Joy English · Level B2 · Citiesjoy-english.com

A radio report on a city bike scheme

Name:Date:

A local radio reporter visits Harbourton to find out what people think of its green public bikes.

Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening/city-bike-scheme-report

Understand the report

Listen to the report. Choose the best answer.

What is the report mainly about?
- a) Plans to replace the city's buses with bikes
- b) How a bike-sharing scheme is working so far
- c) Why the city's bike scheme is closing
- d) Safety problems with the new bikes
What does the reporter say about the main railway station this morning?
- a) Most of the bikes had already been taken by half past eight
- b) The station was closed for repairs
- c) There were long queues of people waiting for bikes
- d) New docking stations were being built there
How has the scheme affected Amira?
- a) She now drives to work less often
- b) She has started working in a bike shop
- c) She now cycles mainly at weekends
- d) Her journey to work is much shorter
How did Amira feel about the scheme at first?
- a) Excited
- b) Annoyed
- c) Doubtful
- d) Uninterested
Why were some shop owners worried?
- a) They thought fewer customers would come without parking spaces
- b) They thought the bikes would be too noisy
- c) They would have to pay for the docking stations
- d) They thought bikes would block their doors
What does the word "conceded" suggest about the café owner's comment?
- a) The owner was happy about the scheme from the start
- b) The owner now wants a docking station outside the café
- c) The owner admitted, perhaps unwillingly, that the scheme has had a positive effect
- d) The owner thinks business has become worse
What is the scheme's biggest problem?
- a) The bikes are often damaged
- b) Too few people know about it
- c) The membership is too expensive
- d) Bikes collect at the bottom of the hill and must be moved back up
What is the reporter's view of the plan to add electric bikes?
- a) She is certain it will solve the problem
- b) She is not yet sure whether it will work
- c) She thinks it is a waste of money
- d) She does not mention the plan

Numbers and details

Listen again and type the missing word or number. You can write numbers as words or digits.

There are ___ bikes in the scheme.
Riders can collect bikes from ___ docking stations.
A ride of up to thirty minutes costs ___.
A year's membership costs ___ pounds.
Amira's journey to work by bike takes ___ minutes.
Next spring, the city will add ___ electric bikes.

Answer key

Understand the report

b) How a bike-sharing scheme is working so farThe reporter describes how the scheme works, what users and shop owners think, and its main problem.
a) Most of the bikes had already been taken by half past eightThe racks were almost empty by half past eight, which means most bikes had been taken.
d) Her journey to work is much shorterHer journey went from forty minutes by bus to a much shorter time by bike.
c) DoubtfulShe admitted she had been sceptical, because she hadn't ridden a bike since childhood.
a) They thought fewer customers would come without parking spacesThey worried that losing parking spaces would keep customers away.
c) The owner admitted, perhaps unwillingly, that the scheme has had a positive effectTo concede is to admit something, often unwillingly. The owner accepts that mornings are busier now.
d) Bikes collect at the bottom of the hill and must be moved back upRiders go downhill in the morning but few ride back up, so vans have to carry bikes back to the upper stations.
b) She is not yet sure whether it will workShe says whether it will be enough remains to be seen, which means the result is still uncertain.

Numbers and details

six hundred / 600Six hundred bikes are available.
forty-five / forty five / 45The bikes are available from forty-five docking stations.
one pound / a pound / 1 pound / £1You can ride for up to thirty minutes for one pound.
sixty / 60Regular users can pay sixty pounds for a year's membership.
fifteen / 15Her journey went from forty minutes on the bus to fifteen by bike.
two hundred / 200The city plans to add two hundred electric bikes next spring.

Transcript

Reporter: Eighteen months after its launch, Harbourton's public bike scheme has become part of everyday life in the city centre. Six hundred bright green bikes are available from forty-five docking stations, and according to the city's transport office, they've been used for just over a million journeys.

Reporter: The idea is straightforward. You unlock a bike with a card or your phone, ride for up to thirty minutes for one pound, and leave it at any station. Regular users can pay sixty pounds for a year's membership instead.

Reporter: At the main railway station this morning, the racks were almost empty by half past eight. Amira, a hospital nurse, told me the scheme had cut her journey to work from forty minutes on the bus to fifteen by bike. She admitted she'd been sceptical at first, mainly because she hadn't ridden a bike since she was a child.

Reporter: Not everyone was convinced from the start. When the docking stations went in, several shop owners on Market Street worried that losing parking spaces would keep customers away. Those concerns haven't entirely disappeared, but one café owner I spoke to conceded that weekday mornings are noticeably busier than they used to be.

Reporter: The scheme's biggest headache, though, is geography. Harbourton is built on a steep hill, and riders are happy to cycle down to the harbour in the morning, but far fewer choose to ride back up in the evening. As a result, vans spend much of the day carrying bikes back to the upper stations, which adds considerably to running costs.

Reporter: The city's answer is to add two hundred electric bikes next spring, aimed especially at the hillside neighbourhoods. Whether that will be enough to balance the system remains to be seen. For now, though, the green bikes look as if they're here to stay. Nadia Price, City Matters, Harbourton.