经济学人438: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 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.

　　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 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.

　　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（TfL）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。

　　公共汽车.jpg

　　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.

　　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 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.

　　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 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.

　　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 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.

　　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。

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。