HELP IELST, WRITING TASK 2

CAR OWNERSHIP HAS INCREASED SO RAPIDLY OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS THAT MANY CITIES IN THE WORLD ARE NOW “ONE BIG TRAFFIC JAM”. HOW TRUE DO YOU THINK THIS STATEMENT IS? WHAT MEASURES CAN GOVERNMENTS TAKE DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM USING THEIR CARS?

Better living standards require convenient means of transportation, among which cars have been leading as a perfect choice for medium and long distance travel. As result, some people complain that the increasing existence of cars on the streets over the last 30 years has caused trouble to many cities in the world with traffic congestion.The essay below will discuss the precision of this viewpoint and give some suggestions for governments as to how to dissuade people from using cars.
That cars have bad impacts on the traffic situations of many countries is undeniable in most of the cases. The increasing use of cars is because, for many people, not only dispose income get bigger but advance in the car manufacturing industry also makes ownership of cars become more affordable. Along with the lower pace of development in infrastructure such as roads or bridges, many urban areas are struggling to fit cars into their streets of limited sizes. However, rise in car possession actually benefits some cities in developing countries in the sense that it decreases the use of motorbikes, which often cause worse traffic jams.
In order to make travelling more convenient for urban citizens, governments should play an important role in controlling the number of car drivers. First of all, they should promote substitute means of transportation such as buses, trains or car-sharing. Besides, imposing taxes on trading cars or petroleum can also help to convince people not to use cars and consequently, make rush hours less intolerant.
In conclusion, it is mostly true that the upward growth rate of cars put in use has contributed to traffic problems, especially in busy time of the day, regardless of its merits to some developing countries. Governments should take effective actions by raising personal expenditure on using cars as well as supporting cars’ substitute travelling methods.