up. According to the OECD's International Transport Forum, the average person travelling in a car takes up five times as much road space as someone on a bus. This is made worse by the fact that, on average, today's cars are larger than those of the past. Tailbacks and other traffic jams in the UK could be costing £7.5 billion each year in wasted time.

随着道路上汽车数量的增加，交通拥堵也随之增加。 随着越来越多的人开车出行，更多的道路空间被占用。 根据经合组织国际交通论坛的数据，乘汽车出行的人平均占用的道路空间是乘坐公共汽车的人的五倍。 平均而言，今天的汽车比过去的汽车更大，这一事实使情况变得更糟。 英国每年因尾随和其他交通拥堵而浪费的时间可能造成 75 亿英镑的损失。

It's not just gridlock and wasted time that's the problem. Car dependency has significant health impacts. Air pollution from diesel and petrol cars can cause health problems such as asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Road traffic accidents lead to injuries and fatalities. Additional to this are the long-term problems caused by sedentary lifestyles, leading to poor fitness and obesity. Road-building developments can also split communities, leading people to feel cut off. Where road transport dominates an area, people without access to a car can feel isolated.

问题不仅仅是堵塞和浪费时间。 汽车依赖对健康有重大影响。 柴油和汽油汽车造成的空气污染会导致哮喘和其他呼吸道疾病等健康问题。 道路交通事故会导致受伤和死亡。 除此之外，久坐的生活方式也会造成长期问题，导致健康状况不佳和肥胖。 道路建设也会分裂社区，导致人们感到被孤立。 在道路交通占主导地位的地区，无法使用汽车的人们会感到孤立。

Cities and countries are sometimes tempted to build new roads to reduce the potential for snarl-ups. However, some experts say that this can cause induced demand where increased road capacity leads to more people driving, and congestion is soon back to its previous level. The other side of this theory is that when road space allocation is taken away from private cars, often congestion won't get any worse. Authorities in some cities, such as Seoul and Utrecht, have demolished motorways, leaving natural features such as streams and rivers in their place. Making drivers pay more is an approach used in cities like London, or Singapore, where ten-year car ownership licenses can cost over £60,000. The increased costs can help reduce the number of cars on the road and make traffic flow faster.

城市和国家有时会试图修建新道路以减少出现交通拥堵的可能性。 然而，一些专家表示，这可能会引发需求增加，道路容量增加导致更多人开车，拥堵很快就会恢复到以前的水平。 这一理论的另一面是，当私家车的道路空间分配被取消时，拥堵通常不会变得更糟。 首尔和乌得勒支等一些城市的当局拆除了高速公路，保留了溪流和河流等自然景观。 让司机支付更多费用是伦敦或新加坡等城市采用的一种方法，在这些城市，十年期汽车拥有许可证的费用可能超过 60,000 英镑。 增加的成本可以帮助减少道路上的汽车数量并提高交通流量。