It is undoubtedly the case that urban areas around the world increasingly suffer from congestion. In this essay, I examine the reasons for this trend and suggest some practical policies the authorities could implement to reduce the level of traffic in our cities.
The first step is to understand why traffic has increased in towns and cities. Broadly speaking, there are three main reasons for this. One is that cars have become more affordable for the average consumer and they are no longer a luxury item, but something that most families expect to own. A second reason is that public transport has become increasingly unreliable in recent years, not least because many bus and train services have been reduced because of the difficulty in funding them. The third reason is that society has in general become more mobile and this means more people are prepared to commute to work by car than they were before.
There is almost certainly no one solution to this problem given the complexity of its causes. However, one option has to be to improve the reliability of public transport to encourage people to take the bus or the train rather than get in the car. It would also be possible to discourage people from driving to work by introducing special tariffs for using the roads, especially during peak periods. A successful example of this is the congestion charge scheme in London which has certainly reduced the level of trafficin inner-city areas.
In conclusion, there are a variety of different factors that have led to rising levels of traffic in urban areas. While it may not be possible to find a complete solution, any action should probably involve encouraging greater use of public transport and making it more expensive for the motorist to drive in urban areas.
It is
undoubtedly
the case that urban areas around the world
increasingly
suffer from congestion. In this essay, I examine the
reasons
for this trend and suggest
some
practical policies the authorities could implement to
reduce
the level of traffic in our cities.
The
first
step is to understand why traffic has increased in towns and cities.
Broadly
speaking, there are three main
reasons
for this. One is that cars have become more affordable for the average consumer and they are no longer a luxury item,
but
something that most families
expect
to
own
. A second
reason
is that public transport has become
increasingly
unreliable in recent years, not least
because
many
bus and train services have been
reduced
because
of the difficulty in funding them. The third
reason
is that society has
in general
become more mobile and this means more
people
are prepared
to commute to work by car than they were
before
.
There is almost
certainly
no one solution to this problem
given
the complexity of its causes.
However
, one option
has to
be to
improve
the reliability of public transport to encourage
people
to take the bus or the train
rather
than
get
in the car. It would
also
be possible to discourage
people
from driving to work by introducing special tariffs for using the roads,
especially
during peak periods. A successful example of this is the congestion charge scheme in London which has
certainly
reduced
the level of trafficin inner-city areas.
In conclusion
, there are a variety of
different
factors that have led to rising levels of traffic in urban areas. While it may not be possible to find a complete solution, any action should
probably
involve encouraging greater
use
of public transport and making it more expensive for the motorist to drive in urban areas.