How London tried to solve Congestion problems

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 591.

· Congestion charge: Drivers are now charged to drive into the centre of London. The charge is about $15 a day. The idea is to encourage people from cars and onto public transport.

· Barclays bike hire and bike lanes and work showers: The is now a bike hire scheme in London sponsored by the bank Barclays. People can now borrow bikes for a short period at minimal cost. Bike lanes are being create to make using a bike cheaper and workplaces have been encouraged to install showers, so people can cycle to work and wash when they get there.

· Reintroduction of trams: Trams which are like buses that run on train tracks in the road have been reintroduced to South London. Trams were an early form of public transport common in most British cities. Unfortunately most were removed as car ownership increased. They are environmentally good because they run on electricity and don't release greenhouse gases.

· Extension of the underground: New lines have been recently built or upgraded. The Jubilee Line was the latest big extension which goes from Central London out to East London (near the site of the 2012 Olympic Games).

· Pedestrianisation: Some areas of London including the north side of Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and much of Covent Garden have been pedestrianised to make it safer for people walking and to discourage car use. Pedestrianisation means removing cars from the roads and making them walking only areas.

· Improved rail links (Crossrail and East London Overground and Docklands Light Railway): London is currently undertaking one of the biggest engineering projects in Europe by building a railway from east to west London under the city. This railway will decrease travel times and is called Crossrail. London is also improving or extending railways in the East of London near the site of the Olympics.

· Bus lanes and priority traffic lights: The amount of buses have been increased and old ones renewed. Also some bus lanes have been created to avoid the traffic lights and also bus lanes are given priority at lights. This should hopefully make buses quicker than cars and encourage more people to use public transport.

· Car sharing (pooling) and car sharing lanes: Websites have been created to encourage people to share cars who travel on similar routes. Also road lanes have also been dedicated to people with more than one person in them.