Band 7+: More and More city workers are deciding to live in the countryside and travel to work everyday. The result is increased traffic congestions and damage to the environment. What measures do you think could be taken to encourage people not to travel such long distances into work?

To begin with, there are many reasons why the population of city workers living in the outskirts is rising, and one of them is financial problems. The costs of living in cities, including paying for rent and taxes, are much higher than those of the countryside. In fact, many employees cannot afford these expenditures and have no choice but to move to less expensive areas, which are usually away from city centers. As a result, they have to travel between their homes and workplace almost every day. So, a remedy for this problem can be raising pay or reducing taxes that help them afford living in cities. In addition, changing working hours may be helpful. A large number of people have to get to their workplaces at the same time, which could bring about rushing hours, especially in the morning. However, there are some duties that are not necessary to be done at a specific time. For example, painting a wall can be done in sunlight or at night thanks to high-power lights. Consequently, a group of laborers can start their job at different times to avoid traffic jams. This could in turn decline the congested roads and exhaust fumes produced by cars.

Moreover, people can be encouraged not to use their own vehicles by providing efficient and economic public transportation systems. Increasing working hours of buses and substations allows people to use such services at midnight, persuading them not to drive their cars in the darkness of the night. In addition, launching buses or other vehicles powered by renewable energy sources like solar panels is both financially and environmentally helpful, especially in a long-term perspective.

To conclude, the proportion of laborers who settle on the outskirts, whereas work in cities is growing. This population has to commute, which could give rise to traffic and environmental problems. Financial support for those who cannot pay the expenditure of living in cities seems like a feasible solution. Also, offering public transportation with extended working hours might help to cope with this concern.