英语翻译The London Congestion ChargeBeijing isn’t the only city with traffic problems.You can get stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in the world.The worst problems occur in cities which are growing fast,such as Sao Paolo in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria.But even cities in developed countries such as the US suffer.Los Angeles,which was built with the motor car in mind,and is famous for its six-lane highways,is now the USA’s most congested city.In Europe most c

英语翻译
The London Congestion Charge
Beijing isn’t the only city with traffic problems.You can get stuck in a traffic jam anywhere in the world.The worst problems occur in cities which are growing fast,such as Sao Paolo in Brazil and Lagos in Nigeria.But even cities in developed countries such as the US suffer.Los Angeles,which was built with the motor car in mind,and is famous for its six-lane highways,is now the USA’s most congested city.
In Europe most capital cities were planned and built before cars,and city centre traffic jams have been part of daily life for a long time.The situation in central London,where drivers spent fifty percent of their time in queues,became so bad that the local government decided to do something about it.In February 2003 the Mayor of London,Ken Livingstone,introduced a “congestion charge” – a tax for cars entering the centre of the city.
The idea is simple:every car coming into the centre has to pay $5 a day.Drivers can pay the charge at any of 10,000 pay points in the capital before 10 pm.As the cars come into the centre,video cameras record their registration numbers,and these are checked with a list of drivers who have paid the charge for that day.People who do not pay the charge will face a fine of $80.
Most Londoners are not happy with the idea.They agree that London has a traffic problem,but the congestion charge is expensive,and limits their freedom…
But does the congestion charge work?A survey carried out at the end of 2003 suggests it does.After only six months,traffic coming into central London was reduced by about 30 percent.More people used public transport to get to work,and bicycles were suddenly very popular.What’s more,central London shops did not lose business even though there were fewer cars.
But there are a few people who think the charge should be much higher,for example rich businessmen who work in the city centre and can easily afford it.This would keep even more cars out of central London,and the roads would be nearly empty.However,there are no plans to increase the charge.
请不要直接复制然后找个在线翻译输入,因为那样出来的都不是中国话.