Driving: do we love it because it's quick and convenient, or is it just that we don't have a choice?
驾驶：我们喜欢它是因为它快速方便，还是仅仅因为我们别无选择？
Either way, commuting by car is becoming more common across the world.
无论如何，开车通勤在世界各地变得越来越普遍。
While this could mean that people are getting more mobility and freedom, could it have a cost?
虽然这可能意味着人们获得了更多的流动性和自由，但它是否会有代价？
As the number of cars on the road increases, so does congestion.
随着道路上汽车数量的增加，拥堵也随之加剧。
As more people travel by car, more road space is used up.
随着越来越多的人开车出行，更多的道路空间被占用。
According to the OECD's International Transport Forum, the average person travelling in a car takes up five times as much road space as someone on a bus.
根据经合组织的国际交通论坛，乘坐汽车的平均每个人占用的道路空间是乘坐公交车的人的五倍。
This is made worse by the fact that, on average, today's cars are larger than those of the past.
更糟糕的是，平均而言，今天的汽车比过去的汽车更大。
Tailbacks and other traffic jams in the UK could be costing £7.5 billion each year in wasted time.
英国的交通堵塞和其他拥堵每年可能因浪费时间而损失75亿英镑。
It's not just gridlock and wasted time that's the problem.
问题不仅仅是交通堵塞和时间浪费。
Car dependency has significant health impacts.
对汽车的依赖对健康有重大影响。
Air pollution from diesel and petrol cars can cause health problems such as asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
柴油和汽油车造成的空气污染可能导致哮喘和其他呼吸系统疾病等健康问题。
Road traffic accidents lead to injuries and fatalities.
道路交通事故导致伤害和死亡。
Additional to this are the long-term problems caused by sedentary lifestyles, leading to poor fitness and obesity.
此外，久坐生活方式导致的长期问题，会导致健康状况不佳和肥胖。
Road-building developments can also split communities, leading people to feel cut off.
道路建设也可能分裂社区，使人们感到被隔绝。
Where road transport dominates an area, people without access to a car can feel isolated.
在道路运输占主导地位的地区，无法使用汽车的人可能会感到孤立。
Cities and countries are sometimes tempted to build new roads to reduce the potential for snarl-ups.
城市和国家有时会倾向于修建新道路以减少拥堵的可能性。
However, some experts say that this can cause induced demand where increased road capacity leads to more people driving, and congestion is soon back to its previous level.
然而，一些专家表示，这可能导致诱导需求，即增加道路容量导致更多人开车，拥堵很快恢复到之前的水平。
The other side of this theory is that when road space allocation is taken away from private cars, often congestion won't get any worse.
这一理论的另一面是，当道路空间分配从私家车中移除时，拥堵通常不会变得更糟。
Authorities in some cities, such as Seoul and Utrecht, have demolished motorways, leaving natural features such as streams and rivers in their place.
首尔和乌得勒支等一些城市的主管部门已经拆除了高速公路，取而代之的是溪流和河流等自然景观。
Making drivers pay more is an approach used in cities like London, or Singapore, where ten-year car ownership licenses can cost over £60,000.
让司机支付更多费用是伦敦或新加坡等城市采用的一种方法，在这些城市，十年期汽车所有权许可证的费用可能超过6万英镑。
The increased costs can help reduce the number of cars on the road and make traffic flow faster.
增加的成本有助于减少道路上的汽车数量，并使交通流动更快。
