Commuting ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 25

Commuting

A	The daily commute Greg: I live in a small town in the US. Outside the big cities there are very few local transport links, so I have to drive to work. It’s a busy commuter route so I end up getting stuck in traffic¹ most days. Luckily, there’s also a toll road2 I can take for part of the trip. It’s expensive but isn’t as crowded – even in rush hour. Paola: I travel about an hour each way on a crowded commuter train and it’s often difficult to get a seat. My season ticket3 is very expensive because I always have to travel at peak time4. Sometimes, when there are engineering works5 or cancellations, we have to take a replacement bus service which is even slower! Lars: I live in Denmark and lots of people commute by bike here. We have a good cycle network and most roads have separate cycle lanes which are very safe. I enjoy cycling and it’s often quicker, especially when there’s traffic gridlock6 on the main roads into Copenhagen. Akiko: I live in a commuter town outside Tokyo and there’s a very good bus and rail network here. The trouble is, it’s really busy – overcrowded trains are normal. There’s even a special person employed by the underground to push people onto the trains! 1 be slowed down by heavy traffic 2 a road you have to pay to use 3 a ticket which is valid for a certain period of time (often a month or a year) 4 the time when most people want to go somewhere, often leading to higher prices (opp. off-peak) 5 repair or maintenance work 6 when roads are so blocked with traffic that nothing is moving
B	Problems and solutions The minister for transport is being interviewed about current transport problems and future policies. Interviewer: So, Minister, we’ve been hearing a lot on the news recently about all the problems faced by commuters: packed trains1, fare rises, train strikes. What is the government planning to do? Minister: Well, this government’s policy has always been to invest in infrastructure and to provide more local transport services for the hard-working commuters of this country. Interviewer: But for commuters facing a ten percent hike2 in fares for services which are constantly running late or not at all, that policy doesn’t seem to be working Minister: Train operators are re-investing the majority of their profits in new trains and better services and the government is supporting that. In addition, we are trying to ease traffic congestion3 in big cities by restricting private car use and encouraging car-sharing programmes and park-and-ride schemes4. The congestion charge5 in London has helped to reduce traffic and improve air quality and our road-building programmes have aimed to alleviate bottlenecks6 in key areas. Interviewer: I’m glad you mentioned traffic. Commuters who drive also seem to be facing increasing difficulties, such as road closures and detours which in turn cause lengthy tailbacks7 and bring traffic to a standstill8. It’s not surprising more people are choosing to work from home more regularly! 1 trains which are very crowded 2 expecting a quick increase 3 reduce traffic jams 4 schemes where people can park their cars out of town and take a bus into a town/city centre 5 a charge for vehicles which enter a specific zone within a city 6 reduce places where too many cars try to get through at the same time 7 long queues of traffic 8 stop (traffic) completely

EXERCISES

25.1	Match the beginning of each sentence with its ending. 1 Jaime uses the AP-7 toll a time delays on morning services. 2 The cost of a season b trains in the downtown area 3 Transrail apologised to passengers after a series of peak- c lanes and provide bike racks in the centre. 4 We are calling on the city council to build more cycle d road when he drives into Valencia every day. 5 The government has announced four new projects to improve rail e ticket has increased by ten percent – more than inflation! 6 The new road taxes will fund improvements to commuter f networks around our major cities.
25.2	Correct the collocation errors in these sentences. 1 The construction work in the city centre has caused traffic to a standstill and cars have been queuing on the ring road for several kilometres. 2 The town now has three park-and-drive schemes which will help keep cars out of the centre. 3 Environmental campaigners are arguing that widening the motorway will do nothing to allow bottlenecks but will only increase the volume of traffic. 4 Rail passengers at all the main stations were protesting today at train rises of more than 2.3%. 5 The new government has promised to invest to infrastructure projects to improve road and rail links around the country. 6 The NATO summit will mean road closings around the area for security reasons.
25.3	Complete the word puzzle. Across 1 If the train isn’t running, there’s usually a ____________ bus service, but it can be slow. 3 There are usually ____________ works on that line at weekends, so trains are delayed. 5 I’m sick of travelling on ____________ trains. The rail company really must do something about the overcrowding. 6 The accident caused a ____________ of 10 km around the city yesterday as cars were stopped on the motorway. 7 The drive to work for many people was longer than usual this morning, as there were roadworks on a key ____________ route into Liverpool city centre. Down 2 City councillors have proposed introducing a ____________ charge to reduce traffic and pollution. 4 There was complete traffic ____________ this morning when a lorry overturned and blocked the main junction.
25.4	Rewrite each sentence using a collocation from the opposite page based on the word in brackets. 1 I hate travelling during the time when everyone else is travelling as it’s always so crowded. (RUSH) 2 Since the high-speed train link to the capital arrived in 2015, this has become a popular place where people live while travelling to another place for work. (TOWN) 3 Commuters are furious as they are going to have a big rise in fares for the second time this year. (HIKE) 4 It is hoped that the new tunnel will reduce traffic jams by taking cars out of the centre. (CONGESTION) 5 Services on West Express Trains are delayed this morning due to high winds and flooding. (RUNNING)

ANSWER KEY

25.1 1 d 2 e 3 a 4 c 5 f 6 b 25.2 1 The construction work in the city centre has brought traffic to a standstill and cars have been queuing on the ring road for several kilometres. 2 The town now has three park-and-ride schemes which will help keep cars out of the centre. 3 Environmental campaigners are arguing that widening the motorway will do nothing to alleviate bottlenecks but will only increase the volume of traffic. 4 Rail passengers at all the main stations were protesting today at fare rises of more than 2.3%. 5 The new government has promised to invest in infrastructure projects to improve road and rail links around the country. 6 The NATO summit will mean road closures around the area for security reasons. 25.3   25.4 1 I hate travelling during rush hour as it’s always so crowded. 2 Since the high-speed train link to the capital arrived in 2015, this has become a popular commuter town. 3 Commuters are furious as they are facing a hike in fares for the second time this year. 4 It is hoped that the new tunnel will ease congestion by taking cars out of the centre. 5 Services on West Express Trains are running late this morning due to high winds and flooding