Traffic Congestion Essay Example

Nowadays, heavy traffic congestion has become a challenging problem in many cities. Some people argue that free public transport service should be provided to tackle this problem. In my opinion, free public transport is certainly a great idea, but it is not a viable way to ease traffic congestion.

It is true that round-the-clock free public transport can reduce the occurrence of traffic congestion because in most cases traffic issues are caused by the presence of a large number of private vehicles on the road. If public transport services are provided free of cost and their frequency is increased, few people will want to drive their personal vehicles. This will theoretically reduce the number of cars on the roads and ease traffic congestion.

On the flip side, when there are too many takers for the free public transport, buses and trains will become overcrowded. This will make the journey uncomfortable and many people will have to stand all the way. As a result, affluent commuters will choose not to use public transport. Instead, they will drive their own car to work and the traffic situation will get worse again. Another disadvantage of providing free public transport is that it is a huge burden on the government and as such it is not a viable idea in the long term.

It seems that instead of proving free public transport, the government should try to improve the frequency and reliability of buses and trains. It should also build wider roads and more flyovers. If people can ride comfortably on a bus or a train and still reach their destination on time, they will definitely consider that option. Hence, instead of making public transport a free service, what the government needs to do is to improve it. In addition, the government needs to ensure that the cost of traveling by bus or train is always less than the cost of driving one’s own vehicle.

To conclude, free public transport might seem to be a great way to tackle traffic congestion, but in my opinion, it is not a practical solution to this problem. A better option is to enhance the quality of public transport and subsidize its cost.