Day by day, citizens face traffic jams, so some people believe that increasing the cost of petrol is the best way to reduce this problem. I totally disagree with this opinion, and this essay will discuss the reason why it is not the most effective way and suggest some better solutions.
On the one hand, increasing petrol consumption will reduce the number of vehicles, which is the main catalyst to decrease traffic jams. To be specific, citizens who commute to the company, school everyday potentially need to spend a lot of money to use their private vehicle. It is a wasteful investment instead they can change to other types of transport such as, bus, train, bicycle or foot walk. Therefore, they see a downward trend in the number of vehicles, especially during the peak hours in urban areas. However, in the long term the cost of petrol is a main cause of financial burden for people who live a low quality life, and this way can increase the status gap for the poor and the rich.
On the other hand, for a sustainable future we have several ways to reduce traffic congestion. Firstly, increasing the quality of public transport is necessary. Nowaday, the majority of people choose private vehicles because they can enhance their independence about time and location. Therefore, the government should invest in cutting- edge public subways such as high-speed trains. Beside that, the services of public transport need to improve to attract citizens to use public transport more. Public transport not only needs to improve service but also the number of modes of transport. It is the solution for the problem of public transport having to wait for a long time. For example, in Vietnam at the peak, traffic congestion is a hot issue because the number of private vehicles increases significantly at the same time. In contrast, in a developed nation such as Korea, the train system is very modern, and fast, so the majority of Koreans use public transport. It is a reason why it is hard to find traffic jams in Korea.
In conclusion, however, increasing the cost of petrol can reduce traffic jams by decreasing the number of vehicles. In the long run it can negatively impact family financial and social status gaps. Therefore, in my opinion the development of public transport is a more effective way in the long term.