Would you be kind in telling me if this question is worth full marks! (geography)

Evaluate the effectiveness of an urban transport scheme(s) you have studied. 9 marks

The London congestion charge is an exemple of an urban transport scheme I have studied. Introduced in 2003, any vehicles entering the centre of London need to pay a charge of £11.50 per day. This is a very expensive cost but is made to put off people from driving in the centre of London and to take the public transports instead. As a result, 5 years later, there is evidence that the congestion charge in London is very effective as 70.000 less private vehicles less are entering the zone every day. A 21% reduction. Furthermore, all the money from the charge is invested by the operator Transport for London into further developments of the public transports, making it more reliable. However, even if the scheme is very effective, critics say that air pollution is still a growing problem in London and that traffic congestion as therefore increased outside the charging zone.
Another urban transport scheme is the bike hiring scheme called Santanders cycles. In 2016, 10.3 million hires have been made resulting in the bikes being improved. It costs £2 for 24 hours making it a chep and reliable way to travel in London. More cycle roads are planned to be built.
Lastly, the park and ride scheme is I would argue, the least effective of all the schemes.This is where drivers leaves their car in a big and free car park on the edge of the city where there is cheap and regular buses going to the centre of the city. However, congestion may increase outside the city centre polluting these areas instead.
In conclusion, all these urban transport schemes are very effective in lowering the use of private vehicles,traffic congestion and air pollution in the city all together. However I think that the park and ride scheme is the least effective as the same problems develop at another place as a result. I would also argue that the congestion charge is the most useful as in the future, the area of the charge is set to get larger!

Reply 1

MeliMelo73

I would really apreciate if you could help me and state your level of studies! Thank you so much!!

Reply 2

inboccaallupo

[I have just done my A Level Geography Exams]

2 points I picked up on:
- You haven't assessed the effectiveness of the Satandar cycles, only stated what it does. ie 'Cheap and reliable way to travel in London', then add something like: '.....compared to conventional car/taxi transport, thus reducing the number of vehicles on the road and subsequent congestion'

- For assessing the Park/Ride situation, you have done quite a generic statements, any place-specific detail you could use (ie car park name and capacity). Rather than using the re-occuring theme of congestion, why not say how park/ride is effective for visitors to the city, but for city residents, it isn't helpful, they need inner city transport for their needs.

Reply 3

MeliMelo73

Original post by jonolethaby

Thank you so much. This is really useful and i made the corrections that you suggested. Thank you I really apreciate it!

Reply 4

MeliMelo73

Original post by jonolethaby

Anf if I may ask another question, what does the question " Discuss the effects of urban sprawl on people and the environment" is asking you to do? what points can you make? Thank you!

Reply 5

inboccaallupo

On People:
Bigger urban capacity, more of the area become urban dwellers, if urban sprawl allows people to live nearer the city, they can work in the city (higher pay)< arguably can detract jobs away from surrounding rural areas.
Causes large scale social displacement ie
New, nice, middle class detatched housing can be built due to new space, the middle classes move out of the noise/dirt of the city and live on the outskirts, the inner city becomes progresvilly poorer.
Or sometimes large areas of council estates are built on marginal outer-city land it can create 'ghettos'. Too far away from the city centre, peole can'f afford to wrok so are trapped in the outskirts. (Wythenshawe 2nd largest council estate in UK; right on Southern tip of Manchester City area)

On the Environment - Urban sprawl is generally bad, it builds on greenfiled sites, ie quite a lot of damage. Links back to people (if you remove agriculutral land, you cut off the food supply, a bad formula especially considering urban sprawl tends to be caused by population growth - 16million km2 of farmland lost in China due to this).
When urban sprawls collide, large chunks of land are lost as conurbations (Greater London/Greater Manchester)

Would you be kind in telling me if this question is worth full marks! (geography)

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