An urban area: Congestion in London

Causes of congestion:

• Roads designed not for cars but for people e.g. walking lanes.

• Increased car ownership

• Expensive public transport

• Population growth and rural-urban migration

Effects of congestion:

• Environmental:

  More vehicles on roads increase all sorts of pollution which could harm the plants and animals around

• Social:

  Increased respiratory problems, more cars on roads increase frequency of accidents, more traffic jams increase road rage phenomena.

• Economic problems: The government has to think and invest in new road plans which could cost them millions

Solutions:

• The government had made a congestion charge for drivers at a fixed rate of £15 when driving into central London which can slow and limit the number of cars travelling across cities / areas

• The government have invested in cycle network and rentals to reduce the number of vehicles

• The government have invested in public transport (buses, train and tubes) to encourage people to avoid the car

• The government has introduced bus priority measures, such as bus lanes

London has a population of ​ (a)   million

• 9
• 7
• 6
• 12
• 15

London has ​ (a)   major railway stations

• 12
• 15
• 7
• 9

London has ​ (a)   tube/metro stations

• 272
• 173
• 349
• 199

In the last decade, traffic flow in London has dropped by ​ (a)  

• 28%
• 50%
• 25%
• 305
• 30%

The Congestion Charge was introduced way back in ​ (a)  

• 2003
• 2010
• 2007
• 2012

Between 2011 and 2021, bike traffic in London increased by ​ (a)   %.

• 66
• 50%
• 72%
• 33
• 56
• 72

In 2019, the Ultra Low Emission Zone was introduced to tackle air pollution. It charges cars that don’t meet pollution guidelines.

• True

• False