Topic: 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?
It is true that traffic congestion has become a major concern of any governments throughout the world. Some people believe that only by providing accessible public transportation could government solely overcome this difficulty. Although it might be a solution to some extents, it may put the government under great pressure.
On the one hand, free-cost public transportation promotes the use of this system. As taxes for utilizing private vehicles have been soaring recently, it is likely that public transportation would become an alternative for low-to-middle income residents. The fact that a subway train could carry up to 150 people per trip raises hopes for many authorities that this would reduce the number of private cars and tackle the problem of traffic congestion.
On the other hand, it is difficult to develop such a thing. The chief reason is that it would pose a great challenge on the national budget, especially for developing countries. Specifically, accessible public transportation could possibly need millions of dollars for maintaining facilities and infrastructure as well as paying salaries for thousands of employees working in the field. As the nation has faced with a vast number of problems, such as crime, immigrants, and unemployment, it is clear that such expenditure might turn the opportunity into risk. In addition, since living standard has been continuously improving, people might not perceive public transport as an alternative. For example, although Vietnamese government imposed a 150 percent tariff on private cars as well as offer the nearly free public transport service, the number of private cars, as well as traffic congestion, is unlikely to decrease in the near future.
In conclusion, although free-cost public transportation could be a solution for traffic congestion, it might not work in the long-term period.
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