UNESCO resource kit - science and technology educa...

Getting to school
UNESCO Module 2: Oetting to school
There are many ways of getting to school - walking, cycling, by car, bus or train.
Your journey may be very easy, or you may suffer from problems caused by
traffic congestion. As the amount of traffic on our roads increases,
congestion gets worse.
Traffic congestion causes problems: delays, accidents, road rage, noise, air
pollution and more. How can we reduce congestion? Here are some examples
from around the world - you probably know of other solutions from your own
area.
• In Lagos,. Nigeria, the number of cars on the roads was halved by only
allowing vehicles with odd-number-plates to use the roads on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays, and even-number-plates on Tuesdays, Thursdays
and Saturdays.
• In Kathmandu, Nepal, delivery lorries are only allowed to drive into the
city along the road at night (between 7.00 pm and 7.00 am). City centre
parking is strictly limited.
• In Hasselt, Belgium, the city council banned all cars from the old city
centre. They provided free buses, and car parks on the edge of the town.
• How long did it take you today, to travel from home to school?
• How far did you travel?
• What means of transport did you use?
Collect this data from everyone in the class. Work out the average speed for
each person: average speed = distance travelled'! time taken. (A spreadsheet
would be a good way to record this data, and to calculate the speeds.) Think of
a way of displaying the data. How could you compare the speeds of people who
use different forms of transport?
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