Raising the fuel costs is the best solution to curtail the increasing traffic congestions as well as the growing environmental issues. As the law of economics dictates that the higher the price of the commodity, the lower the demand of consumers, thus it can reduce the number of vehicle owners further. For instance, when the fuel prices skyrocketed during the oil crisis in 1988, there was a large reduction in purchasing automobiles.
Raising the fuel price would also knock on the price of goods because they cost more to transport. This would result in people having less money to spend at the pump, thus reducing the number of cars on the road even further. For example, the higher the food price in a city, the more likely people are to use public transport, principally because they can’t afford a car.
Additionally, owing to the reduction of vehicles owners on the road, as the fuel costs dramatically rise, the rate of carbon emission would be declined as well. This is because people are no longer able to afford the individual vehicles, thus they would rely on public transports: bus, trains and cycling, leading a healthier and less polluted living environment eventually. A survey published in 2017 stated that Norway is the healthiest and happiest country to live in as they have implemented less harmful means of transport: cycling and EV adoption, successfully created translucent atmosphere within the decades.
To sum up, significant expansion in fuel charges can effectively tackle the growing traffic jam problem besides providing the healthier lifestyles for people.