Ielts Writing Task 2 - free public transport

The best way for governments to solve the problem of traffic congestion is providing free public transport in 24 hours per day, and seven days a week. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

During the past decades, the breakthroughs in manufacturing technology have resulted in mass production of vehicles. Consequently, today’s governments are intensifying tremendous efforts to tackle critical issues following the above advancement. However, there is controversy over which measure should be taken to address the problems successfully. Although I agree that the most effective method is to provide citizens with free public transportation on a daily basis, I believe this opinion has some potential drawbacks that need to be considered carefully.

On the one hand, there is no doubt that giving free access to transport plays a pivotal role in the reduction of massive congestion problems. This is because with the increasing number of people using mass transit, there will be a dramatic decrease in the traffic density, especially during rush hour. Moreover, in the long run, this approach will positively affect the public perception of public transit, which leads to the increase in the amount of public transport usage.

On the other hand, it can be clearly seen that the government which adopts such a method has to bear a heavy financial burden. For example, there is likelihood that the authorities will squander taxpayers’ money on the investment of vehicles and the upkeep of public transportation. Those huge amounts of capital may produce a more beneficial effect if they are invested in other important sectors such as education or health. Furthermore, even though free provision of mass transit may appear to be the most practical idea, other measures should be taken simultaneously to achieve the desired result. For instance, besides providing complimentary public transport, the government should execute extensive programs to raise public awareness of traffic congestion and its related issues.

In conclusion, although I think that free provision of public transportation would be the solution to the traffic jam issue, I suppose there are still weaknesses that need to be examined closely. My view is that governments need to be more flexible in their approaches in order to deal with such a problem successfully.