Can
free
transport
end
air
pollution
?
South
Korea
has
a
pretty
bad
air
pollution
problem
.
The
organization
for
economic
cooperation
and
development
(
OECD
)
says
it
has
the
worst
air
quality
among
a
group
of
35
rich
nations
.
PM2
.
5
are
very
small
air
pollutant
particles
that
people
can
breathe
.
These
stay
in
the
body
and
can
make
people
very
sick
.
In
other
countries
,
the
PM2
.
5
is
around
13
.
2
micrograms
,
but
in
South
Korea
the
PM2
.
5
levels
are
27
.
9
micrograms
?
and
scientists
believe
it
will
get
worse
in
the
next
five
years
.
So
when
the
air
quality
became
really
bad
in
January
2018
(
179
micrograms
!
)
,
the
city
decided
to
let
the
people
use
public
transport
for
free
.
They
also
closed
360
parking
areas
for
so
they
would
use
the
subway
and
buses
instead
.
And
they
told
the
workers
they
could
not
all
drive
to
work
on
the
same
day
.
Seoul
,
the
capital
,
is
changing
too
.
There
are
more
bicycle
lanes
in
the
city
,
parks
,
and
areas
for
people
to
walk
around
the
center
of
the
city
.
They
are
now
using
buses
that
run
on
natural
gas
instead
of
diesel
.
Seoul
,
Park
Won
Soon
wants
to
make
public
transport
free
during
the
busy
times
of
the
day
.
They
have
$23
million
to
spend
.
However
,
they
spend
$4
.
7
million
of
the
free
travel
policy
every
day
,
and
there
was
not
a
big
improvement
in
air
quality
.
The
number
of
cars
on
the
road
fell
by
1
.
8
percent
?
just
over
2
,
000
vehicles
.
The
number
of
people
on
the
subway
increased
by
23
,
000
,
and
by
bus
3
,
500
.
That
means
that
half
the
money
was
used
in
one
week
,
but
the
air
was
still
bad
.
Many
people
think
the
money
should
be
spent
on
other
ways
to
improve
the
air
.
Because
70%
of
South
Korea's
population
lives
in
cities
and
areas
,
the
danger
to
health
is
very
real
.
The
OECD
said
the
number
of
deaths
because
of
air
pollution
will
increase
from
over
one
million
in
2000
to
about
3
.
5
million
in
2050
worldwide
.
The
idea
has
worked
well
in
smaller
cities
and
communities
though
.
For
example
,
Dunkirk
in
France
made
it
free
to
travel
by
bus
on
weekends
in
2015
.
The
number
of
users
increased
by
an
average
of
5
,
000
a
day
?
with
families
,
young
people
,
and
older
people
benefiting
the
most
.
Seoul
,
on
the
other
hand
,
has
almost
ten
million
people
.
The
mayor
knows
it
will
be
hard
to
change
people's
minds
.
Being
in
a
car
alone
is
more
comfortable
than
being
on
a
bus
with
60
other
people
.
And
saving
money
on
public
transport
might
not
be
enough
to
change
people's
attitudes
.
Is
your
country
here
?
These
numbers
show
the
PM2
.
5
micrograms
per
cubic
meter
:
Russian
Federation
15
.
5
Spain
11
.
5
France
13
.
4
Turkey
20
.
0
Brazil
10
.
3
Japan
13
.
8
Germany
14
.
0
United
Kingdom
11
.
3
United
States
10
.
0
Czech
Republic
19
.
5
Mexico
15
.
6
Italy
18
.
3
Ireland
7
.
1
Norway
4
.
6
Iceland
3
.
0
Poland
22
.
1
Netherlands
14
.
0
Let's
check
what
you
can
remember
!