2020.3.13雅思阅读答案-AdvantagesofPublicTransport.docxVIP

Advantages of Public Transport A new Study conducted for the World Bank by Murdoch Univesity’s Institute for Science and Technology Policy (ISTP) has demonstrated that public transport is more efficient than cars The study compared the proportion of wealth poured into transport by thirty-seven cities around this world. This included both the public and private costs of building, maintaining and using a transport system. The study found that the Western Australian city of Perth is a good example of a city with minimal public transport.As a result, 17% of its wealth went into transport costs. Some European and Asian cities, on the other hand, spent as little as 5%. Professor Peter Newman, ISTP Director pointed out that these more efficient cities were able to put the difference into attracting industry and job or creating a better place to live. According to Professor Newman, the larger Australian city of Melbourne is a rather unusual city in this sort of comparison. He describes it as two cities: ‘ A European city surrounded by a car-dependent one .Melbournes large tram network has made car use in the inner city much lower, but the outer suburbs have the same car-based structure as most other Australian cities.The explosion in demand for accommodation in the inner suburbs of Melbourne suggests a recent change in many peoples preferences as to where they live. Newman says this is a new, broader way of considering public transport issues.In the past, the case for public transport has been made on the basis of environmental and social justice considerations rather than economics. Newman, however, believes the study demonstrates that the auto-dependent city model is inefficient and grossly inadequate in economic as well as environmental terms. Bicycle use was not included in the study but Newman noted that the two most bicycle friendly cities considered-Amsterdam and Copenhagen - were very efficient , even though their public transport systems were reasonable but