You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being. What can be done to discourage people from using their cars?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer
It is evident that the mass car ownership is associated with several environmental and health issues, including global warming, lung cancer, and anxiety. Although the convenience of possessing a car has made it almost an inexorable trend, there are measures that governments can take to discourage unnecessary car use.
The first, and also the most effective measure could be to make it expensive to own and use a car. This measure can be implemented by taxing heavily on initial car purchasing, congested roads using, and petrol consuming. By doing so, people might start considering reducing their car use, especially for the unnecessary trips. However, there is a drawback of this approach that it is often the poorer residents will suffer from the increased cost. The poor might have to cut some necessary trips because of the financial burden, whereas the rich ones would be able to maintain their convenience from car use. Therefore, this measure may be effective, but not fair to the poor.
Another way to discourage people from using their cars is to encourage them using alternative transports, such as trains, buses, and bicycles. Evidence has shown that cities, such as Tokyo and Paris, where better public transport systems are offered, car use rates are lower and roads are less congested. People will only be most willing to use public transports when they are almost or even more convenience than driving their cars. Therefore, governments could invest more in infrastructure and transport system design and construction in order to provide adequate and competitive alternatives.
To conclude, increasing the cost of having and using a car could be an effective way to reduce the car use. However, improving and encouraging the use of public transports could be the better and more sustainable way to achieve this goal.
[ Written by –Huan ]