20.

Transport

There are several ways of travelling. People can travel by bicycle, motorcycle, car, taxi, bus,
tram, trolleybus, underground, train, plane, ship, boat, hydroplane.
There are many ways of getting about town. In most big cities people have a wide choice of
tram, bus, trolley-bus and underground routes in addition to a taxi service. Trams, trolleybuses
and buses stop to pick up passengers at special stops. During the morning rush hours, with so
many people hurrying to work, the vehicles are usually overcrowded. During the evening rush
hours, with everyone hurrying home, they are packed full, too.
You can buy railway tickets at newsagent’s, ticket offices, in shops, from ticket machines and
in some towns from the drivers, which is always more expensive. Then you have to validate
your ticket either punching it or stamping it. But if you have a monthly ticket, you don’t have
to worry about buying a ticket because monthly and weekly tickets are valid for several
journeys within a particular period of time. They are also cheaper than separate tickets. You
can also buy half-yearly and yearly tickets.
The fastest type is the underground because it isn’t influenced by weather or traffic
conditions. In Hungary you can find it only in the capital.
People travel by taxi when they are in a hurry, when they have much to carry or when they are
in unknown places. You go by taxi if there is no public transport or it isn’t operating because
it’s too late.
Public transport can be made more environmentally friendly by replacing buses with trams
and trolleybuses or running them on natural gas.
Parking is getting more and more difficult nowadays because the number of cars has
increased dramatically.
You can travel long distances in many different ways. You can take the plane and fly, travel
by train, bus or car, or even board a ship. Of course, driving a car a long distance can be very
tiring.
Travelling by plane is probably the safest and the most convenient way for long distances. It’s
also the fastest if we want to go overseas, say from one continent to another. It can also be
quite cheap if we buy our ticket well in advance with discount airlines.
Travelling by train is popular among people who commute to work but they can be used for
longer journeys as well. There are quite good, fast and comfortable long train routes in Europe
so people sometimes take the train instead of the plane when they travel from one country to
another.
Travelling by ships was popular when flying wasn’t so widespread or available but nowadays
it’s considered a romantic way of travelling and is mostly used for cruise holidays. It’s slow,
so it’s usually not a reasonable means of getting from one place to another, only a way to
spend a holiday.