[英语阅读]北京人上班路上用时多

Beijingers wasting more time in traffic: Study

据一项最新调查显示，北京人每天上下班花在路上的时间正在增加，而这主要是由路面上不断在增加的机动车导致的。数据显示，自2007年至今，北京市机动车增加了100万辆，到12月25日，北京市机动车保有量已冲破400万辆大关。由此带来的直接影响是，北京人每天在上下班高峰期时花在路上的时间平均达到62.3分钟，比2007年增加了7.3分钟。《经济学人》杂志上周公布的一项数据也表明，北京人花在上班路上的时间为42分钟，居世界之首。有专家表示，不断增加的机动车数量是以牺牲空气质量和道路交通效率为代价的，并呼吁政府采取措施限制机动车数量的增加。

Beijingers waste seven more minutes on clogged roads each day compared with two years ago, a report said.

Beijingers waste seven more minutes on clogged roads each day compared with two years ago, a report said.
The time increase is directly linked to the city's soaring car population, which increased by one million during the same period, the biennial study on residents' mobility from Beijing-based Horizon Research said.
Beijing residents now spend an average of 62.3 minutes on daily commutes made during rush hour, an increase of 7.3 minutes from 2007, according to the study.
With no major traffic jams, residents still spent 40.1 minutes traveling to and from work everyday, said the survey, which will be officially released in January.
The study emphasizes the impact new cars on Beijing's roads is having on the daily lives of residents here, Horizon research director Zhang Hui said Thursday.
"The noteworthy result this year is more residents are concerned with the growing number of vehicles on the streets," Zhang said.
"A large group of them have urged authorities to restrict the car population."
The number of cars in Beijing hit a benchmark of four million last Friday, completing a record breaking leap of one million cars in less than three years. Transport policy experts have warned the explosion of car ownership is sacrificing both air quality and road efficiency in Beijing.
The Economist magazine reported last week that Chinese commuters now spend an average of 42 minutes going to work each day, the longest commute time for workers in the world.
More than 65 percent of the 1,510 respondents surveyed in seven major Chinese cities blame the overpopulation of vehicles, the Horizon study said. One third of respondents think measures should be taken to limit the growth of private car ownership.
Another 14 percent suggested controlling the increasing number of government vehicles.
Residents in car-filled cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, picked Beijing's traffic as the nation's worst in terms of time and money consumed, the study said.
Based on a calculation of Beijing residents' average monthly incomes, Horizon researchers determined traffic jams cost each Beijinger 335.6 yuan, the highest amount among the cities surveyed.