Un servizio radiofonico sul bike sharing di una città

Capire il servizio

1. b) How a bike-sharing scheme is working so farLa cronista descrive come funziona il servizio, cosa pensano utenti e negozianti e qual è il problema principale.
2. a) Most of the bikes had already been taken by half past eightLe rastrelliere erano quasi vuote alle otto e mezza, il che significa che la maggior parte delle biciclette era stata presa.
3. d) Her journey to work is much shorterIl suo tragitto è passato da quaranta minuti in autobus a un tempo molto più breve in bicicletta.
4. c) DoubtfulHa ammesso di essere stata scettica, perché non andava in bicicletta dall'infanzia.
5. a) They thought fewer customers would come without parking spacesTemevano che perdere i posti auto allontanasse i clienti.
6. c) The owner admitted, perhaps unwillingly, that the scheme has had a positive effectTo concede significa ammettere qualcosa, spesso a malincuore. La proprietaria riconosce che ora le mattine sono più movimentate.
7. d) Bikes collect at the bottom of the hill and must be moved back upAl mattino gli utenti vanno in discesa ma pochi risalgono in bici, quindi dei furgoni devono riportare le biciclette alle stazioni più in alto.
8. b) She is not yet sure whether it will workDice: whether it will be enough remains to be seen, il che significa che il risultato è ancora incerto.

Numeri e dettagli

1. six hundred / 600Sono disponibili seicento biciclette.
2. forty-five / forty five / 45Le biciclette sono disponibili in quarantacinque stazioni di aggancio.
3. one pound / a pound / 1 pound / £1Puoi pedalare fino a trenta minuti per una sterlina.
4. sixty / 60Gli utenti abituali possono pagare sessanta sterline per un abbonamento annuale.
5. fifteen / 15Il suo tragitto è passato da quaranta minuti in autobus a quindici in bicicletta.
6. two hundred / 200La città prevede di aggiungere duecento biciclette elettriche la prossima primavera.

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.