There is an ongoing debate regarding the investment in public transportation and building more road. Some people argue that public transportation is a better solution to reduce the traffic congestion. Howevers, a group of people claims that building more road is the most efficient solution to this problem.
Examining from the first perspective, public transportation offers various benefits. Investment in public transportation may allow people to rely more on public facilities rather than using their own vehicle. For example, in Japan, most people prefer to use public transport like train and bus instead of their personal vehicle because of the adequete facilities provided. When people change to public transportation, traffic congestion will automatically decrease. Moreover, public transportations are usually free, allowing people from all class to access it. However, the main issues is the amount of money that need to be spend to realize this idea.
In contrast, the building of more roads may also be a solution to traffic congestion. Lacking available road may be one of the reasons of traffic congestion. By building more roads will allow the vehicle to spread more evenly across the area, reducing the density of vehicle in certain area. For example, flyovers were made in Jakarta to help reduce the traffic congestion due to the high density of vehicle in the city. Furthermore, the building of more roads also provide alternative ways to go to a destination. While building roads may bring a lot of advantages, the cost to build a new road is very expensive.
In conclusion, both arguments are considered as a solution and have their own advantages. However, both of the solutions shared the same problem which is the cost.