As the number of private cars has increased, so has the level of pollution. Over-reliance on cars at the expense of public transport has made this problem even worse, causing many concerned citizens to look for a solution to the problem.
One potential solution to this issue is to discourage the use of private cars by raising taxes. If the cost of petrol was increased, then many people would consider using alternative forms of transportation or even walking. Admittedly, there would be a number of complaints from car drivers, but these would not be of much importance when balanced against the environmental benefits.
Another solution could be to look at more specific causes of the issue. Modern cars are fitted with cleaner-burning engines and catalytic converters. Accordingly, they do not cause much of an environmental hazard as any older cars. In Japan, for example, cars are heavily taxed once they have been on the road for three years or more, encouraging people to buy new cars which pollute less. By heavily taxing older vehicles from the road, some of the worst polluting vehicles would be taken off the road. However, this would not be fair to those who cannot afford a new car with such regularity.
An improvement in the quality and efficiency of public transit would also encourage people to use their cars less. In London, for instance, a system has been operating for some time in which people are allocated days of the week when they can use their cars. On days that they are not allowed to drive, public transit is taken.
Although there are potential solutions to the trouble, none of them are perfect. Only by a concerted effort by both the government and the public can this situation truly be resolved.
As the number of private
cars
has increased,
so
has the level of pollution. Over-reliance on
cars
at the expense of
public
transport has made this problem even worse, causing
many
concerned citizens to look for a
solution
to the problem.
One potential
solution
to this issue is to discourage the
use
of private
cars
by raising taxes. If the cost of petrol
was increased
, then
many
people
would consider using alternative forms of transportation or even walking.
Admittedly
, there would be a number of complaints from
car
drivers,
but
these would not be of much importance when balanced against the environmental benefits.
Another
solution
could be to look at more specific causes of the issue. Modern
cars
are fitted
with cleaner-burning engines and catalytic converters.
Accordingly
, they do not cause much of an environmental hazard as any older
cars
. In Japan,
for example
,
cars
are
heavily
taxed once they have been on the road for three years or more, encouraging
people
to
buy
new
cars
which pollute less. By
heavily
taxing older vehicles from the road,
some
of the worst polluting vehicles would
be taken
off the road.
However
, this would not be
fair
to those who cannot afford a new
car
with such regularity.
An improvement in the quality and efficiency of
public
transit would
also
encourage
people
to
use
their
cars
less. In London,
for instance
, a system has been operating for
some
time in which
people
are allocated
days of the week when they can
use
their
cars
. On days that they are not
allowed
to drive,
public
transit
is taken
.
Although there are potential
solutions
to the trouble, none of them are perfect.
Only
by a concerted effort by both the
government
and the
public
can this situation
truly
be resolved
.