Band 6+: The following bar chart shows the different modes of transport used to travel to and from work in one European city in 1960, 1980 and 2000. Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The following bar chart compares the usage of three modes of transport in a European city in 1960, 1980, and 2000.

In the year 1960, the most popular mode of transport was travelling by foot, with 35% of travellers utilizing it, followed by travelling by bike, bus, then car. This shows that cars and buses had not yet become prevalent, and this highlights the era as one of the last before the concentraions of carbon dioxide in the air became an issue, which was due to the fossil fuels that would be put to use in later decades by rampant car usage. The statistics could also be linked to the decrease of obesity rates in 1960, as walking by foot to and from work everyday would have been a great way to stay in shape.

The year 1980 proves the middling of the precentage of travellers utilizing these modes of transport, with statistics showing that bus, car, bike, and travelling by foot to be around the same range. This suggests the adoption of these modes of transport among the travellers. Although there is a slight increase in bus usage, with around 26% of travellers preferring it. This could have been caused by the attractive allure of arriving to work swiftly enough bundled with the low price of a bus ticket to those who couldn’t afford a car of their own.

There is a spike in the utilization of cars in the year 2000, which had otherwise been dormant in previous decades, with 40% of travellers choosing to use cars as their typical mode of transport. This is a direct link to the increasage of carbon dioxide emmisions, and one of the biggest contributers to global warming. Streets had begun to fill with cars and walking areas demolished to make way for more lanes, which could have disenoucraged people from taking the long way to work (by foot or bike).

In conclusion, this bar chart represents the population’s acceptance of vehicle transport through the decades, abandoning the environmentally-friendly, healthier modes of transport that had gone old-fashioned, for the newly introduced motor vehicles that exploit people’s need for convienience at the expense of our planet.