美国国家公共电台 NPR--Examining commuters' sluggish return to mass transit

Examining commuters' sluggish¹ return to mass transit²

Transcript³

Even with gas prices at record highs, people are not flocking to mass transit in urban areas. Public transportation has a lot of work to do to lure⁴ people back.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Despite record high gas prices, people are not exactly flocking to public transit. Riders are still nervous about crowds and COVID, and commutes⁵ have changed, among other things. Saul Gonzalez of member station KQED has a closer look at the sluggish return to mass transit from Los Angeles.

(SOUNDBITE OF TRAFFIC)

SAUL GONZALEZ, BYLINE⁶: At a filling station in south LA, regular gas is going for $6.59 a gallon. And Kristen Smith (ph) is not happy about what she's spending to partially⁷ fill her SUV.

KRISTEN SMITH: I'm only going to put 50 because it'll be, like, 175 for me to fill my truck up. It's ridiculous.

GONZALEZ: Is public transportation an option for you?

SMITH: (Laughter) Absolutely not (laughter).

GONZALEZ: And Smith is not the only one here who thinks public transit is an absurd alternative. I asked Jimmy Francisco (ph) the same question at the next pump.

Have you considered public transportation as an option?

JIMMY FRANCISCO: No. That's the reason why I got the car.

GONZALEZ: Well, this is LA, but it's also drivers across the country. Matt Dickens, director of research at the American Public Transportation Association, says that historically, high gas prices just create a modest increase in public transportation ridership.

MATT DICKENS: Gas prices might go up 20 or 30%, and we see maybe a, you know, 2 or 3% change in ridership.

GONZALEZ: Even with high gas prices, mass transit ridership is still only about 60% of its pre-pandemic levels. Dickens says public transit agencies are in for a long recovery.

DICKENS: In terms of the pandemic, I think a lot of agencies anticipated that it was going to be a sort of several-year trip back to something resembling more normal.

GONZALEZ: Why aren't more people returning to buses and trains? Well, one big reason has been fear of transit crime and violence in cities like New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: The search continues this morning for the man wanted for killing⁸ a subway passenger Sunday afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Police say it appears to be a random⁹ attack, and it has some people in the city fearful of mass transit once again.

GONZALEZ: Kristen Smith, the SUV driver in LA, acknowledges that she's scared of public transit.

SMITH: For my safety, you know, I definitely wouldn't ride the train now because, you know, there's a lot of homeless, a lot of - you know, they be on there screaming. Like, we just tried to take the train to go to the Dodger¹⁰ Stadium. And it was crazy. They were fighting on the train. So no, no, no.

GONZALEZ: But transit advocates say safety concerns about public transportation are overblown by media reports. They argue a better focus would be on transit fundamentals - better service, more routes and cleaner vehicles.

JESSICA MEANEY: Right now, we're on the busiest bus line in Los Angeles. It's the 207. We're heading down - south down Western.

GONZALEZ: That's Jessica Meaney with Investing in Place, an organization that advocates for LA bus riders.

MEANEY: We're talking about people, at least in Los Angeles, with the least amount of time, social capital and access to power.

GONZALEZ: Meaney says public transportation planners often spend money on projects that don't benefit the greatest number of passengers. She points to LA's mass transit agency. Like other cities, it got more than $1 billion in pandemic funds this year, but still cut bus routes.

MEANEY: And I would argue our region has really abandoned investing in improving our bus system. We had better bus service in the '90s than we have now.

GONZALEZ: LA County's transportation agency said in a statement to NPR that it's working to restore bus services, but faces a shortage of hundreds of drivers. This is an issue facing mass transit agencies across the country. Meaney points out that the passengers on the bus we're on may not have another transportation option. That's why, she says, improving public transit is a matter of basic dignity and respect.

For NPR News, I'm Saul Gonzalez in Los Angeles.

1 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

2 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

5 commutes   

上下班路程( commute的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She commutes from Oxford to London every day. 她每天上下班往返于牛津与伦敦之间。
• Barbara lives in Oxford and commutes. 芭芭拉住在牛津，通勤往来。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

8 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

9 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

10 dodger   

n.躲避者；躲闪者；广告单

参考例句：

• They are tax dodgers who hide their interest earnings.他们是隐瞒利息收入的逃税者。
• Make sure she pays her share she's a bit of a dodger.她自己的一份一定要她付清--她可是有点能赖就赖。