Question

100, HELP PLEASE
A. VIENNA
Although Vienna already has a superb public transport system, work has begun on planning to divert traffic away from the streets of the city. Key plans include building new and improved motorway and rail links and a city ring road. Within the city, 30 kilometers of underground lines will be added to the Metro over the next ten years. At present, millions of euros is poured into Vienna’s public transport system every year. Half the money is provided by the government, the remainder comes from fares. The underground links well with the extensive tram lines and bus routes. There are already 500 kms of cycle paths, although Viennese cyclists grumble at deep potholes in the paths.

B. BERLIN
Huge building sites, large-scale repairs of roads and the reconnection of the two halves of the city have all combined to make Berlin a difficult place to move about in. Many of the city’s highways are blocked off to allow construction work go ahead. Several of the underground and cross-town railway stations are closed down for renovation. For car drivers, the worst problem is trying “to get to the other side” – to move from east to west or vice versa. There are simply not enough roads to meet the demand. The good news is that all this inconvenience is working towards a good cause. When all the building and rebuilding is finished, Berlin’s commuters will have one of Europe’s most efficient traffic systems. It will certainly be the most modern. At present, the “Green Wave” guarantees the free flow of traffic along the city’s main streets: drivers who keep to 50 km can hit a wave of green lights and avoid getting stuck in traffic.

C. ATHENS
The Greek metropolis was confirmed as Europe’s most polluted city this week. Predictably, private cars were found to be the main source of pollution. Given the city’s poor public transport, cars are overwhelmingly the means of transport chosen by most Athenians. Unfortunately, it is a choice to which Athens is particularly ill-suited, with its high buildings, narrow streets and a single ring road, which forces most vehicles entering the city center at some point along their journey. The most drastic of a series of measures – banning odd or even number-plated cars from the city center on alternate working days – has failed to solve the problem. (5) Most city dwellers bought a second car. The government has also begun investing heavily in public transport and, after long delays, is now building the city’s first underground metro system.

D. LONDON
For a nation which once prided itself on building roads and railways for others, transport in the capital is in a worry state. Today, the world’s oldest Tube (the first section was opened in 1863) still boasts 735 million passenger journeys a year. But it is widely regarded as over-priced, inefficient and in need of extensive repair. Above ground, Londoners are not doing much better. The worsening of public services has brought an increase in private transport. The subsequent congestion on the capital’s streets was made worse when cars were banned from the City, London’s financial center, to follow bomb attacks.

E. STOCKHOLM
It is ten kilometers from my house in the Stockholm suburbs to the office in the city center where I work. A. Getting there means choosing between an efficient underground system or being stuck in traffic jams for much of the journey. For me, public transport wins hands down. If I leave home just before eight o’clock, I’m at the office by half past eight. The train runs every three minutes or so at peak times on the main routes. During the rush hour it can be difficult to get a seat, but it’s rare to be crammed in like sardines, as in London or Paris. For the price of a monthly pass, you can travel on all buses and trains within Stockholm – to me that is true value for money and certainly less than the cost of the petrol you would use. By comparison, driving to work, with the congestion and difficulty to find parking space, is just not worth to hassle.

For questions 1 – 12, choose from the cities A – E. Some of the cities may be used more than twice. When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order.
Which city or cities:
- does not have an underground system yet? 1____
- has good facilities for cyclists? 2____
- has a cheap and efficient railway service? 3____
- has an expensive underground system? 4____
- is planning to improve its rail services? 5____ 6____
- had better bus services in the past? 7____
- has serious parking problems? 8____
- has tried to limit the number of cars in the city centre? 9____ 10____
- has increased in size recently? 11____
- has unsuitable roads for cars? 12____

Answer 1

Athens

Vienna

Stockholm

London

Vienna

Athens

Berlin

Stockholm

Athens

Stockholm

Berlin

Athens