IELTS TASK 2 (Transportation)

Many people are now spending more and more time traveling to work or school. Some people believe that this is a negative development while others think there are some benefits. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Nowadays, the amount of time people spend commuting to the workplace or academic institutions has been on the rise. While some merits can be pointed out from this ongoing trend, I still firmly believe this is a deleterious development.

Longer travel hours can have some notable benefits concerning mental health and transport. As regards the former, the intervening time spent commuting can serve as personal time, which means that as people commute longer distances, they will have more time for themselves. For instance, one could read a book, listen to educational podcasts, keep in touch with intimates, or just take that time to reflect. These leisure activities, once impractical due to the lack of free time, have been proven to be conducive to a person’s well-being. Regarding the latter, longer commutes will give rise to higher demands for transportation, which in turn compel the governments to invest more heavily in the public transport system. By doing so, government officials can make public transport more appealing to commuters, thereby alleviating pollution and reducing traffic jams.

Having said that, long hours spent commuting can present various demerits which may override the benefits. First and foremost, people spending more time commuting means that more people will be in traffic. This can lead to severe traffic and a concomitant increase in accidents and CO2 emissions. Secondly, most people loath to spend most of their day commuting or on cramped public transport. While there are many ways they can while away commuting time, the majority of people would deem it as mind-numbing and soul-destroying. As such, many individuals find commuting to be the most taxing portion of their day, even more so than the work itself. Furthermore, productivity has been shown to markedly decline after traveling long distances. Once people arrive at their workplace or school, they often feel too mentally drained and exhausted to carry out the day’s work.

To recapitulate, although there are some advantages to longer commuting time, the demerits of it far outweigh the benefits.